Prince in his 1987 concert film 'Sign 'O The Times' Mercury Studios EXCLUSIVE: Universal Music Group's (UMG) TV and movie studio has laid off several staff. MD Kelly Sweeney, along with a number of senior staff, have exited London-based Mercury Studios, which counts recent projects including One to One: John & Yoko, American Symphony and Prince - Sign O' the Times. A Mercury Studios spokeswoman told us "we remain fully committed to Mercury Studios with numerous projects actively underway and a series of exciting announcements coming very soon.