No Rock And Roll Fun

"LA TOLD ME/ YOU'LL BE A POP STAR, BUT/ COULD YOU PASS THAT BOX HERE/ I'VE GOT A DESK TO CLEAR": One of the few music industry execs to get a cameo appearance in a top 40 hit, Antonio 'LA' Reid has resigned from BMG label Arista. Although being responsible for one of the best selling albums of last year - Outkast's Speakerboxxx - the 3.2 million that shifted couldn't balance out pisspoor sales for TLC, Toni Braxton, Whitney Houston (although there, what did they expect?) and our sweet Pink.

BMG and Sony are currently hoping to be allowed to merge themselves together, and obviously it's been denied that Reid's "decision" to leave has nothing to do with the restructuring that will come about if the competetion authorities allow that to go through. Execs at the label will report to Michael Smellie, chief operating officer of BMG, until they close it down ("make a longer term decision").

Arista lost USD100 million in the last two years.