At least 10 employees of Capitol Music Group (CMG) were laid off on Thursday (Jan. 7), including executives across multiple departments. Among those let go were vp of promotion Howard Petruziello, vp of video promotion Wanda Coriano, marketing director Matt Kroepel, vp of sync and brand partnerships Alisann Blood, vp of publicity Juliana Plotkin and publicity manager Shane Wepprich, according to sources. Additional staff was reportedly laid off from the New York office of CMG as the company continues to shift its resources and manpower to its Hollywood headquarters.
The news comes as CMG has made several recent changes to its corporate team. On Monday, CMG announced that former Columbia Records exec Ashley Newton would take over as president with a focus on A&R. He also holds an evp of creative/special projects title at parent company Universal Music Group. Newton's announcement follows the fourth-quarter appointment of Harvest Records GMs Piero Giramonti and Jacqueline Saturn to co-GMs of Caroline, CMG's independent distribution service, and more hirings are expected in the coming weeks. One insider characterized the cuts as part of the company's "annual budgeting cycle" and not indicative of CMG's continuing growth.