The Tennessean
February 27, 2002
By GETAHN WARD
Warner Music Group last week laid off several top managers at the Word Entertainment unit it acquired last month from Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment Co.
Warner also has named Barry Landis, vice president and general manager of its Atlantic Christian unit, as president of the Word Label Group. He replaces Loren Balman, who left about a month ago because of ''philosophical differences,'' said Malcolm Mimms, president and chief operating officer of Word Entertainment.
The Word Entertainment executives let go last Friday included Hugh Robertson, general manager of Squint Entertainment; Elisa Elder, general manager of Word Records; and Chuck Nelson, head of creative services for the overall company.
Word Records and Squint Entertainment are imprints under Word Entertainment, which Warner Music Group bought for $84.1 million in a deal announced last November.
The company closed three divisions in late January.
''Word's in a very exciting new era with Barry Landis at the helm of Word Label Group, and we're very excited,'' Mimms said. Asked about a report in industry trade publication Christian Retailing, Mimms said no decision had been made on whether Landis will bring his Atlantic Christian staff with him to Word Entertainment.
Mimms, however, said Word will fulfill the role of marketing Atlantic products.
Word has 185 employees and an artist roster that includes Sixpence None The Richer and Amy Grant.
Nashville-based Atlantic Christian is part of Warner Music Group's Atlantic Records unit. Warner Music Group is a unit of media giant AOL Time Warner.
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