-
EMI Profit Estimates 4
Radio 1 Evaluates Playlist 5
French Music Sales Results 7
Sting's No. 1 Debut In Italy 8Rete 105 Special R2
Off The Record 22
Europe's Music Radio Newsweekly. Volume 8 . Issue 7 . February
16, 1991 . 3, US$ 5, ECU 4
EC ExploresSubsidisingRadio Group
by Paul Andrews
The EC may offer financial back-ing to the Association
ofEuropean Radio (AER), as plansto relaunch the private radiolobby
group develop.
Speaking on January 31 at thePrivate Radio And
EuropeanInformation conference held inLuxembourg, European
Com-mission social affairs directorFranco Chittolina said his
de-partment was seeking closer co-operation with local radio
stationsthroughout the EC. He also pro-mised to support the aims of
theAER, which could include a fi-nancial subsidy.
"Local radio is an importantmedium throughout Europe,"Chittolina
told the conference.
(continues on page 22)
END OF AN ERA - Sony Music Entertainment UK manufacturing
direc-tor Lionel Smithers shows off the last piece of vinyl pressed
at its plant inAylesbury. The company, through CBS, first got
involved in manufactu-ring whet, it bought the small Oriole label
on January 1, 1965. Thename of the last pressed record: "Motorhead
- 1916".
UK Marketing Push For Ramazzottiby Machgiel Bakker
Will Eros Ramazzotti be the firstItalian pop artist to conquer
theUK market? Ramazzotti's latestalbum, In Ogni Senso ("ht
EverySense"), is currently close to threemillion sales across
mainlandEurope where it has collected 12platinum and seven gold
awards.The UK has remained unmovedby these feats.
Last April, the artist's fifthalbum was released on the labelDDD
throughout the Continent. Itis marketed and distributedworldwide by
BMG Ariola (ex-cluding Spain, where the artist issigned to EMI
Hispavox). BMGRecords UK followed in
October. No less than four inde-pendent promotion companies
arecurrently employed to give thealbum an extra push.
Connie Filippello Publicity ishandling the Italian press
promo-tion; Matters Media is tackling
Italy through restaurants, footballclubs and discos; Jackie
GillPromotions is working London -based radio; and MusicEnterprises
is pitching the singleon all regional UK stations.
(continues on page 22)
Peterson Sacked By Jazzby Hugh Fielder
Jazz FM/London presenter anddirector Gilles Peterson has
beensacked following a complaint tothe UK Radio Authority over
hisSaturday PM programme onJanuary 12 which he dedicated topeace in
the Middle East.
Peterson says he had also beenasked to resign as a director,
buthad not done so at press time. Heacknowledges that he has been
inother disputes with Jazz FM's ma-nagement over policy.
The Radio Authority says it re-ceived one written complaint
(continues on page 22)
Public Radio Wins KeyRuling In Germany
by Mal Sondock
Germany's Supreme Court inKarlsruhe on February 6 reaffir-med
the right of the country's pu-blic broadcasters to continue
ac-cepting advertising and to investin private radio and TV
stations.
Comments a spokespersonfrom the North Rhine-Westphaliastate
attorney office, "We are veryhappy about the decisions.
NorthRhine-Westphalia has achieved a10-1 victory in this legal
battle."
The case was originallybrought by congressmen of theruling
Christian DemocraticUnion party against the state ofNorth
Rhine-Westphalia and pu-blic station WDR. The case wasthen taken up
by the Court. It wasthe sixth session the Court hadspent dealing
with radio lawssince private radio started inGermany.
By mostly upholding currentlaw, the Court has strengthenedthe
public station's grip on the
M&M Debuts
'The Bottom Line'M&M this week launches TheBottom Line', its
first businesspage dedicated to tracking fi-nancial developments in
themusic and radio industry.
Published in the first issueof each month, 'The BottomLine' will
provide executiveswith in-depth analysis on keyindustry deals.
M&M's new 'Bottom Line'appears on page 4.
broadcast media. That's especiallytrue in radio, where
Germany'spublic radio stations grabbed72.2% of the ad cake, whereas
inTV ARD and ZDF earned49.6%.
Net advertising income for pu-blic radio last year reachedDM650
million (app. US$445million) for the public stations,with private
operators earningabout DM250 million (app.US$171 million).
Radio ffn/Lower Saxony sta-tion manager Gunther Drossartsays he
finds "some of the deci-sions surprising. In these earlyyears of
private radio, how canthey allow public broadcasters toown a share
of the private sta-tions?
"I expected the decision on pu-blic radio advertising. About
25%of the public station's entire bud-get is covered by advertising
in-come and several former deci-sions by the Supreme Court had
(continuer on page 22)
No. 1 in EUROPE
European Hit Radio
All This Time(A&M)
Eurochart Hot 100 SinglesENIGMASadeness Part 1(Virgin)
European Top 100 AlbumsSTINGThe Soul Cages(A&M)
SUSANNA HOFFS "my side of the bed"now playing on these
stations
A: OE 3 B: Radio 21 CH: Radio 24, Radio Forderband D: SWF3,
Radio TON, Bayern3,WDR1/Hit Chips, SFB2, Radio Regen Bogen DK:
Radio ABC E: SER I: Deejay Network,Radio Babboleo, Rete 105, Radio
Peter Flowers N: NRK, Radio Nord, Radio Vest,Radio 102, NI: TROS,
Veronica, KRO S: Riksradion P3/Klang + CO, Radio P4, RadioOrebro,
Radio Gotenburg, Radio Malmo Hus, Radio Hugginge SF: Radio Musa,
Radio 1
New entry at no. 47 on the European Airplay Top 50
COLUMBIAAmericanRadioHistory.Com
-
RICK ASTLEY
A
V.
e,ue,ti
new compact disc cassette albumINCLUDES THE EUROPEAN CHART HIT
"Cry For Help"
I S. /
AmericanRadioHistory.Com
-
JaMUSICuMEDIA CONTENTS "'MEDIAUK: Radio 1 Explores LP -Based
Playlist 5
G/A/S: VPRT Outlines New Media Law 6
FRANCE: 1990 Music Sales In 7
BENELUX: CLT Gets Berlin Radio Frequency 6
ITALY: Sting's 'Cages' Hits No. 1 8
SPAIN/PORT.: Talent Sings For Peace 9
SCANDI: Elap Debuts First Metronome LPs 9
NEW RELEASES/NEW TALENT 12
SPECIAL: Rete 105 R2
STATION OPERATIONS/MAKING WAVES ..10STATION REPORTS 14
EUROPEAN HIT RADIO 17TOP 10 IN EUROPE 18
HOT 100 SINGLES 19EURO & NATIONAL AIRPLAY 20TOP 100 ALBUMS
21OFF THE RECORD 22
MUSIC & MEDIA BUSINESS CALENDAR
February 18-22 - AudioEngineering Society's 90thConvention,
Paris, France. February 20 - 33rd AnnualGrammy Awards, Radio
CityMusic Hall, New York City, US. February 25 - Music WeekAwards,
Grosvenor House Hotel,London, UK. February 26 - UK RadioAcademy's
"Getting On -Air...And Staying There", Ken-sington Town Hall,
London, UK. Feb. 26 -Feb. 27 - FinancialTimes Conference onCable
Television & SatelliteBroadcasting, InterContinentalHotel,
London, UK. Feb. 27 -March 2. - SanRemo Festival, San Remo, Italy.
