There was a brief flurry of headlines Thursday night about Clive Davis' ousting from the Chairman and CEO positions at Sony BMG, and then by Friday it was gone. But if you do a Google News search, the truth is indeed out there...somewhat.There aren't many details, but CNN does some speculating in a piece titled "Clive Davis' Swan Song":
Why did Davis and two of his longtime deputies Charles Goldstuck and Tim Bowen have to step aside? No matter how hard they try, SonyBMG and its major label peers -- Warner Music Group (WMG), Universal Music Group and EMI -- haven't been able to fix the structural problems afflicting their business. CD sales continue to decline. Meanwhile, record companies can't move enough digital music to make up the difference.Hmmm. Maybe Clive used some of that lavish spending to convince news agencies to softball reports of his current situation?
All they know is they can't cling to the old ways. With the passing of Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun, nobody embodies the past more than Davis...But the music industry has changed dramatically. Davis has a reputation for spending heavily on traditional marketing to sell records. Now labels can break acts much more cheaply on the Internet. A lawyer by training, Davis also negotiated famously rich contracts for himself as so many old-school record guys used to do. As long as Davis held one of the top spots at SonyBMG, it was hard for his employer to say convincingly that it was trying to reduce costs and adapt to the new industry's harsh new realities.
Ironically, Davis was relieved of his positions in a week where his latest artist causing a sensation in the U.S., Leona Lewis, has the #1 single and album on the Billboard charts. And it's an irony that you can guarantee is not lost on the crotchety old diva himself.
Clive will now hold the title of Chief Creative Officer at BMG, whatever that means. And looking at that second picture above, what did ever happened to that Jennifer Hudson album? Maybe they're holding out till the Sex And The City film she stars in comes out?One thing's for sure. Never count Clive out. Like a wiley cat, that old pussy still has about five more lives up her arsenal.