Uncertain Future...
[Fox 411 Report]
Arista Records in Danger of Closing?
I can't sugar-coat this, but I also don't want to start a panicked rush for
the doors. Nevertheless, the bad news is that Arista Records is in trouble
and in danger of, if not closing, being downsized tremendously.
The official decision will come in about three weeks, but people at Arista
are already worried, and with reason.
Just a short time ago, the label's chief executive, Antonio "L.A." Reid, was
let go and not replaced. Since then, a major reshuffle at parent company BMG
Music has put former Arista president and founder Clive Davis in charge of
not only Arista but all of BMG North America.
I am told Davis is now weighing three different plans to combine Arista into
RCA and J Records, the two other BMG major labels. I am told that Arista
will not completely cease to function, and that it will remain a label in
something more than name only.
But this much is true: A lot of people are about to lose jobs. There's no
way around it.
Arista began in 1974 when Davis took over the moribund Bell Records (home to
the Fifth Dimension in their heyday) and transformed it via a huge hit with
Barry Manilow's "Mandy." The rest is history, right up through Whitney
Houston and finally, Santana.
But Davis' departure for his own J Records created a problem at BMG when J
became more successful than Arista almost overnight. Now, with many former
Arista-ers at J, it's inconceivable that J would be the one of the three
labels shut down. And RCA is the most famous brand name the company owns. So
Arista will suffer.
One of the first things that Davis and RCA's Charles Goldstuck will have to
address, of course, is what to do about Whitney Houston. Under Reid's
regime, she signed a $100 million contract.
It's known that she received a chunk payment of $20 million a couple of
years ago. I'm told she's gotten even more since then. Unfortunately, her
album sales have been abysmal, and there are rumors that she wants to leave
the label.
What Whitney can do, as quickly as possible, is get back together with Davis
and plan an album and a marketing campaign reminiscent of her early
successes.
Can it be done? The answer is yes, if she will listen to Davis, and wise up
about her home life and health.
Will it happen? It's anyone's guess, but Whitney's in a good position for
the moment. Davis isn't going to jettison her. She'll have to quit before he
fires her. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.
NEWSFILE:
27 FEBRUARY 2004
|
