so the geffen side of interscope, geffen, a&m records, laid off about 60 people. according to perez hilton, always a reliable source, it’s because the label lost about 18 mil on will.i.am, an eve single, and an artist by the name of nancy something-or-other. paul kremen, gm of geffen, and marketing wiz behind the u2 comeback in the early 00s, was let go as well.
it was also announced today that virgin sunset of the famous 9000 sunset boulevard, will be closing as well. the record store, which lost its oomph long before richard branson walked away, was a ‘great’ l.a. landmark of the 1990s. last year, the strip lost tower, this year, its losing virgin.
what does this mean for the music industry? well, that teens don’t want to hold stuff in their hands. but i’ve known this since i starting writing about digital distribution back in 1997.
iTunes days are numbered too. but it may take about 4 or 5 years for this phenomenon to fade as people grow more and more accustomed to listening to music and watching YouTube on their phones. which is most likely why apple introduced the iPhone. to sort of counter this. its inevitable. who wants to lug around 2 separate devices to get stuff done?
