LA Reid exits Arista

LOS ANGELES (Music Industry) - Antonio "LA" Reid resigned on Tuesday as head of Arista Records, estimated to have lost more than $US100 million in the past two years despite a roster of hit artists like Outkast and Avril Lavigne.
Bertelsmann AG's BMG, the parent of Arista, said Reid resigned as president and chief executive officer effective immediately.
Reid took over the helm of the label in 2000.
In the interim, executive management at Arista will report to Michael Smellie, chief operating officer of Germany's BMG, the company said.

Reid's departure comes as Arista is enjoying a commercial and critical hit with Outkast's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below," which has sold 3.2 million units in the United States in the four months since its release.
The Outkast album has also garnered several Grammy nominations and was the fifth best-selling album of 2003.

But Arista had several other less-than-stellar showings from TLC, Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston and, more recently, Pink, whose latest album has sold only 556,000 units since its November release.

LA Reid took over the top post at Arista in July 2000 after BMG management had asked music industry veteran Clive Davis, who founded the label in 1974, to step aside as CEO at age 67.
Prior to running Arista, Reid had co-founded LaFace with longtime friend and partner Kenneth (Babyface) Edmonds in 1989 and built the label into a music powerhouse.