Paradigm Revolt: CEO Sam Gores Backs Down After Music Agents Object to 50% Pay Cut
As the threat of the coronavirus rose in late March, Paradigm Talent Agency CEO Sam Gores cut the salaries of agents in the coveted music department by 50% — but reinstated them in full after several top agents protested and the agency raised emergency funds, multiple individuals told TheWrap. Gores met with the agency’s music department on March 20 after it became clear that concerts were likely to be shut down for the foreseeable future, according to one agency insider. Gores told the agents he’d be cutting their pay in half, citing the threat to live entertainment of a pandemic-related shutdown. “We were hit by this tsunami at the worst possible time,” one agency insider said. Also Read: Paradigm Reversal: Relief Fund and Extended Insurance for Laid Off Staff, CEO Sam Gores to Forgo Salary The agents were shell-shocked, knowing that 2020 had lined up to be one of Paradigm’s best years for music-related bookings and believing that they contributed hugely to the talent agency’s financial success. A total of 100 Paradigm staffers were slated for furlough on that same day, and salaries were cut across the company. “They freaked out,” one knowledgeable individual told TheWrap. Several of the music...
Read original story Paradigm Revolt: CEO Sam Gores Backs Down After Music Agents Object to 50% Pay Cut At TheWrap