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HITS Daily Double

Jam & Lewis Fly First-Class To L.A.

Just Don't Call Them "Waitresses In The Sky..."
Hitmakers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis—known for their work with TLC, Janet Jackson and Boyz II Men, among others—have a new home at Arista Records.

Jam and Lewis, the co-heads of Flyte Tyme Records, have entered into an exclusive three-year joint-venture agreement with Arista, which will now take over all marketing, promotion, sales and distribution responsibilities for the Los Angeles-based imprint. The label was previously housed at Universal Music Group.

Under terms of the agreement, the duo will also produce artists on Arista and its affiliated labels. They'll also continue to produce new and established artists for Flyte Tyme.

"Jimmy and Terry are blessed with an intuitive sense of what works and an ability to stay fresh with the changes that time brings," said Arista President/CEO Antonio "L.A." Reid. "They constantly step forward to challenge themselves on both the creative and the personal levels, and the results have been an astonishing string of hit records that is unparalleled in this business."

Jam told hitsdailydouble he's looking forward to working with the artists on Arista's roster. "At the top of the list would be Whitney," Jam said. "But the whole Arista roster is interesting. Of all the labels, we really haven't worked that much with them.

Terry and I talk to L.A. and Face [longtime Reid partner Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds] a lot," he continued. "Our musical careers have been somewhat parallel. We've wanted to do something that involved the four of us. Then L.A. was named Arista president. Terry and I weren't interested in pursuing another joint-venture deal unless it was the right person; it was a short list."

Jam and Lewis are currently involved in various stages of the recording process with three new artists, whose releases are scheduled over the course of the next year.