It’s been a tough year for the music industry. Empire Records, the legendary soul and funk label, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 15th, just one month after the death of co-founder and CEO Ahmet Ertegun. In recent years, there have been several high-profile label Deaths including RCA Records, Warner Bros., Elektra Records, and many more. The reason for this trend is unclear, but it has had a devastating effect on the music industry as a whole. In this blog post, we will investigate what led to these label deaths and what you can do to protect yourself from their effects.
Empire Records
In the last several years, there has been a rash of deaths associated with the empire record label. This is due in part to the fact that empire is one of the most successful and well-known record labels in the world. As such, it attracts a lot of talented people who want to work for or be associated with empire.
However, this also makes empire a target for those looking to take advantage of its employees or members. In addition, many of these deaths are simply unexplained, leaving families and friends wondering what could have happened to those they loved.
So far, five employees have died at empire – four in relatively unexplained circumstances and one as a direct result of his work at empire. While no one knows for sure what’s behind all these deaths, it’s clear that something needs to be done to ensure that everyone working at empire is safe.
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Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is the largest record label in the world, boasting more than 200 million albums sold and over 1,000 artists signed. The company was founded in 1922 by American Irving Berlin and his partner Benny Goodman. Today, Universal Music Group operates in more than 50 countries across six continents.
In recent years, Universal Music Group has been hit hard by deaths of key executives. In January 2018, president of international publishing and Recorded Music Kevin Liles died at the age of 66 after a long battle with cancer. In December 2017, chairman/CEO of global music marketing David Foster also passed away at the age of 67 following a long battle with leukemia. Shortly after Foster’s death, senior vice president of artist development Ricky Van Veen resigned from his position due to personal reasons.
These three executive deaths have had a significant impact on the company as a whole. Without their leadership, Universal Music Group has struggled to keep up with its competitors who have been able to fill these roles with new blood. The company has also been forced to make some drastic changes to its business strategy in order to stay afloat. These changes include creating a new division focused on digital music and revamping its management team.
Despite these challenges, Universal Music Group remains one of the most influential companies in the music industry and continues to produce some of the biggest names in music today
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment, the largest music company in the world, is facing a number of record label deaths in 2019. The company has lost some of its most notable record labels in recent months, including Jive Records, Epic Records, and RCA Records.
This week, Sony Music announced that it had terminated ties with TIDAL after reports surfaced that the streaming service was paying artists less than they were worth. TIDAL is owned by Jay Z and Beyoncé’s Mubadala Development Company. Sony Music stated that it decided to end its partnership with TIDAL “after evaluating our strategic interests.”
In July of this year, Sony Music announced that it was disbanding Columbia Records after more than 130 years. The label was known for releasing some of the most iconic records in music history, including Led Zeppelin’s “Led Zeppelin IV” and Eminem’s “The Marshall Mathers LP.”
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is one of the largest music conglomerates in the world, with a collection of labels that encompass a wide range of musical genres. The company was founded in 1932 as Warner Bros. Records and has since acquired several other record labels, including Atlantic Records, Elektra Records, and Interscope Records.
In recent years, Warner Music Group has been plagued by the deaths of several key executives. In 2016, Warner Music Group CEO Steve Ross died after a long battle with cancer. Later that year, Robert F. Kiefer resigned from his role as president of Atlantic Recording Corporation due to health concerns. In 2017, Lenny Waronker resigned from his role as chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records due to health concerns. These high-profile executives departures have left the company struggling to continue its growth trajectory.
The recent spate of executive deaths raises questions about Warner Music Group’s organizational structure and how well its leaders are able to manage their companies during difficult times. The company’s decentralized structure may also be contributing to its difficulties: while each label is autonomous, they all report to the parent company’s executive team. This complex corporate structure can make it difficult for management to identify and address issues quickly and effectively.
Overall, Warner Music Group faces many challenges as it tries to adapt to changing market conditions and fend off competitors. However, despite these setbacks, the company remains one of the most influential forces in music industry
Deaths in the music industry
It seems like the music industry isn’t immune to death. Empire Records, a record label that was founded in 1976, has seen several of its key members pass away in recent years.
In 2014, Rick Rubin, who was the co-founder of Empire and helped produce many of the label’s biggest hits, died at the age of 73 from a brain aneurysm. Shortly after his death, his longtime collaborator Russell Simmons also passed away from prostate cancer.
In 2015, David Geffen, one of Empire’s most prolific and successful producers/directors, died due to complications from throat cancer. Geffen was also once married to Lenny Kravitz’s sister Maren.
Then in 2016, producer Tom Dowd passed away due to a heart attack at the age of 70. Dowd worked with legends such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
This string of deaths doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon; earlier this year (in January), co-founder Michael Jackson’s longtime assistant Luther Vandross passed away at the age of 66 due to pulmonary embolism (a blood clot that travels from deep within the vein to the lungs).
Conclusion
It’s no secret that the music industry is a volatile one. As we’ve seen time and time again, when one big record label goes under, it can have a ripple effect on other artists who are signed to that label. In the last few years, several major record labels have gone bankrupt or been bought out by other companies, including Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment (SME), and Bertelsmann AG. While these mergers and acquisitions may seem like good news for artists and fans alike, unfortunately there have been some tragic consequences. Since 2013 alone, at least six recording artist deaths can be linked to Label Death: Whitney Houston passed away after being dropped by UMG; Toni Braxton lost her longtime manager as well as her record label shortly after signing with Sony; Garth Brooks was dropped by SME shortly before releasing his final album; Country superstar George Jones was dropped by Sony just days before his death; R&B icon Aaliyah died in a plane crash just weeks after she had completed production on her third album for Jive Records; and singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse died of alcohol poisoning days after signing a new deal with Island Records.
