It’s been eight months since Antonio ‘L.A’ Reid departed Sony Music under controversial circumstances – but MBW is hearing that the executive has already raised serious funding to stage an independent comeback in 2018.
Having run Epic Records for six years, Reid left Sony in May 2017 – just one month after the arrival of Rob Stringer as the major’s global CEO.
It was reported at the time that a co-worker of Reid at Epic had accused him of sexual harassment.
However, high-placed sources in the US market have told MBW today that Reid is now believed to have raised as much as $75m funding for a new label venture, likely from private equity sources.
Whispers suggest that the exec has this week moved into new offices in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles – and is already on the hunt for hires.
Epic’s roster during Reid’s tenure included the likes of DJ Khaled, Future, Fifth Harmony and Mariah Carey.
As the co-founder of LaFace Records – a JV with Arista – Reid was involved in the early careers of superstars like Usher, TLC, Toni Braxton, OutKast and Pink.
In 2004, he moved to Island Def Jam, where he worked with the likes of Kanye West, Rihanna and Justin Bieber.Music Business Worldwide