March 12-15 - 6th AnnualWinter Music Conference,Marriott Hotel,
Fort Lauderdale,Florida, US. March 22-25 - 1991 NARMConvention, San
FranciscoHilton, US. April 15-18 " - NationalAssociation of
BroadcasterSpring Convention, Las VegasConvention Center, US.
April 21-24 - Broadcast Fin-ancial Management Asso-ciation,
Century Plaza Hotel, LosAngeles, US. April 29 - Sony RadioAwards,
Grosvenor House Hotel,London, UK. May 19-25 - The USNational
Association OfBroadcasters (NAB). The confe-rence will be moved
fromLondon to Paris after three days. June 5-7 - Association
ofProfessional Recording StudiosConference, Olympia Centre,London,
UK. June 9-15 - NAB RadioExecutive Management Devel-opment Seminar,
University ofNotre Dame, South Bend,Indiana, US. June 16-19 - BPME
& BDAConference & Exposition, Bal-timore Convention Center,
US. July 3-7 - InternationalBroadcasting Convention, RAICongress
Centre, Amsterdam, theNetherlands. July 5 -July 21 - 25thMontreux
Jazz Festival,Montreux, Switzerland.
Philips Schedules DCCLaunch For April 1992
by Machgiel Bakker
Philips will be launching its newDigital Compact Cassette
(DCC)in April 1992. This was announ-ced during a European
demonst-ration of the new soundcarrier or-ganised by the
electronics giant atits Dutch -headquarters atEindhoven on February
4.
The meeting was chaired byMD Philips Audio, WimWielens and
senior product ma-nager, Jerry Wirtz. It followedthe presentation
for the US tradepress at the winter ConsumerElectronics Show (CES)
in LasVegas in January.
Backed by all major recordcompanies --but currently exclu-ding
Sony Music --the new musicsoftware format combines the fe-atures of
compact cassette (intro-duced in 1963) with those of1982's
introduction of the CD.The launch of the new carrier willbe
supported by about 500 pre -re,corded DCC titles. First DCCplayers
will retail for an estimatedDfl1.000 (app. US$581).
Widens says market researchon all variations of audio casset-tes
shows that 75% are used forplayback only. He says, "DCCwill not be
positioned as a new
recording format but as a 'new thatmusic software format'.
Musicsoftware should, therefore, be thelocomotive for a new
carrier. Thatis why we are involving themusic industry at a very
earlystage. One of the disadvantagesof DAT was there was no
pre-re-corded software available."
However, Widens emphasises
DCC should not be seen asoverlapping with DAT. "DAT wasnever
meant to be a new carrierfor music, but as a recording sys-tem
equal to a reel-to-reel recor-der. DAT is aimed at a small seg-ment
of the market, thesemi-professional user. DAT andDCC should be able
to co -exist inperfect harmony."
isald64'orarrtiOpti
LE QUATTRO STACIONI""""
1 MUSia
A sample digital compact cassette from Philips.
DCC AdvantagesThe main advantages of DCC over the current analog
cassette are: Digital sound quality. Backwards -compatibility: DCC
players will playback traditional
analog tapes. Existing tape collections can t bepreserved. Main
advantages of the analog cassette are maintained like size,
weight
and portability. DCC boasts a new, high-tech design, with sleeve
graphicson the front of the cassette.
Easier track access. With DCC's autoreverse function,
trackselection is facilitated. As on a CD, a pre-recorded DCC will
containextra control information recorded on subcode channels. This
means thatthe text mode of a DCC player can display artist, song
titles and lyrics.
CNN Promotes Radio ServiceUS firm Cable News
Net-work(CNN)/Atlanta, which hasbeen winning high acclaim for
its
Artists Unite For Rainforest Appealby Jeff Green
A star-studded line-up of recor-ding artists are participating
in a spe-cial CD and cassette project aimedat preserving the
endangered tropi-cal rainforests. Organised by theLondon -based
Earth Love Fund(ELF), the "Rainforest Appeal" be-nefit effort will
also include PSAsand a 60 -minute documentary TVprogramme to be
broadcast world-wide.
More than 16 tracks have beencontributed to the album,
includingsongs by Sting, Paul Simon,Michael Jackson, Peter Gabriel
&Kate Bush, Elton John, Was (NotWas), Queen, Pink Floyd,
Bob
Dylan, REM, Midnight Oil andmany others.
At least three singles are ex-pected, including "Spirit Of
TheForest", a collaboration of 50 artistssuch as Bonnie Raitt,
JoniMitchell, Fleetwood Mac, IggyPop, the B -52s and
BelindaCarlisle. Another group effort, TheSamples, features
BranfordMarsalis.
Certain national artists will re-place some of those
mentionedabove with special compositions orexisting recordings in
their nativelanguage. The CD and cassette areexpected to be
released in early tomid -May.
Explaining radio's role in this pro-
ject, ELF trustee Kenny Youngsays, "It is very important that
thiscrucial environmental issue isbrought to the attention of the
publicand that the effect rainforest destruc-tion is having on
global weatherconditions is not forgotten duringthese anxious
times. "
ELFs advisory council includesofficers of Friends of the
Earth,Rainforest Alliance, GALAFoundation, World Wildlife Fundfor
Nature, Rainforest ActionNetwork and United NationsEnvironment
Programme.
For information about this pro-ject, contact the ELF
RainforestAppeal: 18 Well Walk, LondonNW3 1LD. Fax:
44-(0)-60-885-269.
Gulf reportage, is claiming a drama-tic increase in the number
ofEuropean radio stations taking itsTV service as audio -only.
But the news channel would nowlike these self -same stations
toswitch to its specially repackagedsubscription CNN Radio.
Explains London -based broadcastrelations executive Beverley
Niel-sen, "CNN Radio is available as anon -the -hour headline
service, fol-lowed by 22 minutes of detailed re-porting. Its
separate Atlanta news-room uses exactly the same reportersand filed
audio stories as television.Stations can take it from a sub
-car-rier on the Intelsat satellite."
Nielsen says the cost package inEurope for CNN Radio is based on
astation's audience figures. She decli-ned to reveal a price -per
-thousand.
