CLIVE MARCHES ON
Speculators are speculating that the Arista founder and recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is weighing his options and will announce his new venture, perhaps as soon as June. Davis' last day at Arista is June 30, the day his contract expires.
Thus far, Davis and his team have fielded offers from Sony and BMG, the home of Arista. In addition, an offer from Universal Music Group has been expected for some time now but has yet to materialize. Davis is also believed to have interest from an undisclosed Wall Street source, but it's believed he'd rather not go that route. Sources say the joint venture may not fetch the $220 million that Davis and his team reportedly were asking for, but the deal should still be lucrative.
Ironically, the pact could be made at BMG with company chief strauss zelnick',390,400);">strauss zelnick',390,400);">Strauss Zelnick, despite the fact that Zelnick and Davis had a heated and widely publicized feud over Zelnick's succession plans at Arista, which led to Davis leaving the label. A joint venture with BMG would make for the smoothest transition for Davis.
While it's been reported that Davis would like to take a few Arista artists and some of his staff with him, BMG says no Gold or Platinum acts will be leaving Arista with him. However, under the same corporate umbrella, contract snafus regarding artists and employees could conceivably be worked out.
Arista Sr. VP Promotion Richard Palmese, Executive VP/GM Charles Goldstuck and Sr. VP Worldwide Marketing and Sales Tom Corson have all expressed interest in leaving Arista with Davis. Only Palmese's contract is up June 30; the contracts of Goldstuck and Corson extend to early 2001.
