LA Reid Power Moves Plans For Epic Records

Since taking over Sony Music’s Epic Records in July, label chairman and X Factor judge L.A. Reid has been busy erasing the company’s tarnished image and rebuilding its roster, which will soon include Outkast and Ciara, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. Reid has a long history with both acts, who were originally signed to his LaFace Records (label home to a young Usher, Pink and TLC).

In 1994, LaFace, which had entered into a joint venture partnership with Sony’s Arista Records in 1989, released Outkast’s debut album, Southern-playalisticadillacmuzik. Ten years later, with Reid nearing the end of his presidency at Arista, the duo’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below sold 11 million copies and won six Grammy awards.  Ciara came into the LaFace fold in 2004 with her first album, Goodies. It featured the hit song “1, 2 Step” and has sold more than 2.5 million copies. Her most recent release, 2010’s Basic Instinct, came out via Jive Records. That label is being phased out due to recent consolidation and reshuffling among Sony’s labels, which also include Columbia and RCA, resulting in dozens of layoffs in recent weeks.    Other Reid-era Epic signings include Atlanta MC Future, whose reported first single “Tony Montana” features popular rapper Drake, and Karmin, the duo known for its quirky interpretations of popular hip-hop tracks like Chris Brown’s “Look At Me Now” and Lil Wayne’s “6 Foot 7 Foot.” But at the premiere party for X Factor on Wednesday night, Reid told THR that the twosome of Amy Heidemann and Nick Noonan are not recording covers for their Epic debut, but rather original tracks. The executive cited his own days as a young struggling performer and songwriter, when having cover songs in your repertoire was de rigueur.