[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[no subject]



MCA IS HISTORY 
By TIM ARANGO

May 22, 2003 -- The end is near for MCA. 
Universal Music's MCA Records label will become part
of Geffen Records, officially wiping from Hollywood
the venerable name of the company founded in 1924 by
Jules Stein and later run by the legendary Lew
Wasserman, The Post has learned. 

At the same time, Geffen Records - currently a part of
Vivendi label Interscope Geffen A&M - will once again
become a full-service music label, sources say. Geffen
head Jordan Schur is expected to head the new label. 

A spokesperson for Interscope was unavailable for
comment.

The move is likely to include perhaps 20 layoffs at
MCA, according to a source, and will substantially
expand the power base of Jimmy Iovine, the head of
Interscope. 

Schur will report to Iovine, who reports to Universal
Music boss Doug Morris; MCA's former president, Jay
Boberg, reported directly to Morris. 

Boberg, who was MCA's chief since 1995, resigned in
January amid a steep sales decline at the label. 

Craig Lambert, MCA's senior vice president for
promotion, has run the label since Boberg's exit. 

Among MCA's best-known acts are Mary J. Blige and
Blink 182. Geffen boasts such acts as Limp Bizkit,
Cold and Counting Crows. 

Amid the restructuring, several underperforming
artists will likely be jettisoned, sources say. 

The move is designed to streamline the West Coast
operations of Universal Music, the world's largest
music company, before a possible selloff. 

The music group's parent, Vivendi, is currently
weighing offers for all of its entertainment assets,
and the music division could be sold as part of that
deal. 

MCA, which stands for Music Corporation of America,
was started in the 1920s as a Chicago talent agency.
Over the years, it gradually became an entertainment
giant by gobbling up Hollywood properties and
launching into television production. 

In 1959 MCA acquired Universal Pictures and Decca
Records. 

MCA was purchased by Seagram in 1995 for about $5.7
billion. Later, its music division was renamed
Universal Music and its movie business Universal
Studios, with MCA Records the only unit to keep the
MCA name. 


=====
-Brian in Atlanta
The Who This Month!
http://www.thewhothismonth.com

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The New Yahoo! Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo.
http://search.yahoo.com