L.A. Reid

L.A. Reid

L.A. Reid and Mariah Carey, September 23, 2005
Background information
Birth name Antonio Reid
Born June 7, 1956 (1956-06-07) (age 55)
Origin Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Occupations Record executive, Record producer, songwriter

Antonio "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956) is a US record executive, songwriter, and record producer. Best known as the co-founder of LaFace Records, he is responsible for signing and helping bring Mariah Carey, Pink, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Kanye West, Avril Lavigne, Toni Braxton, TLC, Usher, Ciara, OutKast, and Dido to multi-platinum album sales.[1] He has won three Grammy Awards.[2]

He is the President and chief executive of Hitco Music Publishing, based in Atlanta and was the chairman and chief executive officer of Island Def Jam Music Group until 2011, when he signed up to appear as a judge on the 2011 U.S. version of The X Factor.[3][4] He is currently the Chairman and CEO of Epic Records.[5][6]

Contents

Early life

Reid was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is one of four children of Emma Reid, a seamstress and interior decorator. His father was mostly absent. He was raised in the Mount Auburn and Madisonville neighborhoods in Cincinnati's east side.[7] Antonio gained the nickname "L.A." as a young musician when a guitar player in his band called him "L.A." because he was wearing a T-shirt that said “L.A.” in reference to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were competing against the Cincinnati Reds at the time.[8] His first drum lessons were with his uncle, Albert Baldwens. He has three children named Aaron(His son with Perri Pebbles Reid), Ariana and Addison.

Career

Reid's first appearance on record was with Cincinnati funk rock outfit Pure Essence who released one solitary 45 in the middle 1970s as well as garnering an appearance on local FM rock radio station WEBN's second annual LP compilation, this time as Essence. Reid then became a member of the 1980s R&B band The Deele, best known for their 1988 hit "Two Occasions". The band had broken up before the success of the single, then reunited to promote "Two Occasions" as it rose up the charts. The song peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1989–2004: LaFace Records and Arista years

After The Deele disbanded, Reid and fellow band mate Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds founded LaFace in 1989 through a joint venture with Arista Records, with funding from Arista Records creator Clive Davis.[9] The label soon became one of the premiere destinations for popular African-American entertainers who created Black Pop music that was easily accessible to both Urban and Top 40 radio formats. Reid signed 14 year old Usher to the label, whose six album releases have sold 65 million units worldwide.[10] Other popular acts on the label during its peak include Toni Braxton, TLC, and Outkast. Initially headquartered in Atlanta, the label played a role in building the current landscape of the Atlanta music industry.[9]

In May 2000, Edmonds and Reid sold their remaining 50% stake in LaFace to parent company BMG. The label became an imprint of Arista Records, with Arista taking on sales, marketing, and promotional duties for its acts. At this time, Reid also succeeded his mentor, Clive Davis, as President of Arista Records. This happened after Davis refused to name a successor at the request of Arista parent company, BMG, due to the fact that Davis, who was 67, was beyond the company's mandatory retirement age.[11] Davis went on to find success creating another BMG imprint named J Records, which signed global superstars such as Alicia Keys, Luther Vandross and Rod Stewart. Reid then took a six week executive course at the Harvard Business School[7][12] in order to prepare himself to become CEO and President of Arista.

The most vital lesson [Reid has] learned from 22 years working at record companies? “That you keep the doors open and the lights on and a star will walk in,” he says. “I learned to stay in business. People are still buying music, dancing to it and dressing like it. They’re using it to sell cars and CoverGirl makeup, so we sell product lines with our artists. The popularity of music is at an all-time high. How we monetize it is sometimes a moving target.”

— L.A. Reid, regarding the challenge in marketing current music artists, as quoted in the Hollywood Reporter, Feb. 9, 2011.[10]

As President of Arista Records, Reid brought the company great success by signing artists such as P!nk, Ciara and Avril Lavigne, whose debut album Let Go sold 6 million copies in the United States. Under Reid's tenure at Arista, Usher (whom Reid originally signed at LaFace) completed production on his multi-platinum hit 2004 album Confessions, which went on to spawn 4 #1 hit singles and sell 10 million copies in the United States alone.

2004–2011: Island Def Jam Music Group

Following the merger of Sony and BMG, L.A. Reid was released from his contract at Arista in 2004 and quickly became the Chairman and CEO of The Island Def Jam Music Group in February 2004. Reid is noted for bringing Mariah Carey's career back to prominence with her multi-platinum 2005 album The Emancipation Of Mimi after her career had stalled from 2001-2003 with less than stellar sales and general lack of public interest for her two previous projects Glitter and Charmbracelet.

Reid has also played a role in the recent successes of artists such as Amerie, Kanye West, Rihanna (alongside Jay-Z), Bon Jovi, and most recently teenage pop phenomenon Justin Bieber. In the last few years, L.A. Reid has also been responsible for the recent high profile signings of major Pop music artists such as Janet Jackson (who left the company after her 2008 album, Discipline), Utada (who also left the company in 2010), as well as former Bad Boy rapper Shyne to the record company. However, in 2006, Reid's label dropped Lady Gaga after three months of signing her. This would eventually be the inspiration of Gaga's Marry The Night video. Reid stepped down as CEO and Chairman of Def Jam in March 2011.

