Can Rca Records Keep On Rocking?

In mid-November, Bob Jamieson was in Germany, kicking back in a Hamburg hotel. The chief executive of RCA Records had just flown in from Dublin, where the record label's most promising new act, teen diva Christina Aguilera, had made an appearance on MTV Europe's video award show the night before. Tonight, Jamieson was going to hit the town with the Foo Fighters, a hard-rocking band whose first RCA album had just entered the Billboard charts at No. 10. The next night he would be in the audience when the Foos played their own gig.

The tireless life of rock-'n'-roll exec has suited Jamieson well for 32 years--he has worked everywhere from France to Australia in everything from sales to artist development. Four years ago, he took on his biggest challenge by agreeing to head a label that was all but left for dead with a corporate parent that few took seriously. With new management and a few lucky breaks, RCA has crawled back into the Top 10 in a business that has never been more cutthroat, with consolidating giants pumping out more and more releases. While he takes pride in the turnaround, Jamieson isn't ready to celebrate. "It's not mission accomplished," he says. "In this business, one day you're hot, and the next day you're not."