EVERYBODY TAKES CREDIT FOR J RECORDS PREDICTIONS

The announcement of clive davis',390,400);">clive davis',390,400);">Clive Davis' J Records joint-venture deal with BMG didn't catch anyone off guard—except the hitsdailydouble.com editorial staff. In fact, many news sources threw in self-congratulatory remarks in their pieces on the deal. And since nothing newsworthy is happening, we thought we'd take this opportunity to point this out before going home early.

From Roger Friedman's Fox411: "Just as this column announced on August 13, clive davis',390,400);">clive davis',390,400);">Clive Davis' J Records is a reality. The label debuts as the single biggest new record company ever introduced, with a budget of between $150 and $175 million exclusive of its all-star executive staff. This is roughly four times the budget of the last new record company, DreamWorks Records, which is still foundering."

From the New York Post: "As The Post first reported, J Records will be 50-percent owned by Arista's owner, BMG Entertainment - which sources say is putting between $100 million and $150 million into the company."

From the New York Daily News: "While Davis declined to comment on the value of the deal, music sources said it was worth $150 million to $175 million, making it the biggest music start-up on record. Most of the details of the agreement were first reported by the Daily News two weeks ago."

And on and on.

Hell, four months ago, we reported: "Despite a lucrative offer from BMG to start up a new label under its umbrella, Davis will most likely depart when his contract expires at the end of June, sources said." But you don't see us bringing that up in every piece about Clive. Though, in June later strauss zelnick',390,400);">strauss zelnick',390,400);">Strauss Zelnick himself told us that the deal was happening. Sort of. Maybe. "We're still in negotiations. [Ed: Sources said the deal will likely be announced in August.]"

To quote journalism deity Edward R. Murrow, "Nanny, nanny, boo-boo."