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Monday morning, last week, everything was as before at All Def Digital. At the end of the day, the media company had gathered its employees and fired almost all of them.
The rap-based comedy brand, created by Def Jam Recordings co-founder, Russell Simmons in 2013, was spinning well since Simmons' release from the company due to allegations of sexual assault, bad widespread management and toxicity. working culture, say six former employees Rolling stone. Last week, an online video publication, Tubefilter, announced that the company was laying off all of its staff and was shutting down completely. A business consulting firm moves into its Los Angeles building to distribute the assets. we reorganize the company before the conclusion of a strategic agreement. Simmons, Blackwell and other leaders did not respond to the request. Rolling stoneRequest for comment on the current status of the company.
"Nobody knows the truth, which is the scariest part of it," said a former employee who requested anonymity. "I do not think anyone has ever heard the truth in this building. The way Chris talks about it makes it sound even crazier now. Several people who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals were told on Monday that the company could not continue its activities because it had been affected by too many scandals and was "radioactive" in the eyes of investors and other firms in the music industry.
All Def Digital started as a YouTube network in 2013 in collaboration with AwesomenessTV from DreamWorks Animation. He then developed an original programming for distributors such as HBO and Facebook, and raised about $ 18 million from investors like Andreessen Horowitz and WPP Ventures. In 2017, the company signed a first-rate partnership with Spot Jams with Carpool's Carpool-like karaoke series Traffic Jams, which brings producers and performers together in spontaneous studio sessions at the back of the house. an SUV. "In collaboration with the All Def Digital team, we have been able to produce an unparalleled hip-hop series that tells unpublished stories," said Tom Calderone, global director of Spotify Studios, in a press release the weather.
But as one former employee says: "The content was dope, but the direction was poor."
Although Simmons left All Def Digital last year after several women accused him of rape during the #MeToo movement, an atmosphere of unease prevailed in the company. Simmons media mogul status was "a kind of backbone" for multiple investments that collapsed shortly after its release, said a second former employee Rolling stone. The newly installed and less experienced leaders would have escaped an agreement with a major record company and misinterpreted other business decisions. A much-awaited deal with the TPG investment company failed when TPG was involved in its own scandal involving college admissions this year. All Def began to give the impression that his "funding track was about to run out," according to former employees familiar with the matter. .
"All the bad stereotypes you've heard about this industry could be prosperous in this environment. That was all you had been warned of. – former employee of All Def Digital
An already toxic work culture only got worse after Simmons' reign. "All the bad stereotypes you've heard about what the industry could be prosperous in this environment," said a third former employee, who had been working for the company for several years. "It was a crappy show since the day I started. That was all you had been warned of. This 'oh it's post-Russell'? It was just a jersey that they wore for the show. We had more than two women at one time, because everyone with a vagina came out of the building.
According to former employees, four women resigned at the same time because they were not satisfied with the work environment. In other cases, employees were convicted of multiple jobs and injured because they were asked to do physical work outside of their roles. The number of employees has finally dropped from 60 to 15. Many employees – both men and women – have reported attempting to file human resources reports to report instances of harassment and intimidation – but learned that there was no human resources department.
Although the company suffered numerous layoffs and "scares" after Simmons left, the leaders reassured the staff of the dynamic business. "Money was always a dubious thing for us, but we always produced tons of content," said the second former employee. "The way things worked was always fuzzy, but we generally kept our heads down. They made a lot of empty promises. It's as if the carpet had been ripped under us.
On paper, All Def Digital was a multi-platform media company with major distribution partnerships, live events and its own in-house agency. But, to use the words of its employees, it is one of the many music companies of the digital era. run to the ground by mismanagement. "The potential for success of the ADD was so profound," says another former employee. "With this group of people under control, it never had a chance."
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