COUNTING DOWN TO CLIVE-TIME

At the end of June, when the 67-year-old industry legend left the label he founded 25 years ago, he was originally looking for $300 million. Eventually landing back at Arista parent company BMG, Davis Entertainment (as the Post article refers to it) will open its doors with $130 million. Half of the new company is to be owned by BMG, which can break with Davis if he loses more than $50 million, according to the Post.

Davis' opening day roster appears to be not as star-studded as rumors have made it sound. So far, the only Arista artist following Davis to his new label is R&B singer Angie Stone. According to the Post, Whitney Houston, Carlos Santana, Deborah Cox, Next, LFO and Q-Tip will all remain at Arista.

Talk about George Michael and perhaps even Lenny Kravitz joining Davis' fold has circulated.

While Davis' pursuit of Mariah Carey—who is expected to leave her longtime Columbia Records home when she completes the final album of her contract—has been well publicized, her projected $60 million/multi-album price tag may be too rich for Davis' blood.

In fact, the Post speculates that the L.A. Reid-led Arista may be in the running for the multi-Platinum diva. The article emphasizes Reid's addition of former Sony exec Jerry Blair, now an Arista executive VP, who worked closely with Carey at Columbia.