SWANSON OUT AT EPIC

In the latest instance of apparent fallout from last week’s firing of Epic chief L.A. Reid following allegations of sexual misconduct, his longtime associate, EVP of Media & Strategic Development Laura Swanson, has left the company as well, Variety reported late Thursday.

The story was filed by Shirley Halperin, who broke the Reid story on 5/11.

Described as “a highly regarded publicity and media strategy veteran” by Halperin, Swanson had worked alongside Reid since the year 2000 when he was running Arista. The two reunited at Island Def Jam, soon after Reid took charge of the company in 2004 and again in 2015 at Epic, where Swanson would restructure the PR department starting in 2015. She was also among the dozen-plus Epic staffers who subsequently made the move from New York to L.A. when Reid opened an Epic West Coast office.

“It is believed that as result of being a Reid “loyalist,” Sony Music let Swanson go,” Halperin wrote.