NASHVILLE (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — A total of 79 people were reportedly fired from House of Blues last week in the wake of the promoter’s acquisition by Live Nation.
Billboard.biz estimates the total employee reduction at closer to 100 since the acquisition was announced last summer, including many employees leaving the company and some resigning alongside the cuts last week.
Among those affected are former HOB Entertainment CEO Greg Trojan, reportedly under favorable conditions via his contract, according to Billboard, and COO Dolf Berle. Talent buyers Dave Hart, Chris Moore, and Paolo Palazzo were fired, as well as Clay Schell, GM of Atlanta’s Hi-Fi Buys Amphitheatre. Also, Stan Levinstone, of House of Blues – Atlantic City, found out today that he had no job and told CelebrityAccess “I am not sure of my future plans at this time. I am keeping my options open.” Levinstone can be reached at 201-803-7871 or his email address slevinstone@aol.com.
Stan, as are others that were let go, are seasoned professionals, and would be a great addition to any organization.
The heaviest cuts came from the HOB Marketing department, with publicists Liz Smith, Ingrid Gund and Jack Gannon all seeing the door. Also hit hard were the development team, and the digital/interactive, creative services, sponsorships, accounting and box office departments.
Still on board are executive VP’s Alex Hodges and Kevin Morrow.
News of the cuts started on the East Coast on Friday morning and moved West. So far, no announcements for Canadian employees have been released. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
