The industry musical chairs continued after Reid’s long-anticipated exit from Island Def Jam to take on the role of judge for Simon Cowell’s X Factor on Fox this fall.
When Reid, who officially left his post as IDJ Chairman today, lands at Sony, he will be reunited with many of the acts he worked with while at his own LaFace and Arista Records, where he was named to replace Clive Davis in May, 2000. That includes Avril Lavigne, his very first signing to Arista, as well as LaFace signings P!nk and Usher. Also on people’s minds is, can he reunite feuding OutKast members Andre 3000 and Big Boi, who experienced their most success under his guidance?
The
Reid was officially named to the post of President/Chief Executive Officer at Arista in 2000, replacing Davis, the only leader the label had known since its inception in 1975. BMG Entertainment President/CEO Strauss Zelnick made the move to establish an orderly succession at the label, but it causd a firestorm of media attention centering on the forced exit of
While it lasted less than four years, until January 2004, when the approval of the Sony BMG merger led to his exit, the Reid era at Arista was a flamboyant success, highlighted by the breakthrough of Avril Levigne, OutKast, Sarah McLachlan, Dido and Kelis, among others.
Reid wasn’t out of work long. Within three months, UMG’s Morris brought him into the fold to replace Lyor Cohen, who split to join Edgar Bronfman Jr. at Warner Music Group, as head of IDJ, with a three-year, multi-million-dollar deal, a reign that lasted seven years.
At Sony, he could well take over the role that Barry Weiss had before leaving for UMG, with several labels reporting to him.
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At Island, he was on a typical hot streak, with latest signing Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bieber (as well as his production of the teen star’s hit movie) and Rihanna after leading the likes of Mariah Carey to her successful comeback, not to mention hip-hop artists such as Kanye West and Jay-Z, as well as R&B singer-songwriters like Ne-Yo and The-Dream. He also oversaw the breakthroughs of rockers like The Killers and Fall Out Boy.
L.A. Reid is one of the industry’s rainmakers. We look for him to continue that reign at Sony Music.
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