XSCAPE New Single (Take 2)

L.A. and Erica Reid Talk Michael Jackson and Family Life with Matt  Lauer

As his record label, Epic Records, enjoys the success of his latest album  release, music mogul L.A. Reid and his wife, Erica, retreat to their Sagaponack home for some tranquillity. Here,  they talk with Today show host Matt Lauer about balancing work with  health and wellness, and the importance of family.
Epic Records chairman and CEO, L.A. Reid, recently scored big with Xscape, a posthumous  Michael Jackson album comprising eight previously unreleased songs from the King  of Pop. Its lead single, “Love Never Felt So Good” featuring Justin Timberlake,  has topped charts throughout the world—and it is Michael Jackson’s first Top 10  hit in the US since 2001.

The success of such a massive undertaking is exhilarating for L.A., who is  now spending the summer season at his house in Sagaponack with his family. He and his wife,  Erica, cherish their time here (“It’s a quick and easy paradise just a two-hour  drive from Manhattan,” Erica says), as it gives them time to reconnect with each  other and their two children, Arianna, 13, and Addison, 11. For the Reids, family bonds and  thoughtful parenting are essential. Erica wrote about her full-time dedication  to her kids in her 2012 book The Thriving Child and credits the  lifestyle in the Hamptons for helping to achieve a positive environment for her  kids.

Today show host Matt Lauer, a close friend of the Reids, spoke with the couple to  find out more about how they balance a demanding schedule with the necessities  of good, old-fashioned family time.

Matt Lauer: L.A., let’s talk about Xscape and how that album came to be. What  was the idea behind it?
L.A. Reid: It was my being at Epic  Records and trying to find something magnificent to work on. Epic is a label we  literally started almost from scratch, so we were trying to find something big.  I spoke to John Branca,  who runs the Michael Jackson estate, and asked him to let me into the archives  to see what we could find. We found about 20 songs and picked 10 of them to work  on, and it’s worked out really well. Then I brought in Justin Timberlake to  feature on the first single, “Love Never Felt So Good.” Justin was my  ambassador, which has led to worldwide sales of more than 2.5 million  copies.

ML: Were you surprised by what was in that archive or were  you expecting a gold mine? LAR: I didn’t really know what to expect—I went into it open-minded. But I  was surprised by how much was there because I knew Michael, and he didn’t record  a lot of music that he didn’t release. Some artists record endlessly; Michael  recorded purposefully to release music, so I was surprised to find as much. And  recently I found more, like some Michael Jackson-Queen music that’s pretty  unbelievable.

ML: Erica, are you the type who likes it if L.A. brings some  of his work home? Does he bring a CD home and say, “You gotta hear this?”
Erica Reid:  I get to hear it first. I love to listen to what he is working on and be a part  of it that way. It’s fascinating and, more than anything, it’s fun. It’s great  music for the home.

ML: L.A., I’ve watched some of these meetings where guys  like you get around the table and play music and everybody decides if there is  the potential for a hit. Does Erica have the “hit ear”? [Erica  laughs]
LAR: No, but she has a good “hit eye.” When I was going through cover comps for Xscape, I would bring the artwork home. I  had no idea the one that ended up being the cover was as good as it was, but  when I showed it to Erica, she said, “This is the one!”—and it ended up being  the one. So she actually did participate in arguably the most important part of  the project because it was the visual that got everyone’s attention. She was  very helpful.