Stations already taking a sub-scription for CNN Radio
includeRadio City/Helsinki, SWF3 Baden-Wurttemburg and
AntenneNiedersachsen/Lower Saxony. HS
dierks studios
20 years and many more tofollow.
Thanks for the partnershipin the past and in the future.
Re -opening of Studio III- SSL 64 channel, G -series
- Sony 3348 digital- Neil Grant acoustics
dierks studios gmbhtel. (49) 22 38-20 04/33 33
fax (49) 22 38-34 99
MUSIC & MEDIA FEBRUARY 16 1991 3
AmericanRadioHistory.Com
-
Radio
Javier Agusti has been appoin-ted MD of private Spanish
stationCadena SER, replacing SilvioGonzalez. The former lawyer
andadvertising executive has beenwith Spain's top radio network
aspersonnel manager since 1986.Former MD Gonzalez, moves tothe same
post at Canal Plus TV.The private pay -TV network isalso partly
owned (25%) by SERmajority stockholder PRISA (fullstory page
9).
Jose Ramon Pardo replacesEmiliano Alaiz as new head ofmusic
programming at Antena 3(full story page 9).
Terry Hourigan has been pro-moted to director of VOA Europe,the
Voice Of America's 24 -hoursatellite radio network. He for-merly
served as acting director ofthe same company.
Kiss FM has appointed twonew producers. Richard Hopkinswas
formerly with WNK Radioand George Ergatoudis was pre-viously with
BBC Radio 1. Seniorproducer in the talks department isLorna
Clarke.
Hallam FM/Sheffield has ap-pointed a new sales director,Harry
Dunne. He was formerlywith TFM/Stockton.
Music
Michiel Bakker and MarcConneely have both been appoin-ted deputy
directors of networkdevelopment at MTV Europe.Bakker will continue
to expandMTV in Europe. Conneely will bespecialising on syndication
andother distribution areas. MTVEurope has also named M.Anthony
Garland as director ofresearch, market planning and bu-siness
development. Garlandoversees all aspects of the compa-ny's business
developments and
market planning in Europe. He re-ports to MTV MD and CEO
BillRoedy.
Marc Conneely
Music Box has appointed LouPearce and Chris Sharp to thesales
team. They will be working ondistribution and sponsorship.
Newpublicity and promotions co-ordina-tor is Brenda Tuohy. Paul
Sandlerhas been appointed production con-troller and Lola Borg
joins him asassociate producer.
Julie Heathcote joinsPhonogram marketing departmentas product
manager. She was pre-viously with AVL.Ian Grenfell joins
Phonogram's in-ternational department as interna-tional marketing
manager. He waspreviously UK marketing managerwith Polydor.
Rob Stringer has been promo-ted to A&R director at
Columbiafor Sony Music UK.
Mike Weller has been appoin-ted manager of Sony MusicPublishing
Germany, replacingUdo Kornmeier. Weller has heldseveral positions
in A&R and mar-keting within the company since1980.
Hartwig Masuch, whoheaded the Cologne office ofWarner Chappell
for five years, isjoining BMG February 1 as GMand will be VP and MD
from April1. Josef Bamberger is leaving hispost as MD of BMG UFA's
pub-lishing arm after 28 years with thecompany.
Send news and photos of company appointments to Karen Seekingsat
M&M's editorial office: Rijnsburgstraat 11, 1059 AT
Amsterdam,The Netherlands or call (20) 669.1961; Fax (31) 20 669
1951.
"When is the new Lisa Stansfield coming out?"
Find the answer in M&M's
QuarterlyMusic Monitor
Music Monitor II will be published April 6, 1991 ((issue
14).Advertising deadline closes March 12.
EMI Musk Eludes Thorn's Profit Bluesby Steve Wonsiewicz
Thorn -EMI might have the pro-fits blues, but its record
divisionis rockin'.
The UK entertainment to ligh-ting to electronics conglomerate
--which also includes EMI Music --issued a profits warning
onJanuary 18, but stresses the musicdivision continues to
"performoutstandingly". That's evident inprofit projections by
CountyNatWest analyst Julie Feaver.She has forecast that the
musicdivision's operating profits willincrease 21% to £120 million
onsales of an estimated £1.3 billion.
Comments Feaver, "The mainreason for such a large increase
isthat the company has had a fan-tastic year in the US in
particular,but that increase has crossed overto Europe as well."
Feaver citesthe blockbuster success of artistssuch as MC Hammer,
VanillaIce, Sinead O'Connor andWilson Philips, all
especiallyprofitable because they are newacts.
Another plus: economies ofscale in the music publishing
ope-rations, which she says bring inabout one third of the
division'sprofits. "It usually takes about ayear for efficiencies
to take effect.Thorn -EMI bought SBK in 1989,and now it's beginning
to see thebenefits," adds Feaver.
For Thorn -EMI's 1991 fiscalyear, which ends March 30,Feaver has
forecast that total ope-rating profits for the whole com-pany will
decline to £258 millionon sales of an estimated £4.75billlion.
Feaver is not the only analystto be bullish on the music
divi-sion yet downgrade profits for theentire company. Barclays
deZoete Wedd analyst JaneAnscombe is predicting opera-ting profits
of £121 million (in-cluding Thorn -EMI's stake inThames TV), up 22%
from lastyear. But for the entire companyshe's calculating pre-tax
profits of£256 million, down from last ye-ar's £317.5 million.
Says Anscombe. "One of the
PolyGram Gets $200m Equity InfusionUS. investment bank
GoldmanSachs announced on January 29 thatit had raised US$200
million inexchangeable subordinated notes formusic multinational
PolyGram. Thedeal helps PolyGram shore up its ba-lance sheet after
the purchase ofIsland Records and A&M Recordsfor US$272 million
and US$460million respectively, and provide ahedge for currency
fluetations.
The private placement is a com-bination of fixed and floating
rate,with varying maturities of fi c.seven and 20 years and will be
tre-ated as equity on the balance sheet.The notes, which will not
dilute cur-rent investors' holdings, can also beconverted into
auction rate prefe-rence shares any time after the ini-tial
maturity date. They also carryno voting rights. The issue will
alsonot dilute existing shareholders'ownership.
Transworld's ProfitsWarning
Look at the ratings and not the incomestatement. At least that
is whatTransworld Communications hopesits investors and bankers
will do.
The company warned analysts earlierin January that it expects a
pre-tax loss ofsome £500.000 for the second half of theyear.
Transworld. which in early Januarysold Miss World to founder Eric
Morelyfor £800.000. has already suffered a £1.16million loss for
the first six months.
However, the company turned instrong ratings gains at its three
main sta-tions: Piccadilly/Manchester. RedRose/ Preston and Radio
Aire/Leeds.
PolyGram has set up aLuxembourg subsidiary to handlethe
transaction because of the prefe-rential tax treatment investors
re-ceive in the country.PolyGram also says the deal will
allow the company to write off anestimated US$300 million in
good-will that was acquired in the acqui-sitions and reduce
short-term debt.Dutch law requires goodwill bewritten off from
equity.
