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Mesa/Gibson corporate BS over free speech

So, for those of us who don't want to watch lengthy videos about some kind of corporate insider baseball and You Tuba influencers, is this the precis?

- Gibson bought Mesa/Boogie
- Gibson got rid of the former head of M/B (this is normal in acquisitions, by the way)
- "Fluff" made comments about them getting rid of the old CEO
- and Gibson/Mesa/Boogie pulled "Fluff"s endorsement

???

Seems normal.

YouTuba is a company, not a governmental entity; Gibson is a company, not a governmental entity. There is no guarantee of free speech on the company's dime. You may agree with this, disagree with this, or think that the lines ought to be drawn differently, but there's over 200 years of settled case law on the subject. I know that pretty much any full time employee of a company signs various NDAs and other contractual documents, among which are acknowledgements of "at will" employment and acknowledgements that one's personal speech has to be kept separate from company speech. I don't know this next bit, but I"d be darn surprised if endorsees don't have to sign similar agreements.

Whole thing looks to me like yet another tempest in an internet teaspoon.
 
Any of us who've worked for a corporation will not be surprised by Gibson's action.
Isn't that the truth. I spent almost 30 years mostly working in banking from 1993-2021. That industry makes Gibson's actions seem like a junior achievement project gone awry. my father in law used to to joke that banks shouldn't bother to bolt their signage to the building. they should just them us using Velcro instead.

This is a true story. On my fist day working for Capital One in orientation class, the moderator congratulated us on our new job and welcomed us. Then he went on to say "We are an ever changing dynamic company so while we welcome you, we encourage you to find a new position as this one may not be around very long".

In one year, I went from an associate to a Vice President and held that position for a year. My position where I was located was being closed and they offered to move me to two out of state locations At age 64 I declined and took a severance package at a VP level which was quite considerable and retired. 6 months later, the he remaining 25 highly compensated VPs in this division were called to a meeting and were fired on the spot with no severance packages. They sold off the division to another company assets and all. The new firm kept 3 VPs.

So if you want to see "What WAS in your wallet" , go to Tyson's Corners, Va…
 
Gibson bought Mesa Boogie and it's totally within their rights to fire their employees. It's also quite normal that you will let go of the 'old man' who was head of the acquired company after a grace period of a couple of years. It happens all the time in any business sector. You sell your company, and in the contract it says you will remain in the chair for 2-3 years. At some point after that, they start making business decisions you don't agree with and you voice your opinions about that. They don't agree with you voicing your opinions and they let you go.
This is an accurate description of how this stuff works. It generally only becomes an issue when folks who are not aware of how corporate stuff works cite the practice as 'unfair.' Note to all: the concept of fair vs. unfair is something better limited to one's childhood years.
 
If you watch the video RS states unequivocally that he was fired...
Yet if you weren't in the room you have zero clue how it was actually characterized or handled. See earlier posts -- after an acquisition, the former CEO is gone usually a year later unless some other arrangement was specifically made. We can assume this does not leave CEO's who identify highly with their former companies feeling happy or discussing the matter using happy, corporate words.
 
This is a true story. On my fist day working for Capital One in orientation class, the moderator congratulated us on our new job and welcomed us. Then he went on to say "We are an ever changing dynamic company so while we welcome you, we encourage you to find a new position as this one may not be around very long".

...6 months later, the he remaining 25 highly compensated VPs in this division were called to a meeting and were fired on the spot with no severance packages. They sold off the division to another company assets and all. The new firm kept 3 VPs...
"Restructuring" was the favored execution method at a non-profit I used to work for. They cut positions and created "new ones" with WAY fewer openings...a rather unscrupulous way to get rid of people you don't want or reduce the benefits/accumulations of long-time employees. One lady who worked there for 20+ years was literally re-interviewing for the same job (just renamed) for less pay and a reset on all her vacation allowance, FMLA, and sick time accruals back to entry level.

That wasn't the only reason, but it was certainly a big factor in why I left that organization. Something like that was unheard of when then CEO I hired on to was around. Sheesh, somebody quitting only happened once every couple of months if that.
 
I hope MB with Randall resurrects into another company like Fryette (after VHT), but Randall is probably done after all these years. How about Mike B and Doug West and the old tone crew.

I have owned many Mesa Boogie amps but still have 3 (Studio 22, Blue Angel Head and the Mark IV). I sold the 400 bass rig I have just a month ago or so. I have visited the Petaluma office. When I saw the news in 2021 - I know it was the end of an era and the Mesa Boogie that I know.
 
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Randall sold the company and I'm assuming he received a nice payout. The downside is that you give up operational control of the company you sold. The purchasing company is going to have ideas of their own and generally there is at least some level of conflict behind the scenes. Any of us are just guessing at what happened.
 
Randall sold the company and I'm assuming he received a nice payout. The downside is that you give up operational control of the company you sold. The purchasing company is going to have ideas of their own and generally there is at least some level of conflict behind the scenes. Any of us are just guessing at what happened.
Pretty much 100% of the (relatively few) acquisitions I've been part of or observed from the outside have involved a pretty complete purge of the "executive" ranks. Lots of reasons for that, pretty much 100% of them "non-technical".
 
Any of us who've worked for a corporation will not be surprised by Gibson's action.
Got me started on corporations. I worked Retail Management most of my life. Used to be a somewhat fun, enjoyable job until merger mania and executive greed took over in the 80's. Can't believe all the bad decisions I've seen these "highly educated business school" types make.
 
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The concepts of "owner," "employer" and "employee" are pretty well-established. Even in the C-suite.

You take the Earl's groat, you play the Earl's tune.

Never bodes well to publicly bite the hand what feeds you. Especially when you're specifically paid to do the opposite, as a "celebrity endorser."

If it becomes a matter of principle that one must do so, then principle also demands the predictable price be paid without whingeing.

Exercizing freedoms is seldom free of consequence.
 
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Exactly what I was thinking. Unless you keep your left hand in your pocket whenever you play keys. Then it's OK.

I doubt anything good could come from that.
Agedhorse is (to my knowledge) not involved in those political decisions, and while he surely has a private opinion on such things, might not be wanting or able to discuss such internal policies with strangers on the internet.

Gibson bought Mesa Boogie and it's totally within their rights to fire their employees. It's also quite normal that you will let go of the 'old man' who was head of the acquired company after a grace period of a couple of years. It happens all the time in any business sector. You sell your company, and in the contract it says you will remain in the chair for 2-3 years. At some point after that, they start making business decisions you don't agree with and you voice your opinions about that. They don't agree with you voicing your opinions and they let you go.
Yeah....That's what happened to Colonel Sanders.... 😕
 
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Mesa/Gibson corporate BS over free speech​

As a consumer I now have lost any faith and trust I may have had about gear reviewers and their products. Even the most trustworthy and dependable can now be called into question knowing that they have to produce videos and possibly censor themselves out of fear of losing support.
LOL. Free speech and truth are an illusion and can be polar opposites. This has been the way it is forever. It's in the way that it's being delivered and consumed that have changed. BS being presented to the masses in real time. Provocateurs on Youtube are nothing new either. It's how they get their views in.
 
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