ML: “Love Never Felt So Good” is a hit around the world.  Could it have been a hit before, years ago?
LAR: Oh yes, it would have been a much  bigger hit. I don’t know that it would have measured up to Michael Jackson’s Thriller, but it was an outtake  from Off The Wall so it could well have worked on that  album.
ML: What is the follow-up single?
LAR: A song called “A  Place With No Name” that was originally recorded by the group America and that  Michael redid. We’re hoping to release it on August 11.
ML: Let’s cross over from work to life. Erica, what does the  Hamptons do for you?
ER: The Hamptons is what St-Tropez is  to France. Here, we receive no mail, no deliveries, therefore it’s a great break  from the day-to-day life in the city. As a mother, I am constantly going, and I  get no break because I’m on duty 24/7. Coming to the Hamptons allows me to  exhale. It’s family time, honestly. We have a little bit of socialization but  that’s not the main focus of it. It’s the one place that connects my family and  me without distractions, and we can also connect with our friends in a more  intimate and comfortable way.
LAR: The Hamptons is a place of tranquillity and  natural beauty. I love the ocean, the beauty, the beaches. I look forward to  those three to four months during the summer when we can come out every  weekend.
ML: You have been covered as a celebrity couple for some  time and people might assume that if you throw a party at your house, it will be  littered with A-listers. Is that your  crowd?
LAR: That comes and goes. There are times  when we entertain and it’s purely family and close friends. Sometimes those  friends happen to be celebrities and recording artists, or wonderful people like  you and your wife, Annette [Roque]. But for the most part, entertainment is a  fact of life for us. We don’t give a party with the idea of having a house full  of celebrities and famous people; we give a party with the idea of having a  great time, and it doesn’t matter one way or the other.

ML: Because you want to disconnect so much when you are out  here, how do you feel as parents—and as people—about social  media?
ER: It’s challenging. You have to babysit your  children in a totally different way. I trust my children, but we have to monitor  them. It’s like watching certain ratings on movies and television shows to see  what’s appropriate or not appropriate. Addison is 11, and this kid has  outsmarted me so many times about opening Instagram accounts, and I’ve had to shut each  one down because he is too young and not emotionally capable of understanding  what it really means. My daughter, Arianna, is older and more mature. She gets  it, and I don’t have to stay concerned with her. It’s important to educate them  and let them know that not only what you put out there is always out there, but  that you are setting an example for yourself. Once you press “send,” there is no  rewind button.
LAR: I can shut down much better here, but  social media is a fact of life, and it is a little addicting. I do find myself  looking at Twitter; I don’t tweet a lot, but I look at it to see what’s going  on. It’s a way of being connected culturally. What I continue to ask myself is  how much of social media is indicative of the times we live in and how much of  it is actually harmful. I don’t know the answer.

ML: What about the kids, Erica? Do you see a difference in  them when they are at the house on the weekend versus in New  York?
ER: The children love to be here. It is an extension  of their life and it’s great to bring it out here and let them flourish in a way  they aren’t able to in the city. They can get on their bikes and ride to the  beach or to the corner store. They just have more of a sense of freedom, and  with nature being around them, it’s more calming. It has a great effect on their  spirits.
LAR: Also, Erica is so health-conscious  and we’re all about good, clean living. Out here, with the availability of  organic foods, she keeps us all healthy. We call this “Camp  Erica.”
ER: I love getting the seasonal fresh, local foods  here. I want my children to thrive in today’s world, especially with the  challenges kids face today. One way I contribute to them doing so is by making  them good foods so they can flourish. In the city, the challenge is that my kids  are at the age when they can pick up the phone and use their allowance to order  delivery. Here, there is no such thing. For instance, right now I’m making  homemade granola, so that’s their breakfast, and they can have it outside in  nature with this scenery. It all creates such a magical feeling.

ML: Do you have a place you like to go that is away from the  scene, where you feel like a local?
LAR: I feel like a local when I’m at Pierre’s in  Bridgehampton.
ER: It’s the movie theater in East Hampton  for me. It’s a neighborhood spot and the only thing that’s open past 6 or 7 pm  without going to someone’s invite.

ML: You are both very busy with work and travel. How do you  reconnect after those stressful periods?
LAR: It’s something that requires work  when you are busy, particularly when you love what you do—and I am fortunate  enough to really love what I do. On the weekends we pretty much shut down from  work, and it’s been that way for the majority of my career. The weekends are  dedicated to my wife and children.