Starstream Buys 80%of Polton
Houston, Texas -based StarstreamCommunications Group has
acquired80% of PZ Polton, the holding com-pany for the record and
animation com-pany Polton Records. The deal in-volved cash and
stock valued in the highsix figures.
Starstream plans to expand Polton'sdistribution in the country
and hopes tohave licensing deals with several recordcompanies
completed by the end ofFebruary. The company will also distri-bute
Polton's music library in the US.
Former MCA Records presidentRobert Siner has joined
Starstream'sboard to help manage the purchase.
Virgin Sells 20% ofEuro Retail Unit
Richard Branson's privately heldVirgin Group has sold a 20%
stake inits European retailing operations forUS$27.2 million to a
group led byFrench pay -TV company Canal Plus.investment bank
Paribas and Germanretailer Asko.
The deal values the three megastoresstores in France at US$136
million.
Send news and queries to Steve Wonsiewicz at M&M's editorial
office: Rijnsburgstraat
11, 1059 AT Amsterdam, the Netherlands or call (20) 669.1961;
Fax (20)669 1951.
main reasons for the improved re-sults in the music division is
thatin the last three to four years thecompany has invested heavily
inartist repertoire." That move,says, Anscombe, is paying big
di-vidends.
However, Anscombe warned itcould be difficult to meet
thosenumbers next year. Reasons cited:royalty rates probably will
be hig-her and the difficult market con-ditions in the US and
UK.
"It may not be far from mee-ting last year's figures. But evenif
it does, will would be doingvery well indeed."
The company's shares droppedabout 6% the week the profitswarning
was issued, but reco-vered slightly, to end the monthdown 4.6'
Music & Media Stocks
GREAT BRITAINCompany Carr. High Love Dec. 31 11,11,31'S chg.
Transworld (pl 483 79 97 97 ao
Radio Clyde (p1 313 215 224 113 10.4)
Capital (p1 258 115 146 144 1141
Chiltern (p1 300 125 132 178 t3.01
Metro Radio (p1 203 123 175 175 111 /
Yorkshire TV (p1 314 217 247 238 13.61
Pickwick 708 217 200 IL I /
Thom -EMI to 874 5711 677 646 (461Invicta (p1 193 49 55 52
(5.51
Chrysalis (p1 147 41 44 41 (6.81
Midlands I p) 188 84 1112 94 17.81
EMAP (p1 257 179 207 185 (8.4)
WH Smith (p1 401 287 383 340 111.2/
TV -AM (p1 218 158 2181 177 111.51
Radio Trust (p1 123 50 65 53 118.51
GWR Group (p1 585 198 153 198 171.71
Radio City (p1 523 165 226 165 127.111
Crown. fp( 267 23 5 f 32 137.31
Avg. n/a n/a 192 175 18.81
FTSE 2461.7 1590.2 2143.5 2170.3 1.3
FRANCECompany
Hachette
Canal Plus
Europe 1
SRI
Hasa.
g.
CAC 411
Curr.
IFS)
(Fir)
(FBI
(HO
(Fir)
High Low Dec. 28 Jan. 31 tA chg.
489 14(1 158 177 17.8
993 738 823 828 0.6
1.449 841 1.090 1.060 12.81
434 212 238 230 13.41
1.780 361 426 595 (7.7/
rJa n/a 545 538 t 1.31
29 29.3 1441.2 1517.9 1580.7 4.1
THE NETHERLANDSCompany Curr. High Low Dec. 31 Jan. 31 er
chg.
Philips I D111 45.2 18.6 20.3 23.4 15.3
PolyGnim (DB( 37.8 26.6 311.1 29.6 (1.7)
Ave. Ida Mt 25.2 26.5 5.2
CBS Tend. 2(16.3 162.3 168.3 167.3 10.61
GERMANY
Compun) Curr. High Low Dec. 31 Jan. 31 q chg.
Springer (DM1 885 605 712 730
PAZ 832.3 569.7 603.1 14(8.6
DAX 1968.6 1334.9 1398.2 1420.1
2.5
0.9
1.6
UNITED STATES
Company Carr. High Low Dec. 31 Jan. 31 ri chg.
Tribune HAS) 40.75 31.25 35.25 43.25 22.7
Starstream 1USS) n/a n/a 1.13 138 22.2
Trine Wm-net-1HW 111.88 66.13 85.75 96.13 12.1
Sony tliSSi 61.50 40.15 43.00 47.63 10.8
Matsushita tUSS1 160.88 114.00 110.00 127.00 7.6
Westwood (555) n/a n/a 1.75 1.88 7.1
WestinghouscHISS1 39.38 22.00 28.50 28.50 0.0
Cap Cities ( US$, 635.00 38000 459.13 454AM (1.11
Viacom (USSI 28.25 15.63 26.25 25.63 (2.41
Avg. n/a n/a 88.75 91.71 3.3
DJ1A 2999.8 2365.1 2633.7 2736.4 3.9
SAP 369.11 2955 330.2 343.9 4.2
4 MUSIC & MEDIA FEBRUARY 16 1991
AmericanRadioHistory.Com
-
NEW NAME, NEW LOOK - Columbia MD Tim Bowen displays thefirst
cassettes bearing the new name and logo for the UK division ofSony
Music Entertainment.
Radio 1 Explores MovingTo Album -Based Playlist
by Hugh Fielder
\ BBC Radio 1 switch from a sing-les to albums -based playlist-a
movethe station is now exploring-couldhave a major impact on the
record in-dustry's promotional strategies.
The BBC's national pop station isholding a series of informal
dinnerswith its producers, presenters andprogramme assistants to
discuss thecompilation of a playlist drawn fromsongs which would
include albumtracks as well as singles. No deadlinehas been
established for any changes.
Commenting on the effects ofsuch a switch, Chrysalis
promotiondirector Judd Lander says, "All Iask from radio is that
they stick to aplaylist, however they compile it. Atpresent you can
find singles on the B -list (medium rotation) getting moreplays
than those on the A -list."
Lander stresses that if Radio 1 pro-ducers choose album tracks
then theywill be performing an A&R functionnormally undertaken
by record com-panies. "Mai be record companies
JICRAR Considers Adding Atlantic 252by Hugh Fielder & Paul
Easton
The Association Of Inde-pendent Radio Contractors(AIRC) is
considering the inclu-sion of Atlantic 252 in its JI-CRAR audience
research.
AIRC director Brian Westsays the issue is on the agendafor the
next meeting of theresearch sub -committee and willbe debated next
month. But hebelieves priority should be givento the talks
currently taking placewith the BBC for a joint au-dience
measurement system.
