Yur Worst Enemy
03-03-2004, 03:07 PM
Arista Records has shut its doors and is officially closed for business. The home of top artists including Outkast, Da Brat, BoneCrusher, Whitney Houston, Kelis,Usher,etc. has folded. The artists and management have not been notified according to sources and no official announcements have been made.
Last week, The Neptunes were already on the outs with the label, having called their staff abruptly to announce "We're leaving Arista." The production duo whose label, Star Trak Entertainment, is under the Arista umbrella has several artists including the Virginia-based Clipse who've already been affected by the shakeup. The Clipse's sophomore effort, originally scheduled for a spring release, is now uncertain.
An apparent bellweather to the current storm was evidenced with recent defections from the label. Arista's head honcho LA Reid left abruptly in January to head up Def Jam Records. Reid took over for Clive Davis who was ousted from the label to later start J Records. Clive Davis has since moved on to bigger pastures this month as chairman and chief executive of Arista's parent, BMG North America.
Industry insiders are predicting that pop artists such as Whitney Houston and Pink will move under the parent BMG fold while urban acts like Outkast and Usher will go to Jive. The Neptunes are rumored to be taking The Clipse to Jive and Rosco P. Coldchain may go to Universal. Artists with less than stellar records could find themselves homeless.
Last week, The Neptunes were already on the outs with the label, having called their staff abruptly to announce "We're leaving Arista." The production duo whose label, Star Trak Entertainment, is under the Arista umbrella has several artists including the Virginia-based Clipse who've already been affected by the shakeup. The Clipse's sophomore effort, originally scheduled for a spring release, is now uncertain.
An apparent bellweather to the current storm was evidenced with recent defections from the label. Arista's head honcho LA Reid left abruptly in January to head up Def Jam Records. Reid took over for Clive Davis who was ousted from the label to later start J Records. Clive Davis has since moved on to bigger pastures this month as chairman and chief executive of Arista's parent, BMG North America.
Industry insiders are predicting that pop artists such as Whitney Houston and Pink will move under the parent BMG fold while urban acts like Outkast and Usher will go to Jive. The Neptunes are rumored to be taking The Clipse to Jive and Rosco P. Coldchain may go to Universal. Artists with less than stellar records could find themselves homeless.