Company Town

Music: More than 20% of the staff at Walt Disney’s troubled Hollywood Records were laid off Thursday as part of a move to trim overhead costs, the company confirmed. The 14-worker layoff brings the number of employees to 50. The company said the cuts affected all areas except publicity and artists and repertoire. Hollywood Records--whose roster includes Queen, former Stray Cat Brian Setzer and the 1960s British group the Dave Clark Five--has been a major problem for Disney, which since 1989 has been unable to gain much of a foothold in the music business. Bob Pfeifer, a former Epic Records executive, was named to replace former label chief Peter Paterno in February, though the label is really being run by Walt Disney Studios Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg. Katzenberg was given that responsibility even before Walt Disney President Frank G. Wells died in April. The label does have the hit Elton John single “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” from “The Lion King” soundtrack, but not the soundtrack itself. The soundtrack is on Walt Disney Records and is now the top-selling album in the country. Hollywood Records is expected to release the soundtrack to the coming Robert Redford film “Quiz Show.”