NEW YORK, June 4 (UPI) -- The New Warner Music Group reportedly plans to drop almost half of its 170 artists after letting go more than 1,000 employees in March.
The Rolling Stone said Friday that sources indicate the Breeders and Third Eye Blind may be among the first victims, with Stereolab already gone.
In February, a group of private investors, including former Universal Music Group tycoon Edgar Bronfman Jr., bought the label group from Time Warner for $2.6 billion. In an effort to save more than $200 million, operations for Elektra, Atlantic and Lava Records were combined.
According to one label executive, the decisions about who to cut are being based in large part on profitability. Stereolab have sold only 40,000 copies of their recent album, "Margerine Eclipse" and The Breeders' last CD, "Title K," moved barely 45,000 units. Third Eye Blind, whose 1997 debut sold 6 million copies, didn't reach gold with 2003's "Out of the Vein."
