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Arista Records

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For other uses, see Arista (disambiguation).

Arista Records
Parent companySony Music Entertainment (SME)
Founded1974; 50 years ago (1974) (original label; as Arista Records, Inc.)
2018; 6 years ago (2018) (as Arista Records LLC)
FounderClive Davis
StatusActive
Distributor(s)
  • Self-distributed (U.S.)
  • Sony Music Entertainment (International)
  • Legacy Recordings (reissues)
GenreVarious
Country of originUnited States
LocationNew York City, New York, U.S.
Official websitearistarecordings.com

Arista Records (/ˈærɪstə/ ARR-ist-ə) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music Group, the North American division of German conglomerate Bertelsmann. Founded in November 1974 by Clive Davis and deactivated in 2011, Arista was re-established in 2018. Along with RCA Records, Columbia Records, and Epic Records, it is one of Sony Music's four flagship record labels.

History

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Background

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Logo used from 1983 until its initial dissolution in 2011

After being fired from CBS Records,[1] Clive Davis was recruited by Alan Hirschfield, then-CEO of Columbia Pictures, in June 1974 to be a consultant for the company's record and music operations.[citation needed]

Davis's real goal was to reorganize and revitalize Columbia Pictures's music division. With a $10 million investment by CPI, and a reorganization of the various Columbia Pictures legacy labels (Colpix, Colgems, and Bell), Davis introduced Columbia Pictures' new record division, Arista Records, in November 1974.[2]

Arista signed the Grateful Dead in 1976, and the group released their only Top 40 pop hit, "Touch of Grey", on the label in 1987.[3][4] In addition to Outlaws, Patti Smith, Eric Carmen, Air Supply, the Kinks, Lou Reed, Alan Parsons and Dionne Warwick, Arista signed Aretha Franklin in 1980, after her long relationship with Atlantic Records ended. The label's most significant acquisition came in 1983 when Davis signed Whitney Houston. Houston would become Arista's biggest-selling recording act and one of the best-selling acts in music history with sales of over 220 million records worldwide, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[5]

Subsidiary imprint labels

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Arista had an imprint label in the 1970s called Arista Novus, which focused on contemporary jazz artists. It distributed two other jazz labels, Arista Freedom, which specialized in avant-garde jazz[6] and, until 1982, GRP Records, which specialized in contemporary jazz and what came to be known as smooth jazz. A country music division, Career Records, was merged into the Arista Nashville division in 1997. Arista Austin was used in the late 1990s as a country label. Arista Texas (later Arista Latin) was used in the mid to late 1990s as a Tejano/Regional Mexican label. Additionally, Arista was the U.S. distributor of Jive Records from 1981 until 1987. During the 1990s, Arista also distributed Logic, Rowdy and Heavenly Recordings.[citation needed]

Acquisitions, sell-offs

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Looking to stave off bankruptcy, Columbia Pictures sold Arista to German-based Ariola Records, a unit of Bertelsmann, on July 27, 1979;[7] the acquisition was completed on October 1 of that year.[8] After Arista lost $12 million in 1982, Bertelsmann sold a 50% interest in the company to RCA Records in 1983. In 1985, RCA and Bertelsmann merged their music operations to form RCA/Ariola International; RCA owned 75% and Bertelsmann owned the remaining 25%.

After General Electric absorbed the RCA Corporation in 1986, GE sold off various RCA assets, including all of its interest in RCA/Ariola to Bertelsmann, and it was renamed Bertelsmann Music Group, though Arista's U.S. releases would not note BMG until 1987. That year, in 1987, Arista Records formed a home video subsidiary, 6 West Home Video, in order to release home video titles on Arista Records' musical catalog, and the initial release, which served as the first title for the 6 West Home Video division was a one-hour performance on The Grateful Dead, So Far, with an October release and a list price of $29.95.[9]

Into the 1980s, Arista continued its success, including major UK act Secret Affair. Over the years it acquired Northwestside Records, deConstruction Records, First Avenue Records, and Dedicated Records in the UK. In 1989, Arista entered into a joint venture with Antonio "L.A." Reid and Babyface in the creation of LaFace Records, record company of Toni Braxton, Usher, Outkast, and TLC, which it acquired in 1999. In 1993, Arista also entered into a joint-venture with Sean "Puffy" Combs to form Bad Boy Records. In 1997, Arista acquired Profile Records, the home of Run-D.M.C. and Poor Righteous Teachers.

