L.A Reid is ready to return to the record label arena – according to a new report.
The industry visionary, who is famed for engineering career-defining successes for the likes of Mariah Carey, Toni Braxton, Usher, and TLC, departed Epic Records last April under the most dramatic of circumstances.
Indeed, as reported, the Sony Music severed ties with him after allegations of sexual assault from a co-worker surfaced.
In the time since, Reid has said nothing and been seldom seen. However, the 60 year old seems poised for quite the close-up in 2018.
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Citing sources close to the situation, Music Business Worldwide report that Reid is believed to have raised as much as $75 million in funding for a newventure.
And while the unannounced project is still in infancy, it already has legs. Because word on the curb is that the exec moved into new offices in Beverly Hills this week and is already building out a team.
If indeed Reid is going it alone (away from the major label system), he’d be doing so at an opportune time.
Streaming has quite literally changed the game and has enabled a growing list of artists to go against the grain and innovate in exciting new ways.
What’s more, indie forces such as Lyor Cohen‘s 300 Entertainment (which is a part label/part marking firm that has backing from Google) have birthed success stories that rival those of major labels. Case in point Migos and Fetty Wap.
So, assuming he’s successfully able to detach himself from the scandal that chased him out of Epic, Reid could be next up to capitalize on the changing tide.
He’s proven himself a visionary before, can he do it again?