L.A. Reid

L.A. Reid
Reid in 2011
Born
Antonio Marquis Reid

(1956-06-07) June 7, 1956 (age 68)
EducationHarvard Business School (Exec. Ed)
Occupations
  • Record executive
  • A&R representative
  • record producer
  • businessman
Years active1973–present
Labels
Formerly ofThe Deele, Pure Essence
Spouses
(m. 1989; div. 1996)
Erica Holton
(m. 2000)
Children5

Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid (born June 7, 1956)[1] is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer who served as president and CEO of Arista Records from 2000 to 2004, as well as chairman and CEO of the Island Def Jam Music Group from 2004 to 2011 and Epic Records from 2011 to 2017. He co-founded the record label Hitco Entertainment in the latter year, which was sold to Concord in 2022.[2][3]

Early in his career he was a musician, joining the Ohio R&B bands Pure Essence in 1973, and The Deele (with future business partner Babyface) in 1981 as a drummer. Reid also has an extended musical career serving as a record producer, programmer, and instrumentalist for various recording artists. He founded Hitco Music Publishing in 1996, and co-founded LaFace Records with Babyface in 1989.[4][5] Reid appeared as a judge on the first two seasons of the U.S. version of the television show The X Factor,[6][7][8] after which he focused on the release of Xscape (2014)—the second posthumous album by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson.[9]

Reid has won three Grammy Awards, including as a songwriter for his work on Boyz II Men's "End of the Road".[10] His life is documented in his 2016 memoir Sing to Me: My Story of Making Music, Finding Magic, and Searching for Who's Next, which also made the New York Times bestseller list.[11]

  1. ^ L.A. Reid at AllMusic
  2. ^ "L.A.Reid Plotting his Return to the Music Industry". The New York Post. January 30, 2018.
  3. ^ "L.A. Reid's HitCo, Label Home to Jennifer Lopez and Saint JHN, Sold to Concord (EXCLUSIVE)". August 11, 2022.
  4. ^ "L.A. Reid's First Week at Epic Has Some Staffers Feeling 'Energized'". Billboard.biz. July 12, 2011. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  5. ^ "L.A. Reid Officially Named Chairman & CEO of Epic Records". Billboard.biz. July 18, 2011. Archived from the original on January 2, 2012. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  6. ^ "Judge and mentor L.A. Reid is leaving 'The X Factor'". CNN.com. CNN. December 14, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
  7. ^ "Official: L.A. Reid signed as 'X Factor' judge". Entertainment Weekly. March 18, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  8. ^ "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. March 18, 2011. Retrieved March 18, 2011.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ ""Antonio "L.A." Reid Is Writing His Next Chapter"". The Recording Academy. June 21, 2017.
  11. ^ "Best Sellers – The New York Times". The New York Times. March 13, 2016.