Label exec jumps to Universal for new venture

Tommy Mottola will revive disco cornerstone Casablanca Records in a new venture with Universal Records. The move follows Mottola's departure from Sony, where he had worked for fourteen years, five of which he spent as the company's CEO.

Casablanca Records was launched in 1973 by Neil Bogart, a purveyor of bubblegum pop in the Sixties. Bogart's label became a Seventies
mainstay, giving a home to artists of various genre stripes, each with a
flamboyant hook, be it hard rock (Kiss, the first band to sign to the label), funk (Parliament), disco diva (Donna Summer) or miscellaneous (the Village People). The label ran until 1985, releasing singles and albums by Cameo, Barry White, Lipps Inc., and Captain and Tennille.

Mottola plans to the use the new Casablanca, resurrected in name only,
to foster new artists, a talent he has exhibited throughout his career. As
a manager, Mottola helped break Hall and Oates, as well as Carly Simon. With Sony, he also discovered Mariah Carey, to whom he was married from 1993 to 1997 (he's now married to Mexican ctress/singer Thalia), and helped boost the careers of Celine Dion, Destiny's Child and Jennifer Lopez.

Mottola announced that he was stepping down as Sony's chief executive in January, amid the label's slumping sales. Initial plans were for him to launch a new venture within the label.

"I have looked closely at the many opportunities which have been
offered to me over the last several months," Mottola said this week, "but none have had the right combination of elements to attract me like the one from Universal."