Post by rick on Apr 12, 2024 23:19:17 GMT -5
Universal Music Group, which includes Motown, laid off 10 percent of its employees. One of them was Andy Skurow who, along with George Solomon, spearheaded wonderful expanded editions from the Motown vaults.
Here are some posts from The Motown Forum --
Originally Posted by XXXXX
We can kiss this (a reference to an Expanded Edition of the album "Reflections" by Diana Ross & The Supremes) and anything else goodbye, Andy is no longer working for Universal! They culled their staff by 10% and sadly Andy is gone! Andy is Mr Motown and we have lost our supporter & friend. His knowledge and dedication is second to none. I sincerely hope that Andy finds a new job soon. I have to say I'm still in shock. Thanks for everything Andy.
Reply by Xxxxxbbbbbb
the entire music industry has changed....saw an interview with HEART yesterday...Ann Wilson called it "unrecognizable"....Digital download capability has crippled the industry. If there's one thing I wish could be un-invented....its music downloading...glad #'s are up for vinyl and CD sales...but I doubt it will ever be the same....and performers will starve to death if they don't tour.
And a reply from Andy Skurow himself --
Hello everyone,
Thank you Copley for your very kind words, but to quote Mark Twain, “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”
Yes, as reported, Universal did layoff 10% of the staff, and yes, I did leave the company six weeks ago. As Gman has pointed out, the industry has changed. And as Rob pointed out, change can be difficult to understand. Luckily, it isn’t dead, and the music will never die, but how the younger generation consumes it has changed. The industry has always been geared towards 15-25 year olds, and as our generations age out, it’s no longer made for us, on our formats, or even our artists. But that isn’t new, that’s how it’s always been.
But let me clear up some confusion: as many of you know, my “day job” was working as the Senior Vault Manager, also referred to as the UMG tape library, mainly working on projects for all of their labels, and only a fraction of that work was Motown related. That is the department I was laid off from. It wasn’t personal, although it’s easy to take personally. I have several colleagues in similar situations.
More importantly, I have been producing reissues and compilations with UMG, Sony, and several third parties for 25 years. Even I can’t believe it’s been that long! The first seven of those years [[1999-2005) were before I went to work for UMG in August 2005. So although I no longer work in the vault, I will continue to produce for multiple companies, including UMG, now and hopefully for a long time to come.
I had the pleasure of contributing to the new Smokey Robinson & The Miracles last four albums 2 disc set for Soulmusic and Theseconddisc. There are more projects still in the pipeline, including Realgonemusic, where we have done our most recent Anthologies, Expanded and Ultimate Editions.
And while we are on this thread, it’s true, Reflections Expanded is not happening. At least not this year. That may change in the future, but for now, we were told no.
But I am also branching out into other enterprises, which began long prior to my UMG departure, and we have some very exciting projects on the way. I look forward to sharing them all with you soon.
Lastly, I was at the Martha Reeves star induction two weeks ago, and it was wonderful spending time with so many members of the Motown family. I took some pictures and videos, which I will post as soon as I have a moment to do so. Motown is alive and well in so many facets of our lives, and there is still a lot of history to uncover. To quote Diana Ross, “it took me a lifetime to get here, I’m not going anywhere.”