2011–present: The X Factor and Epic Records

Reid became a judge on the U.S. version of the British singing competition The X Factor, alongside its creator and former American Idol judge Simon Cowell, 80s pop star Paula Abdul and former Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger (previously Cheryl Cole).[3][4] In July 2011, Reid became the Chairman and CEO of Epic Records which also includes various former Jive Records artists.[5][6][13]

Other ventures

With the belief that good songwriting is essential to the success of recording artists, Reid formed the Hitco Publishing Group in 1996, as a joint venture with Windswept Music.[14] While starting up Hitco, Reid was looking to connect to a wholly new market of producers and songwriters and talent spotted the young Shakir Stewart whom he saw as someone with a "a finger on the pulse of the next generation of hot producers in the Atlanta music scene".[15] He gave the future senior vice president of Island Def Jam Music Group his first position as an inter-level creative person at Hitco.[15]

In 2008, Reid joined the advisory board of the cosmetics line named Le Métier de Beauté, which is sold at upscale retailers such as Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus.

Awards/Accolades

On August 30, 2006, L.A. Reid, along with Babyface, was honored as a BMI Icon at the 6th annual BMI Urban Awards. As of 2006, he has won 18 BMI awards.[16] Together with Babyface, Reid has produced and/or co-written penning numerous R&B hits, racking up 33 No. 1 singles.[17]

Discography

References

  1. ^ "About Us". Island Def Jam. http://www.islanddefjam.com/about.aspx. Retrieved 2011-12-23. 
  2. ^ "Grammy Award Winners". grammy.com. http://www2.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx. Retrieved 2010-09-27. 
  3. ^ a b "Official: L.A. Reid signed as 'X Factor' judge". Entertainment Weekly. 2011-03-18. http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/03/18/la-reid-x-factor/. Retrieved 2011-03-18. 
  4. ^ a b "Breaking News: Grammy-winning music mogul Antonio "L.A" Reid to join Simon Cowell and Cheryl Cole as a judge on The X Factor!". The X Factor (Facebook). 2011-03-18. http://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/the-x-factor-usa/breaking-news-grammy-winning-music-mogul-antonio-la-reid-to-join-simon-cowell-as/133583453380296. Retrieved 2011-03-18. 
  5. ^ a b "L.A. Reid's First Week at Epic Has Some Staffers Feeling 'Energized'". Billboard.biz. 2011-07-12. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/l-a-reid-s-first-week-at-epic-has-some-staffers-1005272002.story. Retrieved 2011-12-23. 
  6. ^ a b "L.A. Reid Officially Named Chairman & CEO of Epic Records". Billboard.biz. 2011-07-18. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/l-a-reid-officially-named-chairman-ceo-of-1005281182.story. Retrieved 2011-12-23. 
  7. ^ a b "Antonio “L.A.” Reid - Hoodgrown Magazine". http://www.hoodgrownonline.com/online/?p=176. 
  8. ^ "A conversation with L.A. Reid". Charlie Rose. 2009-04-15. http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10221#frame_top. Retrieved 2011-12-23. 
  9. ^ a b Rule, Sheila (1992-12-02). "The Pop Life; Arista's Formula: Country and Film Music.". NYTimes. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10617F638540C718CDDAB0994DA494D81. Retrieved 2010-11-07. 
  10. ^ a b Halperin, Shirley (2011-02-09). "Justin Bieber Cover: The Team and Strategy Behind Making Him a Star". Hollywood Reporter/Prometheus Global Media. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/justin-bieber-cover-team-strategy-97658. Retrieved 2011-02-16. 
  11. ^ "MUSIC; And They Said He Couldn't Run a Major Record Label". The New York Times. 2003-03-02. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/02/arts/music-and-they-said-he-couldn-t-run-a-major-record-label.html?pagewanted=3. 
  12. ^ Philips, Chuck (2000-05-03). "BMG Chief Strauss Zelnick Sens Reid back to school". Articles.latimes.com. http://articles.latimes.com/2000/may/03/business/fi-25917. Retrieved 2011-12-23. 
  13. ^ "L.A. Reid to Run Restructured Epic Records". Billboard.biz. 2011-06-15. http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/l-a-reid-to-run-restructured-epic-records-1005237912.story. Retrieved 2011-12-23. 
  14. ^ "EMI Music Publishing forms strategic partnership with Antonio "L.A." Reid.". EMI Music Publishing. http://www.emimusicpub.com/news/emi-music-publishing-forms-strategic-partnership-with-antonio-l.a.-reid.php. Retrieved 2010-06-22. 
  15. ^ a b "Interview With Shakir Stewart". HitQuarters. 2005-11-14. http://www.hitquarters.com/index.php3?page=intrview/opar/intrview_ShakirStewart.html. Retrieved 2010-06-22. 
  16. ^ "BMI Salutes Top Urban Music Makers at Star-Studded Gala in NYC". bmi.com. http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/334966. Retrieved 2010-09-17. 
  17. ^ "DEF JAM'S NEW TUNE". NewsWeek. http://www.newsweek.com/2004/08/29/def-jam-s-new-tune.html#. Retrieved 2010-09-17. 

External links

Preceded by
Amanda Ghost		 Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Epic Records
July 2011-present		 Succeeded by
incumbent
Preceded by
 Chief Executive Officer of Island Def Jam
February 2004-March 2011		 Succeeded by
Barry Weiss
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Related articles
List of finalists (season 1)  · The X Factor · Syco TV · FremantleMedia North America · Fox