The advertising industry is be-coming increasingly impatientwith
AIRC's decision not toadmit Atlantic 252 and include itin JICRAR
research. Media
Buying Services associate direc-tor and Association of
MediaIndependents spokespersonJane O'Hara says, "Any radiostation
on -air should be includedby JICRAR if they are willing topay. If
they are excluded it cutsdown their chances of getting onbuyers'
schedules."
Country Meath, Ireland -basedAtlantic 252, which was laun-ched
in 1989, is excluded fromAIRC because the association'sconstitution
stipulates that allmembers must be UK -based.Atlantic 252 says it
is prepared topay for JICRAR research and itpoints out that
RadioLuxembourg is included in theJICRAR figures even though it
isnot an AIRC member.
IRN, ITN Merger Draws CriticismThe proposed merger
betweenIndependent Radio News(IRN) and ITN Radio News(operated by
IndependentTelevision News) has provokeda strong reaction from
several ofITN's subscribers.
KCBC/Kettering programmecontroller, Howard Rose, isplanning to
organise a campaignto halt the merger and has writ-ten to all other
ITN Radio sub-scribers to ask for help.
Rose says "If commercialradio is developing, then surelyit
should have a choice of newsproviders. My objection is notsimply to
IRN but to a mono-poly of news provision. We
chose to take ITN for its yearsof experience and its
profes-sional attitude to newsbroadcasting."
East End Radio/Glasgowstation manager RodneyCollins says, "I am
also veryconcerned because I cannot re-ally see how one news
servicecan really serve everybody'sbest interests. RadioLuxembourg
is currently sup-plying a news service toAtlantic 252 and I would
be in-terested in the possibility ofbeing able to use that.
Althoughit is basically a rip -and -readwire service, it still
gives us analternative to IRN.'" HF
The long -wave station's trans-mission area covers
NorthernIreland, Wales, Central andNorthwest England and
Southernand Central Scotland. At the endof 1990 a survey by
ContinentalResearch conducted to JICRARstandards gave the station a
12%reach with 2.37 million listeners,stating it was the
second-largestcommercial station in the UK.Radio Sales Company,
whichhandles Atlantic 252's sales, saysthe station defined its own
totalsurvey area. Spokesperson SarahJames says, "We resolutely
re-jected any area where the signalwas patchy in order not to
weakenour audience figures, which iswhy we market Atlantic 252
onlyin certain ITV regions."
could service albums with selectedcuts, as they do in
America.
"It could also cause problems inbreaking new acts which are
oftensigned on a three -singles contractwith an option on an album.
Andwhat about club records that compa-nies may have licensed from
anotherlabel?"
BBC I head of music ChrisLycett stresses, "We have no inten-tion
of dropping singles from theplaylist. But as a reflection of
currentmarket trends, we are consideringways of increasing album
play onRadio 1."
Lycett is concerned the singleschart no longer reflects popular
musi-cal taste. "The fact is that singles
sales are declining. In the week thatImn Maiden got to no. 1
recently,the total sales of the Top 40 amoun-ted to 4% of our
weekly audience.
"We're here to make radio pro-grammes. We're not here to
reflectthe charts." At our weekly playlistmeetings the chart is
just one of ourconsiderations. Obviously if a recordgoes flying
into the charts it is clearlypopular but the chart is not our
bible."
The BBC acknowledges a changeto the playlist system could
affectsingles sales. Comments a BBC spo-kesperson. "If singles only
exist tomarket albums, a system that in-volved playing more album
trackscould mean that the singles marketcould decline still
further."
BBC Radio LaunchesPromo CampaignThe BBC's Radio 1 is launching
amajor promotional push in Londonand the Southeast to increase
itsaudience.
The main thrust is a three-weekcampaign in conjunction
withCashcard, which is giving away atotal of £85.000 in prize
money.Ten million, individually numbe-red cards are being
deliveredthrough letter boxes and givenaway free at newspaper
shops.Each weekday, the presenter ofevery daytime show will read
anumber and listeners will be ableto ring up and claim a £1.000
prizeif it matches the one on the card.The prize will be shared if
morethan one listener has the samenumber. But if no one claims
theprize, the money will be added tothe next show.
A Radio 1 spokesperson stressesthat BBC licence payers' money
isnot being used to pay for thepromo, since the prize money is
being provided by Cashcard. Therealso is no connection with a
simul-taneous promotion with The DailyStar, which is featured on
thesame card and which ownsCashcard. The Cashcard promo-tion is
being advertised on TV andthe Independent Radio Network.
A spokesperson says, "Cashcardis mentioned as a concept.
Ourcatch phrase for the competition is'We have got the number,
theyhave got the money'. The competi-tion is part of a "multi
-directionalpromotional thrust" which the sta-tion is running
through the spring.This includes an advertising cam-paign with
posters around Londonand the Southeast and a series oflive
lunchtime ,outside broadcastsby Gary Davies .
The latest JICRAR figures rele-ased two weeks ago show that
thestation's ratings are slipping. Radio1 has a 29% reach in
London, 2%behind Capital FM. HF
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MUSIC & MEDIA FEBRUARY 16 1991 5
AmericanRadioHistory.Com
-
VPRT Outlines NewMedia Law Proposal
by Robert Lyng
Bonn -based VPRT (Associationof Private Broadcasters
&Telecommunications), a lobbygroup representing all German
pri-vate radio and TV broadcasters,has proposed a new media law
forthe five new German states. Thedraft encourages local councils
toallow a broadcasting structure re-presenting both the German
con-stitution and the High Court. Theproposed draft will offer
numerousalternatives and the VPRT hopesto help the new states avoid
pro-blems formerly faced in WestGermany.
The major points of the draft in-clude:
Frequencies to be distributed by a special state commission.
Both private and public broadcasters to be issued frequencies
from the beginning. Public broadcasters to neither directly nor
indirectly hold
shares in a private broadcasting company. Statewide programmes
are to be carried out in studios within
the respective state. The production of full programming is to
be given priority; the
production of local and regional progranuning is secondary.
Advertising and sponsoring regulations are along EC guide-
lines, soon mandatory. Station boards, currently consisting of
various representatives
from -socially significant groups, to be replaced by
smallereight person boards.
Hessen 3 Plans Music ShowPublic TV station Hessen3/Frankfurt is
launching a newweekly music programme fromMarch 4 to replace the
cancelledWDRMR co -production"Rocklife". Other German TV sta-tions
have been systematically re-ducing the amount of their
musicbroadcasts (M&M February 9).
Producer Gerd Schulze says thenew hour-long
programme,"Musichall" will present weeklydiffering programmes.
Under thedirection of Jochen Filser andHeiner Schoelling of Hessen
3'sentertainment department, Schulze
will present both new and esta-blished artists in a variety of
set-tings. His team of editors will in-clude Teddy Hoersch
andRoberto Cappelluti.
