Mogul Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment and L.A. Reid's Epic Records, a division of Sony, have partnered exclusively to distribute his next two albums and will be a boon to numerous Bad Boy artists in terms of promotions, sales, marketing and distribution.
In addition to Sony, Bad Boy has also signed similar deals with Warner Music Group, Interscope Records and Arista Records. R&B takeover label LaFace Records founder, L.A. Reid, saw the partnership as strangely prophetic and the two seem to share a deep mutual respect for one another, as they both came up in the industry together.
"Sean 'Diddy' Combs AKA Puff Daddy and I have been musical collaborators since the 1990s, when we both ran independent record labels... Over the years, we have not only enjoyed incredible success together, but we also became lifelong friends. Today, of course, Puffy is truly in a league all his own, continuing to influence culture and ignite musical revolutions time and time again. He's a true innovator and I could not be more excited to join forces once again," Epic Records chairman and CEO L.A. Reid said in a statement according to Billboard.
"I have known L.A. Reid since the very beginning and together we have enjoyed countless successes over our long friendship," Combs said, as reported by Billboard, "To now work with L.A. in this capacity feels more like a homecoming than a new beginning. Not only is he a fearless and smart businessman, he believes in artists and understands music better than anyone. He embodies hard work and true success, evident in all of his endeavors. To collaborate with L.A. Reid is to collaborate with the very best."
"It's a pleasure being in business with three major labels as we approach our third decade of making music for our peers and fans," Harve Pierre, the current president of Bad Boy said, according to All Hip-Hop. Pierre has been with Bad Boy Records since the very beginning of the company in 1993, when Biggie Smalls still roamed the halls.
To celebrate the partnership, Puff Daddy will do a performance of new music at the BET Hip-Hop Awards, due to be held next week (Oct. 13) in Atlanta Georgia.
