Arista President David Massey Retiring
• David Massey announced his impending retirement as President of Arista Records after a successful seven-year run, effective at the end of June.
“It has been a privilege to work with David on the rebirth of Arista,” said Rob Stringer, Chairman of Sony Music Group and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment. “In two different eras at Sony Music, David has been a hugely respected key senior executive for the company worldwide and as a friend and colleague in both those eras I wish him all the happiness in his retirement. Arista will continue to grow from the roots he has developed!”
Massey was named to his current role in July 2018 to oversee the re-launch of Arista Records. Over that period he has built a varied roster of artists, including JP Saxe, Måneskin and Damiano David, Lola Brooke, Paul Russell, as well as new artists Jonah Kagen, BUNT., Audrey Nuna and Sunday (1994).
Early in his career Massey spent a decade with Epic Records in a number of different roles, including EVP/GM and EVP of A&R. Prior to joining Epic, Massey was based in London with a successful career in artist management, working with artists such as Wang Chung, in addition to heading his own independent record company, Big World Records.
In 2004 Massey was named EVP, A&R for Sony Music Label Group U.S., and President of his own imprint, Daylight Records, where he signed and developed Good Charlotte, Jonas Brothers, Anastacia and Phantom Planet. Massey was named President & CEO of Island Records in February 2013 after a six-year run as President of Mercury Records. He announced his departure from Island in April 2018, and in July of that year Sony Music Entertainment officially relaunched Arista Records — founded by the legendary Clive Davis in 1974 — naming Massey as President & CEO.
Massey remarked, “It has been a great honour to spend this chapter of my career back at Sony Music, working with Rob Stringer, a visionary executive for whom I have the utmost admiration, and with the extraordinary Sony family worldwide. Having started the label from scratch nearly seven years ago, I am so proud of the achievements of the team at Arista and our great young artists. I know that Arista will go from strength to strength in the future.” [Photo Credit: Erik Motta]