Schulze says, "On the firstMonday of each month we willpresent
two live bands from theFrankfurt Musichall, a live club.We will
film the first group's con-cert for broadcast on the fourthMonday
of each month. The se-cond group will then be broadcastabsolutely
live at 23.10, our regu-lar time . slot. On the secondMonday of the
month we will air a
magazine format with local stories,reports and contributions of
inte-rest to music fans. On the thirdMonday of each month we
willpresent a selection of historicmusic programmes from the
archi-ves."
At the moment 30 shows featu-ring pop, rock, blues, soul and
rapare planned. "Besides featuring in-ternational acts," explains
Schulze,"we will also present at least fivelocal bands. Irmgard
Tennagel,Frankfurt's councillor for rock andpop music, will help us
choosethem." RL
Born In The DDR - East German entertainer Gunther Emmerich
signsa recording deal with BMG Ariola. Smiling next to him is BMG
CEOAlbert Czapski.
Private Radio For Magdeburgby Mal Sondock
The state Sachsen-Anhalt hasannounced the launch of the
firstprivate radio station in what wasformerly East Germany. This
de-cision is in line with most of thefive new federal states, who
aimto develop independent state-wide stations and not rely onWest
German public stations.Antenne Sachsen Anhalt/Mag-deburg is a team
effort between
AVE Radio Gesellschaft/Hanover and a Magdeburg -basedcompany.
Managed by Hilmarvon Poser, the station has beenissued a three-year
broadcastinglicence.
An independent committeeincluding public interest and re-ligious
groups, will be foundedto' ensure the station serves thepublic
interest. AntenneSachsen-Anhalt is scheduled togo on -air very
soon.
CLT Gets BerlinRadio Frequency
by Marc Maes
The Berlin Kabelrat (BerlinCable Council) has agreed to
allo-cate CLT (Compagnie Luxem-bourgeoise de Telediffusion) anFM
frequency in Berlin. CLT di-rector of communications KarinSchintgen
says, "This is goodnews for the company as it is thefirst time a
foreign company hasbeen given an FM radio fre-quency on a 100%
exclusivebasis".
The new operation, namedRTL Radio Berlin, will allowCLT to start
radio operations fromGerman territory. Until now, allactivities
have been undertakenfrom Luxembourg. Although CLTstill has
frequencies in NorthRhine-Westphalia and theStuttgart area, it
plans to shift the
majority of its activities to the newoperation.
RTL Radio Berlin plans to startbroadcasting in summer, and
willoffer a complete format of news,music and games.
In Luxembourg, local gover-nment is currently discussing
theintroduction of private radio sta-tions. If, as expected, 40
loe21 pri-vates and three or four bigger re-gional stations are
given a radiofrequency, CLTs position couldbe endangered.
Says Schintgen, "We weregiven the exclusive right on
allterrestrial frequencies in Luxem-bourg back in 1931. But the
newproject allowing privates does notmake us feel happy, as
Luxem-bourg is a very small territory andit will be difficult to
share thesmall advertising.
Urban Dance Squad's Promo Pushby Machgiel Bakker
BMG Ariola Holland is step-ping up its promotional activitiesto
further boost media interest inUrban Dance Squad. Signed toAriola,
the band debuted in theautumn of 1989 with the album
Zappa ShowGets CDIndependent record company AVM hasreleased two
CDs featuring FrankZappa repertoire, performed by theBRT Big Band
and the CucamongaTrio.
Both CDs are a result of the "HonkerRevue", an event staged by
BRT Radio1 in May last year and produced byZjakki Willems. The
Honker Revuewas a 12 -hour-long event featuringZappa movies, clips
and records. It alsohad two concerts featuring the Cuca-monga trio
and the BRT Big Band. MM
Mental Floss For The Globe. Thegroup's mix of funk, rap,
scratchand blues immediately esta-blished them as one of
Holland'sbest bets for export.
Their status has not gone unno-ticed in the US. The band are
sig-ned directly to Arista and arecurrently on a 26 -date tour
acrossthe US as support act to LivingColour. The single Deeper
ShadeOf Soul is at present no. 29 in theBillboard chart while the
albumhas reached a no. 63 position.
In Holland. the band's remix of
Deeper Shade Of Soul has beenserviced to key media
contacts,followed by the live albumHollywood Live/Pinkpop Live;both
are promo -only releases. Inthe first week of March, a newsingle
will be commercially rele-ased, entitled Fastlane.
Urban Dance Squad are alsofeatured in a US film, "Pump UpThe
Volume"-- together withother acts like Concrete Blonde,Beastie
Boys, Was (Not Was)and Stan Ridgway --that will pro-bably hit
Europe the end of April.
Radio Park Celebrates 10thTo celebrate its 10th anniver-sary,
private station RadioPark/Antwerp plans to giveaway Bfr2 million
(app.US$66.000) worth of prizes.The competition was organ-ised in
collaboration with a
local Toyota dealer, which ag-reed to donate a Toyota Starletas
first prize, as well as launcha special series of the car withRadio
Park logos and fre-quency ID on thebody. MM
6 MUSIC & MEDIA FEBRUARY 16 1991
AmericanRadioHistory.Com
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Music Turnover Up 10%,But Unit Sales Stay Flat
by Emmanuel Legrand
While 1990 was a good year interms of turnover for the
Frenchmusic industry, a static growthrate in unit sales has raised
someconcern.
Copyright body SNEP saystotal turnover for 1990 reachedFfr5.36
billion (app. US$1 bil-lion), a 9.9% increase over lastyear. Unit
sales of recorded musicincreased to 131 million from130.9
million.
Almost 60% of the turnovercomes from CD sales (versus 50%
CD singles doubled to 1.4 millionunits. Cassette sales continue
togrow, up 5% to 42 million units.The singles situation is
worryingSNEP, with unit sales droppingfrom 42.5 million in 1988
and35.5 million in 1989 to 26.5 mil-lion in 1990.
The international share of themarket is slightly up on the
na-tional repertoire (46% against42.5%) compared with the pre-vious
year. The LP/CD market isdominated by international actswhile
single sales are 60% nation-ally orientated.
"It is clear that the market of pre-record-ed music is at a
turning point."
-Jean-Yves Mirski
in 1989 and 7% in 1985), whilecassettes accounted for 28%.Market
share for the two vinyl'carriers (singles and LPs) fellfrom 20% to
10% (70% in 1985).
The music video market (videoand CDV Laserdiscs) has
seenconsiderable growth, yet still has asmall market share: 1.3% in
1989and 2% in 1990.
The downfall of the vinyl LP isconfirmed with a 58%
decreasecompared to 1989 (less than sevenmillion units, as opposed
to 20million in 1988). This is offset bya dramatic growth in CD
sales(+37% at 56 million units), while
Comments SNEP spokesmanJean -Yves Mirski, "It is clear thatthe
market of pre-recorded musicis at a turning point." SNEP presi-dent
Patrick Zelnik says the in-dustry goal for 1991 is a 10%growth
through a "voluntary po-licy and collective actions". Oneof these
actions will be the majorlaunching in April/May of the cas-single,
labelled in France as a"Two Tracks Cassette". All themain producers
and distributorshave agreed to work on a collec-tive campaign.
