Roadrunner Records was absorbed into parent company Warner Music worldwide today with many staff around the world either laid-off or moving to Warner.
Slipknot, Soundwave Melbourne 2012 - Photo By Ros O'Gorman
Staff from the Roadrunner Australia office based in Melbourne were given the news today by Warner Australia CEO Tony Harlow. Noise11 was told that about half the staff were let go and the rest will work for Warner.
Offices in the UK, Germany and Canada were also closed today.
Roadrunner was founded in the Netherlands in 1980 by Cees Wessels. By 1986, the label had an office in the USA and then quickly expanded to the UK, Germany, France, Japan, Australia, Denmark and Canada.
In December, 2006, Warner Music acquired a majority stake in the label and in November 2010 bought the remainder of the business. Cees Wessels stayed on as CEO.
Roadrunner artists include 36 Crazyfists, Nickelback, Megadeth, Korn, Killswicth Engage, Machine Head, Stone Sour, Steve Miller Band, Slipknot, Trivium, Underoath, Rush and Alexisonfire.
