Companywide Universal Music Group layoffs have resulted in the exits of MCA COO Rob Femia; SVP/Promotion & Regional Marketing Miranda McDonald; VP/E-Commerce & Business Development Taylor Viegut; Dirs./Regional Promotion John Trapane, Donna Jo Passuntino, Ashley Knight and Shannon Hogan; and Dir./Radio Marketing Houston Gaither.
Femia joined then-UMGN in 2013 and was elevated to COO in 2025 (CAT 6/5/25). McDonald arrived in 2012 and rose to SVP earlier this year (CAT 3/16). Viegut was named VP in 2025 after five years with the company (CAT 11/11/25). Trapane joined Capitol in 2009 and transitioned to EMI in 2012, and Passuntino has been with the label group for nearly 20 years. Knight and Hogan joined in 2013 and 2021, respectively, and Gaither came aboard from Sony Music Nashville in 2024 (CAT 6/25/24). Reach McDonald here, Viegut here, Trapane here, Passuntino here, Knight here, Hogan here and Gaither here.
Steel My Love: Dan + Shay's Dan Smyers (l) and Shay Mooney with WPGB/Pittsburgh's Mike Kasper at PPG Paints Arena.
County Music Made Me Do It: Stoney Creek's Carly Pearce plays the Kern County Fair in Bakersfield. Pictured with (l-r) KUZZ's Brent Michaels and Kenn McCloud and the label's Matt Vieira.
Buzz Lightyears: SiriusXM's Buzz Brainard celebrates 10 years of Music Row Happy Hour with Riser House's Mitchell Tenpenny (l) and Black River's Chris Young.
Joe-King Around: Sony Music Nashville's Zach John King with WUSN/Chicago's Marci Braun at Joe's Live.
Traffic Jam: Interscope/Lost Highway/Music Soup's Vincent Mason and Atlantic Outpost's Stella Lefty at KMLE/Phoenix's 8 Man Jam. Pictured (l-r) are Lost Highway's Megan McCaffey, the station's Drew Bland, Mason, Lefty and Atlantic Outpost's Stephanie Hagerty.