LA Reid Leaving DefJam to Judge “X Factor” and (Probably) Become Sony Music Titan
On the heels of a scoop that LA Reid is going to judge “X Factor” — scooped on a blog http://tinyurl.com/4qq8z8z and then appropriated elsewhere–here’s the real deal: Reid leaves Universal Music Group tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow! It’s all been in the works for weeks. And then, right after Doug Morris takes over Sony Music on July 1st, Reid will follow him there. The word is that Reid will assume a new spot right under Morris, running one or more of the labels. He will not only replace Barry Weiss, who ran the RCA/J group, but will have lots more power than that. This is an amazing story, really, since Reid left running Arista Records — part of that RCA group– a few scant years ago to run Island DefJam for Universal. He returns triumphant, and a judge as well. Maybe they’ll have to call him “Your Honor.” Reid will judge “X Factor” with Simon Cowell and two ladies who have not been named. One of them could be Paula Abdul. One of them could be Janet Jackson– remember I said this first– who has no record company affiliation and is an actress who knows the camera. In the meantime, Reid’s departure from DefJam leaves a big hole for artists like Mariah Carey, who have come to depend on him. The funniest scenario would be Mariah returning to Sony with Reid. Anything is possible.
And now it’s war between Sony Music and Universal, “X Factor” vs. “American Idol.” Bring it on!
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MC, you’re right that Chris Lighty is incompetent. A total embarrassment.
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@rhonda
“Charmbracelet.” was not under LA reid.
The reason why Mimi album was a smash is because of Benny Medina.
He knew how to handle a big star like mariah carey.
La reid made mistakes but i don’t think he is responsible for everything.
Mariah’s current manager Chris Lighty doesn’t know how to handle a mega star like mariah. Management is the key to success. Steven Bartels is the boss about single choices not LA reid.
I would not be surprised if mariah joins la reid and doug at sony records.
@roger What the deal with mariahs contract at def jam. I thought it was already expired. Is it true that Chris Lighty is taking over La reid job at def jam.
What about the rumors of Mariah joining the X Factor panel?
(Forgot to clarify: the one time L.A. “went to bat” for Mariah and helped produced a smash was with “Emancipation of Mimi.”)
Not really sure that losing L.A. is a loss to Mariah. The handling of “E=MC2” — single choices, especially — was atrocious. That album was full of hits and was squandered by bad choices. Conversely, “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel” was a mess — way too many songs with the same beat, songs that blurred together to make one big snore. (Before anyone calls me a hater, trust me — I’m a Mariah fan.) Someone — hello, L.A.? — needed to guide her better with that album. Let’s also not forget “Charmbracelet.” So In all, out of 4 albums, L.A. really only went to bat for Mariah once. Not a great track record.