Corporation pull-in

[tardocaust]

Leading rock and metal label Roadrunner Records has slashed its staff around the world, closing its UK, Europe and Canada offices and making at least 36 staff redundant.

Founder Cees Wessels has also stepped down, 17 months after the label was sold to Warner Music Group.

Wessels formed the award-winning label in the Netherlands in 1980 as Roadracer, and saw early success through Metallica’s European releases and worldwide sales of King Diamond and Annihilator. Warners bought three-quarters of the company in 2007, then took it over fully in 2010.

Angela Gossow of Arch Enemy warned: “First Warner Bros will cut Roadrunner down, then they will drop the metal bands. Corporate sellout.”

http://www.classicrockmagazine.com/news/roadrunner-records-slashes-staff/

[Invisible Sandwich]

Roadrunner, and more generally big record labels in general have been irrelevant since the beginning of the millennium, and their current lineup is essentially harmless. The more successful bands on that roster should go as independent as possible to hasten its death. That being said, they did release some good albums in their time.