MCA Nashville cuts about 14 staff in wider Universal shake-up
MCA, Universal Music Group's Nashville division, has laid off about 14 staff. The cuts were reported on 15 October 2026, a day after its parent company began a broader round of job losses. Billboard
Those leaving include Rob Femia, chief operating officer, and Miranda McDonald, senior vice president of promotion and regional marketing. Promotion is the team that pitches new songs to radio programmers and playlists. Taylor Viegut, vice president of e-commerce and business development, also departed, alongside regional promotion directors John Trapane, Donna Jo Passuntino, Ashley Knight and Shannon Hogan. Country Aircheck first reported the names of the departing staff.
The Nashville cuts sit inside a wider shake-up at Universal. The company carried out extensive lay-offs in October 2026, with several senior executives leaving in the United States and Britain. Variety That round included the departure of Tunji Balogun, chairman and chief executive of Def Jam Recordings, and Ben Mortimer, president of Polydor Records in the UK. Executives from Republic Records also left as part of the restructuring.
Universal has reorganised its US labels into an East Coast-West Coast alignment. The East Coast sits under the Republic umbrella headed by Monte Lipman, while the West Coast sits under Interscope Capitol branding led by John Janick.
The company has linked the reductions to a three-part cost-cutting plan first announced in 2024. The reorganisation targets 250 million euros ($271 million) in annual savings by the end of 2026. Universal said that would include reductions of 75 million euros ($81.3 million) in 2024 and 125 million euros ($135.5 million) in 2025.
Universal, described by Reuters as the world's largest record company, first confirmed in January 2024 that it would lay off some employees that year. MCA had already been through an earlier reduction in June 2025, after which it was restructured as a smaller unit led by Mike Harris.