Milli Vanilli controversy

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This revelation caused a huge firestorm in the music industry, as recording artists, particularly bubblegum pop acts that heavily relied on electronic processing and overdubbing (what they referred to as "studio magic"), were now under scrutiny and subsequently forced to cut back on lip-synching to show that they were authentic. Milli Vanilli's Grammy Award was subsequently revoked.[10]

Reconstructing Arista and the L.A. Reid years

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After BMG and Sony Music Entertainment merged in 2004, Reid was fired in January of that year.[11]

Dissolution and revival

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During the summer of 2011, the RCA Music Group underwent a restructuring that saw the elimination of the Arista name later on that year, along with sister labels J Records and Jive.[12] RCA Records started releasing all RCA Music Group releases under RCA Records.[13][14][15] Arista Nashville continued to operate through Sony Music Nashville and was not affected by the closing of Arista Records.[16]

In July 2018, it was announced that Arista would be revived as a frontline label, making it now the fourth flagship record label under Sony Music alongside Columbia, RCA, and Epic. The company hired former Island Records president/CEO David Massey to lead Arista.[17]

Arista Nashville

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Main article: Arista Nashville

In 1989, Arista Records launched Arista Nashville, which specializes in country music artists. Alan Jackson was the first act signed label. In 1995, Arista Nashville launched a subsidiary label known as Career Records, the roster of which at the time included Brett James, Tammy Graham, and Lee Roy Parnell. Currently, Arista Nashville falls under the wing of Sony Music Nashville, hosting such artists as Carrie Underwood, Ronnie Dunn and Jerrod Niemann.

Artists

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Main article: List of Arista Records artists

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "CPI Tabs Davis to Expand Line" Billboard on Google Books (June 1, 1974). Retrieved March 18, 2011
  2. ^ "The New Record Company: Arista Records". Billboard via Google Books (November 23, 1974). Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  3. ^ "Hal Kant: Lawyer for the Grateful Dead". The Independent. December 8, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  4. ^ Browne, David (May 7, 2015). "The Dead's Not-So-Grateful Response to Going Mainstream". Medium. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  5. ^ RIAA sales statistics Archived July 1, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "Arista/Freedom Records Listing". Jazzdiscography.com. April 26, 1998. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  7. ^ "Columbia Pictures To Sell Record Unit". The New York Times. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  8. ^ "COLUMBIA COMPLETES SALE OF ARISTA RECORDS UNIT". Los Angeles Times. October 2, 1979. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  9. ^ "Arista Label Forms Homevid Division". Variety. August 5, 1987. p. 32.
  10. ^ PARELES, JON (November 20, 1990). "Wages of Silence: Milli Vanilli Loses A Grammy Award". The New York Times. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  11. ^ "L.A. Reid Exits Arista". Rolling Stone. January 14, 2004. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  12. ^ Halperin, Shirley (October 7, 2011). "RCA Records' Peter Edge and Tom Corson on Why the Label Downsized and its Place in Sony's Big Picture (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  13. ^ Christman, Ed (August 23, 2011). "RCA's New Executive Team Named Under CEO Peter Edge Amid Layoffs (Update)". Billboard.biz. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  14. ^ "Unveiling The New Look RCA Records". FMQB. August 23, 2011. Archived from the original on November 8, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  15. ^ Halperin, Shirley (October 7, 2011). "RCA's Peter Edge, Tom Corson on the Shuttering of Jive, J and Arista". Billboard.biz. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  16. ^ "Quick Takes: RCA closes subsidiaries". Los Angeles Times. October 8, 2011. Retrieved December 17, 2011.
  17. ^ "David Massey to Helm Relaunched Arista Records For Sony Music Entertainment". Billboard.com. July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
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