Arista

US label, formerly [l=Bell Records]. Arista was launched in November 1974 by [l=Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.], who purchased and renamed Bell, appointing [a=Clive Davis] as the label's president. [b]Label Code: LC 3484 / LC 03484[/b] According to Billboard Magazine, the label was named for the New York high school honor society. In 1979, the label's parent company, [l=Arista Records, Inc.] was acquired by [l=Bertelsmann AG] (parent of German label [l=Ariola]), and from 1983, was co-owned by [l=RCA]. The co-ownership continued until 1987, when Bertelsmann acquired full ownership once again. Through a series of mergers, the Arista label is now owned by [l=Sony Music Entertainment]. On September 26, 2011, the [l=RCA Music Group] was disbanded by [l=Sony], and on October 7, Arista, alongside its subsidiary [l=LaFace Records] and sister labels, [l=Jive] and [l=J Records], were all absorbed into [l=RCA Records], bringing all of its artists to the RCA family. On July 17, 2018, Arista revived under the Sony Music banner, making it one of the four flagship labels under SME. [b]Publishing: [l=Arista Music][/b] Label designs: Up to 1976, labels had a light blue background and an A logo in white or black, with no TM next to it. In 1976, the TM was added as well as “Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws." In ’1977, the design kept the same form but with a black background and blue A with TM. In 1978, the design changed with a gradient background coloring from bluish to goldish, a 3-D A logo floating among smaller flat A labels. In 1979, the Arista along the left of the 3D logo was changed to Arista's custom font.. In January 1984, The purple and black label appeared, which lasted through the 1990s.