Godfather of grunge quits Capitol post Gary Gersh began the nineties as the Geffen A&R man who helped launch the alternative revolution by signing Nirvana, Sonic Youth and others. Now, as pop music replaces guitar rock on the charts, he finds himself out of a job. Gersh, who spent the last five years running Capitol Records, announced his resignation from that label on June 22nd. Gersh's departure, which had been rumored for months, underscores ongoing turmoil within the EMI Music family.
At Capitol, as at Geffen, Gersh championed alternative rock, nurturing the careers of Radiohead, the Foo Fighters, Marcy Playground, Meredith Brooks and Everclear. But in the end, wilting rock sales, experienced throughout the industry, hurt the label. It must have been particularly frustrating for Gersh to leave on the eve of Capitol's release of the long-delayed Beastie Boys record Hello Nasty -- one of the label's most important albums of the year. "We're scratching our heads over the timing," says Ron Stone, co-president of Gold Mountain Entertainment, which manages the Beastie Boys. Calling Gersh "one of the great A&R guys in the business," Stone points out that with a pending merger between industry goliaths Universal Music and PolyGram, and the massive consolidation that's bound to follow, Gersh may face a tough job market. "I wouldn't want to be a record-label president looking for a company to run," he says. (RS 792)
ERIC BOEHLERT
