WMG Takes Over Roadrunner

BEEP-BEEP BLEEP: Looks like Warner Music Group has acquired the 25% of Roadrunner Records it didn’t own, meaning the label will be absorbed into the company, with several staffers getting laid off in the process. More details as we get them. The label celebrated its 30 th anniversary last year, founded by Chairman Cees Wessels as a Dutch-based Euro distributor for U.S. acts like Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth, with offices in N.Y., the U.K., Canada, Germany, France, Japan and Australia. The label had previously had a decade-long alliance with Island Def Jam before WMG acquired 75% of the label for $75 million in 2006. Roadrunner’s hit acts have included Nickelback, Slipknot, Killswitch Engage, Dream Theater and Megadeth. (11/10p)