The main titles will be releasedon cassingle and a
promotions
First Euro Move ForPremiere Radio
by Jacqueline Eacott
Los Angeles -based radio syndica-tor Premiere Radio
Networks,which opened a Paris officeDecember I. The group is
cur-rently negotiating with severalFrench FM stations with deals
ex-pected to be closed shortly. says
Virgin Plans4th MegastoreWith Megastores in Paris, Marseillesand
Bordeaux, Virgin has now chosento open its fourth French store in
Lille.The location at the Galeries Operawas previously home to a
number ofsmaller retail outlets. It is expected toopen for business
in September, withan annual turnover of Ffr250 million(app. US$48
million). About 200 jobsshould be created.The site's existing 2.600
square metreswill be expanded to 4.600 and includeoffices and the
Virgin Cafe. In linewith the other French VirginMegastores, opening
hours will be09.00 -midnight.
Premiere's Paris representative EdMann.
Created in 1985 by DJs fromCHR MIS-FM/Los AngelesPremiere
specialises in producingradio programmes for contempor-ary formats.
Comments Mann, "Weare used to adapting our packagesto local
markets, so we will beready to do the same for differentEuropean
territories. Each pro-gramme package will be rewrittenand adapted
to suit local needs."
The Doors LP The Legend isone of Premiere's latest offers --two
-minute sequences of musicand interviews to be programmeddaily. The
package includes inter-views with the director of the up-coming Jim
Morrison bio-pic,Oliver Stone, and the survivingDoors members.
The company's biggest successto date is the "Premiere
ComedyNetwork" package of shortsketches, used in morning showsand
currently aired by 650 sta-tions in the US.
campaign between consumers andretailers will be
implemented.Several major companies have tes-ted the format in
previous yearsbut results were neither conclusivenor important
enough to followup. What is new is that all thecompanies have
decided to act to-gether. The decline of singles saleshas prompted
this decision.
French Music SalesSales
(Ffr mil.)Units(mil.)
Format 1990 1989 % chg. 1990 1989 % chg.
Singles 349.3 458.7 (23.9) 24.8 33.0 (24.9)
LP 204.4 498.8 (59.0) 6.7 16.1 (58.5)
Cassette 1,512.8 1,466.3 3.2 41.9 40.1 4.6
CD 3,177.2 2,385.7 33.2 56.2 40.9 37.2
Music Video 111.9 63.1 77.3 1.4 0.89 3.0
Total 5,355.6 4,872.6 9.9 131.0 130.9 0.0
Source: SNEP
ONE MORE FOR THE RECORD - CBS/France recording artist Patricia
Kaas (centre) receives a double plati-num award at a party in
Sain-Avoid for her album "Scene De Vie". The record has sold more
than 750.000units in the country. Pictured with Kaas are (14:
producer Jean -Jacques Souplet; managers Cyril Prieur andRichard
Walter; and Sony Music France president Henri de Bodinat.
Dance A French Tune, Pleads RoyMIDEM CEO Xavier Roy ispromoting
the possibility of a"week of French music", aimed topromote
national music. Roy putforward the idea to the Frenchmusic industry
at the recentMIDEM conference.
With a hoped -for debut atMIDEM '92, the event is slated torun
during the Victoires De LaMusique (French music industryawards),
which generally takes
place shortly after MIDEM. It isbelieved the event could
counter-act traditionally weak mid -wintersales.
MIDEM says if the frameworkproves successful, it can see no
re-ason why copycats elsewhere inEurope should not spring
up.Details Roy, "The purpose of theevent is to draw attention to
all as-pects of French musical produc-tion. The proposal was
submitted
to the French copyright body,SNEP, and was greeted withmuch
interest."
Adds SNEP president PatrickZelnik, "A working group headedby
[Sony Music France] presi-dent Henri de Bodinat has beenset up
within SNEP and will eva-luate the feasibility of this project.
"It will oversee all necessaryways to ensure the success of
thisimportant event." EL
Sam Plays It By The CDBelgium indie label Play ItAgain Sam
(PIAS) has launchedits first major French marketingcampaign since
the creation ofthe label's subsidiary last year.Just before the
MIDEM confe-rence, PIAS inserted a five -trackmini -CD in the
February isue ofconsumer music magazine Best(circulation
110.000).
Acts featured on the CD wereFront 242, New Fast
AutomaticDaffodils, Bill Pritchard,Trisomie 21 and Meat
BeatManifesto. PIAS France ma-nager Fabrice Absil says thecampaign
was also linked with aseries of operations with localradio stations
and retailers.
He says, "Our goal was to in-
crease the awareness of the labelin France on both the
consumerlevel and the retail level. It wasalso a way to
motivatePolyGram Distribution, withwhom we have just signed a
li-censing deal for the forthcomingLPs by Front 242 and
BillPritchard." EL
MUSIC & MEDIA FEBRUARY 16 1991 7
AmericanRadioHistory.Com
-
ITALY
Sting Rides 'Cages'Straight To The Top
by David Stansfield
Sting is the first international artistto shoot straight to no.
1 in the offi-cial RAI album chart with his newLP The Soul Cages
(Polydor). Thesuccess is backed by the division'sbiggest -ever
marketing campaign,valued at more than US$1 million.
The campaign includes TV ad-vertising on Silvio
Berlusconi'sprivate network channels untilMay, a promotion and
advertisingcampaign on the national privatestation Rete 105, plus
full -page ad-verts in leading daily newspapers.Drinks company
Aperol is partne-ring with Polydor by investingmoney in the
campaign and hasalso made a donation to theRainforest
Foundation.
Says Polydor GM AdrianBerwick, "Madonna and PhilCollins both
achieved sales of750.000 units for their albums onnational
territory. That seems to bethe ceiling for international artistsbut
we intend to top it with TheSoul Cages."
Berwick admits he is helped bythe fact that Sting's album is
the
first of the big international relea-ses expected this year. But
he be-lieves the artist's profile is huge."He received pre-release
exposureon the TV series 'Rock Cafe'. Andthe fact that it was a
much -awaitedrecord led to excellent airplay ofthe single All This
Time. The Maydates of the Italian leg of his tourare also perfect
timing for us."
Berwick confirms that the singlereceived powerplay on most
na-tional stations. "And it was impor-tant that it was released
almost fourweeks before the album. It is al-most impossible to
concentrate air-play on one song. The gap betweensingle and album
was instrumental
in the build-up of anticipation andexcitement for the record.
