Historic MCA Brand Tuning Out By: Tamara Conniff The Hollywood Reporter LOS ANGELES - The MCA moniker -- first used in 1924 -- may cease to exist by the end of the year. The current plan is to eliminate the MCA Records brand and move the majority of the label's staff and some of the roster under the Geffen Records banner, sources said. Both MCA and Geffen are units of Universal Music Group, the world's largest record company. Insiders said the MCA brand has become "tarnished" by a history of acquisitions and mergers as well as the label's decline in sales and prestige during the past few years. MCA's current artists include Mary J Blige and Blink-182. If the plan, which is still being negotiated, comes to fruition, it will transform Geffen into a full-service label again, sources said. During its heyday in the early 1990s, Geffen's roster included Nirvana, Guns N' Roses and Aerosmith. The waves at MCA Records finally crashed in January when label president Jay Boberg quit after nearly eight years. The company had been banking on Shaggy's new album, "Lucky Day," to carry it through a slump, but the release has sold only about 250,000 copies to date. Shaggy's MCA debut, "Hot Shot," was the top-selling album worldwide in 2001. MCA (Music Corporation of America) was founded in 1924 by Jules Stein as a Chicago talent agency (Lew Wasserman joined the company in 1936). In 1949, MCA began producing TV shows under its Revue Prods. banner. By the late '50s, MCA had acquired Universal Studios and gone public as MCA Inc. In 1962, MCA Inc. acquired Decca Records, which turned into MCA Records in 1973. During the next few decades, MCA Inc. acquired ABC Records, Chess Records and Geffen Records to form MCA Music Entertainment Group. After Seagram acquired MCA Inc. in 1995, MCA Inc. was renamed Universal Studios and the MCA Music Entertainment Group was renamed Universal Music Group. In 1999, MCA Music Publishing was renamed Universal Music Publishing. MCA Records is the last company to bear the MCA name.

Originally Published In The Hollywood Reporter On May 20, 2003







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