Def Jam President Joie Manda Resigns, Heading To Interscope
Def Jam has another shakeup in the building as its president Joie Manda announced he was stepping down and leaving New York and heading back to Los Angeles to join Interscope Records.
The announcement was made today by Barry Weiss, president & CEO of UMG’s East Coast Labels, and John Janick, president & COO of Interscope Geffen A&M. Manda will now report to Janick.
Joie took the top position at Def Jam just last year but due to personal reasons he will be moving back to L.A. to join his old team, Universal Music Group, as the President of Urban Music for Interscope Records.
Joie Mand stated in a press release today,
“Despite having to move back to Los Angeles for personal reasons, I am truly grateful to Barry, John and Jimmy Iovine for this exciting new opportunity. I’ve learned a lot from Barry in the last year and am very appreciative of everything he has done for me. I am now looking forward to being part of the Interscope family, a company uniquely positioned for success despite this challenging marketplace.”
“While we understand Joie’s personal reasons for wanting to move back to Los Angeles, we’re thankful for all of his contributions to Def Jam,” Weiss said. “We wish him success in his new role at our sister label.”
“Joie is an important part of the fabric of UMG, and I’m glad we were all able to work together to make this transition possible for him,” said Janick. “I’ve known Joie for some time and I’ve always been impressed by his work ethic and instincts. He’s going to play a big role in the future of Interscope.”
Manda’s last day at Def Jam will be Friday and starts his new position at Interscope on Monday according to Billboard. I wonder if Irv Gotti’s phone will be ringing now as they look for a new boss to run the Def Jam building.
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