STEVIE NICKS MOURNS THE LOSS OF TOM WHALLEY AT WARNER

[excerpt]

The move came as a shock to some who hailed Whalley's commitment to Warner's acts. "He's an artist-friendly guy," one former staffer said. "A lot of the artists love him, and he loves them."

Among those mourning Whalley's departure was Fleetwood Mac singer/songwriter Stevie Nicks. "I love Tom Whalley," she told The Hollywood Reporter. "He has always been there for me and has been a huge support to artists during his tenure at Warner Bros. I'll miss him."

Hollywood Reporter

Shake-Up At Warner Brothers, Whalley Out

Warner Brothers Records has shuffled its executive team. Rob Cavallo has been named chairman, Todd Moscowitz will serve as co-president and CEO and Tom Whalley, who has served as chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records since 2001, is exiting.

Tom Whalley

"Tom Whalley is one of this industry’s most accomplished executives and his contributions to WMG are enormous, having restored Warner Bros. to its leadership position. Just consider his near-decade of creative and operational success at Warner Bros., including ranking as one of the country's top three labels every year since 2003 and as the country’s top label in two of the last five years. Tom embodies a rare combination of great creative instincts with a deep understanding of the music business, and we are privileged to have had him lead Warner Bros." said Lyor Cohen, WMG’s Vice Chairman and Chairman and CEO, Recorded Music – Americas and the U.K.

Rob Cavallo

One of the top-selling producers in the world, Cavallo has produced or had creative involvement in albums that have sold more than 125 million units over the past 16 years, nearly 30 million of those units in the last five years alone.

In 1997, Cavallo was an instrumental force in reuniting the members of Fleetwood Mac at Warner Bros. for the band’s reunion album, DVD video and TV special, The Dance, which combined have sold more than six million units, and was a producer on the band’s following album Say You Will.

Diarmuid Quinn

Diarmuid Quinn, President of Reprise Records and Chief Operating Officer of Warner Bros. has decided that he will be stepping down from his position as well.

Source

[hope this shuffle has no effect on the release of Stevie's album in 2011 through Reprise. Tom Whalley has reportedly heard what Stevie has recorded so far and according to an interview with Stevie she's quoted as saying he loved it!]