The Valley
AOL Time Warner’s music division is planning to make substantial cutbacks at its London-Sire Records operation before the end of the year, sources said.
The move is expected to result in the exit of London-Sire Chairman Seymour Stein, who was responsible for signing such acts as Madonna and Talking Heads. Stein is expected to remain on as a consultant to Warner Music Group Chairman Roger Ames.
The London-Sire move is seen as a sign of the cost-cutting pressure in AOL Time Warner’s music division.
Ames owned the London Records UK label and sold it to Warner when he was hired in 1999.
Warner also is expected to fire about a dozen employees today at Madonna’s money-losing Maverick Recording Co., sources said. The label, which Warner launched as a $10-million joint venture in 1992, has generated few hits since Alanis Morissette’s 1995 blockbuster album, “Jagged Little Pill.”
A Warner spokesperson declined to comment.
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