Clive Davis Makes Way for Barry Weiss after Shakeup at BMG

There is a new sheriff in town at the BMG label group. A shakeup in the company’s top management has resulted in Barry Weiss taking over as the head of BMG. He replaces legendary music executive Clive Davis at the helm of affairs. Neither Davis nor Weiss offered any comments about the changes at BMG.

Two other music executives at BMG have been moved as a result of the changes announced. They are Charles Goldstuck, a close Davis associate and president and COO of the BMG label group and Tim Bowen, the COO of Sony BMG.

Announcing the changes Thursday, Sony BMG, the parent company, said the 74-year old Davis would now function as Sony BMG Worldwide’s Chief Creative Officer. Davis would continue to be associated with top artists in his new role.

By taking charge at BMG, Weiss would now effectively look after eight labels – RCA Records, Jive, LaFace, J Records, Volcano, Arista, GospoCentric, Verity, and Fo Yo Soul. He has already looked after a number of labels when he was the president and CEO of the Jomba Label Group.

During that time of his career, the 49-year old Weiss was instrumental in developing Jive Records from a small player into a strong entity with acts like Justin Timberlake, Usher, Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys, and ’N Sync. More recently, he had managed to get on board Jomba teenage wonder Chris Brown and T-Pain, the singer and songwriter.

Davis is an old hand who has acquired legendary status within the music industry. After heading Columbia Records, he set up J Records and Arista Records many decades back. After that, he has been associated with BMG’s label group.

Davis has been the hand behind a number of success stories in the music industry, including performers of the stature of Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, and Whitney Houston. He has also been responsible for resuscitating the careers of performers of the caliber of Rod Stewart and Santana.

Other Davis finds in recent times include Alicia Keys, whose debut album went on to sell over 2 million copies. Another recent Davis find, Leona Lewis, debuted at the top of the Billboard album chart this week. Her debut album has already sold over 200,000 copies in its first week.

These are not the only artists Davis has introduced to listeners across the world. He has also had a role to play in the careers of American Idol winners, many of whom have had platinum successes with their albums.