NEW YORK (AFP) - L.A. Reid, one of the music world's top executives who helped launch the careers of myriad stars including Rihanna and Justin Bieber, has left Epic Records after reported harassment allegations.

The 60-year-old has been chairman and CEO since 2011 of Epic, a unit of Sony Music that has been home to some of the top artists in recent decades, from Michael Jackson to Pearl Jam.

Sony Music late last week issued an unusually terse statement of just one line: "L.A. Reid will be leaving the company."

But reports on Monday in music magazine Billboard and The New York Post said Sony management terminated Reid after complaints of sexual harassment.

The New York Post, citing an unnamed source, said a female assistant told management of inappropriate remarks and physical advances by Reid, including asking her to hug him in bed during a business trip.