What should be noted is that this could also be an April Fools’ joke (but probably not). As seen on the New York Times:

Universal Music Group, the giant record company that sells almost 40 percent of the world’s music, made a series of structural changes on Tuesday, splitting up one of its major divisions and displacing Barry Weiss, the former Sony executive who was brought in three years ago to run the company’s East Coast operations.

In the reorganization, the Island Def Jam Music Group, one of the four umbrella units for Universal’s dozens of record labels, “will cease to exist,” according to a news release. Instead, its constituent labels, including Def Jam (home to superstars like Rihanna and Kanye West), Island (Bon Jovi, Justin Bieber) and Motown, will operate separately, with some changes in their leadership and operations.

Since it was created in the late 1990s through a series of label deals and consolidations, Universal has been organized in separate divisions that each include several record labels. Among these are Interscope Geffen A&M, Republic and the Capitol Music Group, which houses labels like Capitol and Virgin that Universal acquired as part of the breakup of EMI in 2011.

But the announcement on Tuesday served as an acknowledgment that Island Def Jam no longer functioned as well as it once did.

“The fact is: No matter how much we might work to build ‘IDJ’ as a brand, that brand could never be as powerful as each of IDJ’s constituent parts,” Lucian Grainge, the chairman of Universal, wrote in a note to employees on Tuesday.

The changes to Island Def Jam also confirmed what has been whispered about among music executives for months: that Mr. Weiss — a highly regarded executive who came to Universal as part of a swap that sent Universal’s former chairman, Doug Morris, to Sony — had never found a clear role at Universal. He had been hired to run the label’s New York labels, which include Republic and Island Def Jam, but that job was ill-defined, and the labels remained somewhat autonomous.

Universal’s announcement on Tuesday said that Mr. Weiss had stepped down from his position “in order to enter into discussions with U.M.G. about a new venture together.” But that venture is unclear, and many in the music industry expect that Mr. Weiss may leave the company.

“Barry is an exceptional music executive, and I’m enormously grateful for all of his invaluable contributions during a time of transition for our East Coast companies,” Mr. Grainge said in the note to employees. “He has positioned Def Jam, Island, Motown and Republic to where they are today — poised for even greater levels of success — and we’d love to keep him in the family.”

As part of the reorganization, Steve Bartels, who had been president and chief operating officer of Def Jam, will become that label’s chief executive. Island will continue under its president, David Massey. And Motown Records, which had been under the Island Def Jam umbrella for the last several years after being part of Republic, will relocate to Los Angeles and become part of the Capitol Music Group. Ethiopia Habtemariam, who had been executive vice president of Motown, will become president.

Republic, which lately has been one of the top labels in the industry with hits by Lorde, Drake and Florida Georgia Line, is unaffected by the changes.