Clive Davis Hails to New BMG Chief

Arista, J Records founder out as CEO and chair of BMG group, will move to chief creative officer of Sony BMG

Clive Davis has been given a different set of initials, none of which spell out top dog anymore.

The pioneering recording exec is out as chairman and CEO of the BMG label group and will move into the role of chief creative officer of Sony BMG Music Entertainment, which includes RCA Records, Jive, LaFace and Arista, which Davis founded in 1974.

Sony BMG, whose overall holdings also include Columbia and Epic Records, announced Thursday that former Zomba Label Group head Barry Weiss will be the one stepping into Davis' venerable shoes.

Davis, whose industry influence reaches back to the folk and jam bands of the 1970s all the way to today's American Idol-influenced tween culture, had left the company in 2000 to start R&B powerhouse J Records after a series of reported disagreements with Arista owner BMG, but was wooed back into the fold a few years later.

The now 74-year-old visionary was named head of RCA Records in 2003 and appointed chief executive of BMG North America the following year. Over the last 40 years he has had a hand in the creative grooming of musical luminaries ranging from Janis Joplin, Santana and Bruce Springsteen to Whitney Houston, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears.

And for those younger generations out there, Davis has also had a hand in shaping the careers of the recent influx of Idol-made stars, including Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Chris Daughtry via BMG's genre-spanning collection of labels.

Davis will continue to work with top artists in his new position, according to Sony BMG. Neither he nor Weiss have yet commented on the corporate shakeup, which comes just a day after Davis presided over yet another No. 1 debut.

Spirit, the first studio album from 23-year-old J Records chanteuse Leona Lewis, sold 205,000 copies last week, making hers the first freshman effort from a British solo artist to ever open atop the Billboard 200.

"Leona Lewis will not be an overnight sensation," Davis in a statement Wednesday. "She is the real deal and this is just the beginning of a long and illustrious career."

Whether theirs will be a long and fruitful collaboration remains to be seen.