RCA is reviving Jive Records as a standalone label, the company announced today (February 3). Former UnitedMasters executives Mike Weiss and David Melhado will serve as co-presidents of the revamped imprint. They’ll run operations from Sony Music’s New York City headquarters.
The announcement comes more than a decade after RCA shut down Jive, along with Arista Records and J Records. All three labels were dissolved into RCA’s roster in the wake of Sony’s 2008 merger with BMG, RCA’s parent company. RCA relaunched Arista as a standalone imprint in 2018.
Founded in 1981 by Clive Calder, Jive was run by Barry Weiss—Mike Weiss’ father—from 1995 through 2011. The younger Weiss, who joined the imprint in 1982, helped build Jive into an incubator for prominent 1990s rap acts like A Tribe Called Quest, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Boogie Down Productions. Jive also went on to make a name in the pop space. During its peak commercial years in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, it was home to artists including Britney Spears, Aaliyah, *NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys and Usher. BMG bought Jive in 2002.
“JIVE Records is deeply personal to me–it shaped entire generations and the way I learned this business,” Mike Weiss shared in a statement. “Relaunching this iconic label with David allows us to carry forward JIVE’s legacy of creative and operational excellence while proving that major labels can deliver both innovation and fairness for artists.”