Universal Music Group has moved into the last stage of a three-part restructuring first outlined in 2024, with a slate of senior label leaders set to leave, Billboard reports citing sources briefed on an internal notice dated Wednesday (October 14).
Among those exiting current posts are Tunji Balogun, chairman and CEO of Def Jam Recordings; Ben Mortimer, president of Polydor Records in the U.K.; Nicole Wyskoarko, president and head of urban A&R at Interscope Geffen A&M; and Sam Riback, co-president and head of pop/rock A&R at Interscope. Also departing are Rebecca Allen, chief artist and strategy officer at UMG U.K.; Mark Crossingham, managing director of UMG Ireland; Hannah Neaves, president of UM Recordings UK; and Ivo Sacchi, managing director for Switzerland and Austria. Some, including Allen and Neaves, are expected to shift into consultancy roles; Balogun is said to remain through the rest of the year.
Republic leadership shifts, Warner destination for Roppo
Republic Records CEO Jim Roppo is also leaving UMG and is expected to become vice chairman at Warner Records, according to multiple Billboard sources. Inside Universal, Tyler Arnold (Mercury) and Jeffrey Remedios (Republic Collective) take expanded Republic roles, while Island co-CEOs Imran Majid and Justin Eshak widen East Coast duties and Laura Carter, Ramon Alvarez-Smikle, and Michelle An step into broader Interscope leadership.
The cuts continue a “strategic organizational redesign” UMG said in 2024 would yield €250 million (about $271 million) in annual savings by the end of 2026. A company spokesperson framed the moves as anticipating industry change, adding new skills and technology, and said the firm is “deeply grateful” to those whose roles were removed. UMG’s share price has fallen sharply this year amid soft streaming growth and the Downtown Music Group acquisition, and analysts have linked tighter spending to pressure to show efficient margins.
Image credit: Timon Schneider / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images, via Billboard.
Source: Billboard; also covered by Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.