Rumors of Antonio “L.A.” Reid leaving his position as chairman of Island Def Jam have been circulating for some time now but now it finally seems to be true.
A source revealed to Billboard that Reid will be leaving the label to become a judge on Simon Cowell’s upcoming TV show The X Factor. The American version of the popular British series. The show will air on Fox in September while Ried’s contract with the record label was set to expire in December.
Steve Bartles will reportedly remain in charge of Island Def Jam while Barry Weiss, previously at Sony Music, will help oversee the historic hip-hop label.
Reps for Universal Music Group, IDJ’s parent company, have yet to return calls for comment from XXLMag.
Many are speculating that Reid will eventually join his former Universal boss Doug Morris at Sony The industry heavyweight will become CEO of Sony Music on July 1 and the grand prize for the winner of The X Factor is a $5 million dollar contract with the label.
Reid was appointed to the coveted role at Def Jam back in February of 2004, succeeding longtime label head Lyor Cohen. The record exec is responsible for signing such big name acts as Young Jeezy, Rick Ross and most recently Shyne.
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