Jason Flom Out At Atlantic Records, Kallman Expected To Be Named Successor

In a shake up that is guaranteed to rattle the industry, Jason Flom, the impassioned record executive whose string of hits reads like a who's who of music's last 15 years, has resigned as chairman and C.E.O. of Atlantic Records. For months now, Flom has been consistently at odds with Warner Music's domestic chief Lyor Cohen, two men whose styles of leadership have been described as "total opposites" by industry insiders.

Flom, whose enormous success at the label in the 1990's led to his own imprint, Lava Records, was named as part of the management team during a restructuring of Warner in the $2.6 Billion buyout of the label by Edgar Bronfman, Jr. and Thomas H. Lee partners. Atlantic records, which has been forced into a series of cutbacks and mergers after years of declining revenue, has been hopeful for a re-emergence of sorts.

Possible new restructuring could cause problems. In the face of a label shakeup, there are always questions surrounding current artist rosters. Generally, when shakeouts occur, priorities in the previous label regime are shifted. Take the example of Fiona Apple who, after years of struggle with a new regime at Sony, is slated to release her long-awaited Extraordinary Machine on October 4th. At Atlantic, artists will be looking for some assurances. Death Cab For Cutie, who left their indie stronghold at Barsuk after years of being courted by major labels and refusing deals, agreed to join the Atlantic Records Family just last year. DCFC's new album Plans hits stores on August 30th. The resulting impact for any number of bands in DCFC's position can only be viewed as cautiously optimistic.

Craig Kallman, who has been acting as co-president of the label for some time now, is expected to be named to succeed Flom.