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Major staff departures went down at Epic Records today. Veteran radio executive and senior vp promotion Jacqueline Saturn has left the company, along with vp pop promotion Marni Halpern.
Meanwhile, Todd Glassman has been named executive vp promotion and is due to start on Tuesday, July 23, reports Billboard.
The New York-based Glassman, who replaces Saturn, was svp promotions at Island Def Jam, overseeing Top 40 and Hot AC artists. He held the same position at Universal Motown. Earlier in his career, he worked in Epic’s promotions department.
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The move follows several executive staff changes over the last year as the label’s chairman/CEO Antonio “L.A.” Reid continues to seek the right team to return Epic to a position of prominence. Saturn had replaced Erik Olesen, who left Epic in January along with COO Mark Shimmel; last month the label’s head of A&R Christopher “Tricky” Stewart stepped down; and vp marketing Angelica Cob-Baehler exited last August. In May, the company hired Michael “Sha Money XL” Clervoix as evp urban A&R.
A source tells THR that just a few months ago, Reid was singing the praises of promotion head Saturn, a 20-year veteran of the company, at a department meeting.
Despite the turnover, there are signs that Epic’s fortunes may be turning around: For the second week in a row, Epic Records looks to have the No. 2 spot on the Billboard 200 chart with Sara Bareilles’ The Blessed Unrest. Last week Ciara debuted at No. 2, following the No. 1 success of “Body Party” on urban mainstream radio.
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Meanwhile, two new Epic acts are climbing the charts: X Factor alums Fifth Harmony, whose debut single “Miss Movin’ On” made this week’s Mainstream Top 40 bubbling under chart, and Bonnie McKee, whose “American Girl” debuted on Billboard’s Top 40 chart.
Other Epic artists slated to drop albums in 2013 who could make a significant impact on the charts are Avril Lavigne, Future, Cher Lloyd, Karmin and Tamar Braxton.
On Thursday, Reid will host a press conference where he’s expected to announce a new addition to the Epic roster: the surviving members of TLC, Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozanda “Chilli” Thomas. The hitmaking trio TLC, who lost member Lisa “Left-Eye” Lopes to a fatal car crash in 2002, were signed by Reid to LaFace Records in 1991.
Developing…
Twitter: @THRMusic
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