RCA executives have announced that the company is shutting down Arista, Jive and J Records, and that all of the artists currently signed to those labels will be folded into the RCA Records roster. "The path we’ve taken is to refresh RCA, so we're going to retire those brands," RCA president and COO Tom Corson told the Hollywood Reporter. "There may be a reason down the line to bring them back, but it's a clean slate here."

According to Corson, the move towards dropping existing labels and consolidating under the RCA banner has been supported by the musicians signed to the various labels. "The artists have all been supportive. We didn’t make this move without consulting our artists, and we haven’t had any push-back," says Corson. "Frankly, they’re the brand. We’re defined by our artists."

Photos: Random Notes
Arista, which was founded in 1974 by current RCA Music Group Chairman and CEO Clive Davis, has released albums by major artists including Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Outkast, Pink, Ace of Base, Hall and Oates, the Notorious B.I.G. and Usher. Jive Records, which was founded in 1977, has been a home to rap and R&B acts such as R. Kelly, Aaliyah and A Tribe Called Quest and teen pop superstars like N'Sync, Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears. J Records, which was founded by Davis in 2000, put out albums by Alicia Keys, Rod Stewart and Pearl Jam.

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Great Gatsby' Is a Crushing Disappointment
• 
  TV Why You Should Watch 'Happy Endings'
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories