Midwest Leak Magazine

In talks about one of the Def Jam artists, my twitter time-line caught my interest when the discussion mentioned the possibility of Antonio “L.A” Reid resigning from Chairman and CEO of Island Def Jam Records. I wasn’t sure at the time if it were a rumor or not, but when March 17th came around it was confirmed.

Antonio “L.A” Reid sent an email to his staff reading,

To my Island Def Jam family:

After much consideration, I have decided to leave my position as Chairman of the Island Def Jam Music Group.

I have always thrived on growth and the next great challenge, and I look forward with much enthusiasm to what the future holds.

I am extremely proud of our beautiful roster and all we have accomplished in my seven years with IDJ. We continue to have incredible success together with today’s most phenomenal superstars – Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Bon Jovi, Jennifer Lopez, Ne-Yo, Rick Ross, The Killers, The-Dream, Chrisette Michele, Jeezy and Ludacris to name a few.

I want to thank all of you for your amazing contributions.

With Warm Regards -
LA

Apparently Cincinnati, OH native L.A Reid made this decision so he could become a judge on the United States version of British television show “X-Factor.”

Questions arise like; what does this say about the music industry and labels? People who have been known to run these companies for years are veering off into different ventures. Will this make these record companies weak? We will soon see what happens.

Cierra aka HoneyCi