But nowthat we've serviced the album,there is airplay on almost
everytrack. That disperses a lot of theconcentration that we feel
we needto establish a song. It is hard to ad-vertise an album if
you do not havea hit single from it. The hit singledoes not exist
in Italy. You eitherhave a radio hit or you have not-hing. But with
All This lime wehad a so-called radio hit which washelpful. It
assists with radio andTV advertising because the songcan be
associated with the album."
A&M product managerGiovanni Arcovito says the singlepresents
the artist in a new vein. "Itis light and has nothing to do
withpolitics or the environment. Therest of the album has a
personaltone, and although the single wasreceived favourably by
broadcas-ters, they were also surprised. Thereaction to the second
single, MadAbout You, will be much better. Itis the Sting that
Italians recogniseand it is perfect for the nationalmarket."
SMILING FACES - Phonogram and Rete 105 celebrate the latest
award for Elton John's album "The Very Best ofElton John". The two
companies partnered for a promotional and radio ad campaign. The
smiling faces belongto (l -r): Phonogram marketing manager Roberto
Biglia; Rete 105 public relations manager Jeannine Orrigo;Phonogram
head of promotion Dan& Calatroni; and Rete 105 music director
Alex Peroni.
Hazan, Ricordi In Joint VentureRete 105, Radio Monte Carloand
105 Classic are to team withretail records chain, Ricordi, for
ajoint promotion venture. Finalcontracts have yet to be
confirmedbut all parties are confident thedeal --to involve the
stations broad-casting live from retail outlets inMilan and Rome
--will be finalisedin time for a March launch.
Head of all three stations,Alberto Hazan, comments, "Wewill
start by broadcasting livefrom the Milan megastore once aweek. We
are building a studioand the choice of station will de-pend on the
current specialitiesof each."
Ricordi MD Matteo Rignano,responsible for running 26 na-
tional outlets, hopes the new ini-tiative will not be limited
tobroadcasting. "Time will tell, butthe owners of the stations
arevery creative. I believe it may bepossible to create
somethingcompletely new. We could lookat forms of national
promotioncompetitions or maybe even ajoint music magazine." DS
Sting
San Remo FestConfirms ActsTwenty major acts and artists and16
newcomers have been confirmedas contestants at this year's SanRemo
Song Festival, Italy's majorshowcase for national talent. Basedon
the success of previous shows.event organiser AdrianoAragozzini is
attempting to keepthe same formula as last year. At thefestival's
40th anniversary all com-petitors sang live and major conten-ders
were partnered with non -com-peting international acts and
artists.
Although big names such asKenny Rogers, Earth, Wind &Fire,
Gilbert Becaud, DonnaSummer, Tom Jones and RandyCrawford are being
touted as li-kely partners, Aragozzini declinedto make any
confirmations at presstime. Voices from all sectors of thenational
music industry are admit-ting that the current Gulf crisis
iscreating problems for securing USacts for the event.
The festival is to be staged fromFebruary 27 -March 2. This will
bepreceded by San Remo Internatio-nal, a two-day pop rock event
feat-uring national and international ta-lent. It is not expected
the US willbe strongly represented there either.
A&M product manager
Giovanni Arcovito confirms thatthe Neville Brothers have
alreadypulled out. He admitted their with-drawal would affect other
valuablepromotion opportunities. DS
Festival ContestantsMajor Contenders
Al Bano & Romina, GianniBella, Loredana Berte,Pierangelo
Bertoli, RosanaCasale, Riccardo Cocciante,Eduardo de
Crescenzo,Grazia di Michele, Fiordaliso,Riccardo Fogli,
EnzoJannacci, Ladri de Biciclette,Marco Masini, Mietta,Amedeo
Minghi, MariellaNava, Raf, Jo Squillo &Sabrina Salerno,
UmbertoTozzi, Renato Zero.
NewcomersTimoria, Pat rizia Bulgari,Bungaro-Conidi-Di
Bella,Marco Carena, Paola de Mas,Fandango, Irene Fargo, RitaForte,
Dario Gai, Gitano,Monica Granai, Stefania laFauci, Rudy Marra,
GianniMazza, Giovanni Nuti, PaoloVallesi.
Radio Dimensione SuoneMoves Into A New AgeEHR station Radio
DimensioneSuono/Rome is poised to introducenew age music into its
program-ming. Programme director BrunoPloyer confirms that a
business ag-reement with Monza -based specia-list independent label
Les FoliesArts is at an advanced stage.
The label previously had a dealwith Radio Monte Carlo and
part-nered the station with monthly ma-gazine New Age And New
Soundsdevoted to new age music. It car-ried a CD and was believed
to be
the first European specialist maga-zine for music of this genre.
Ployersays the station will not formatnew age music in a standard
way."We are not interested in a pureand simple new age music
pro-gramme. We have to figure outsomething more interesting for
ourlisteners. We have to air program-mes that will appeal to them,
andnot just to the promotion people atrecord companies. When we do
airnew age music we will do it in anoriginal way." DS
8 MUSIC & MEDIA FEBRUARY 16 1991
AmericanRadioHistory.Com
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SPAIN/PORTUGAL
Ole For Antena 3's 'Country' Stationby Anna Marie de la
Fuente
Private broadcaster Antena 3 haslaunched a traditional
Spanishmusic station called RadioOle/Madrid. Radio personalityand
journalist Jose RamonPardo will serve as head ofmusic programming.
At presstime, the name is still pending of-ficial clearance from
the gover-nment names registry.
Pardo, an Antena 3 stalwartsince 1985, has hosted severalmusic
shows on both Antena 3Radio and TV. He has also colla-borated on a
variety of books onmusic and media.
Says Pardo, "Radio Ole is thefirst of its kind in Madrid." He
li-kens the music played on the 24 -hour station to American
countrymusic. Top Spanish acts IsabelPantoja, Rocio Jurado,
ConchaPicquer and Jose Manuel Sotoare among those included on
theplaylist.
The gleaming hi -tech studioinstalled for Radio Ole boasts
di-gital audio technology (DAT).Antena 3 first introduced DAT toits
24 -station oldies networkRadio 80 last autumn, making it
Jose Ramon Pardo
the first fully digital network inSpain. It had transferred most
ofits 2.000 classic oldies from CDto DAT. Preparations are underway
for Antena 3 to broadcast viasatellite.
Talent Sings For Peaceby Howell Llewellyn
Twenty-nine Spanish acts have re-corded Spain's first peace
singleand video in response to the Gulfwar. The record, United By
Peace,was scheduled for release onFebruary 4 by Ati Records.
would get the song out again andgive it a more global
treatment.United By Peace is not onlyagainst the Gulf war, but
againstviolence as a method of solvingproblems."
The single, recorded in Madrid,will be distributed
throughout
"United By Peace is not only against theGulf war, but against
violence as a meth-od of solving problems." -Jose Maria Rial
All profits will go to the RedCross and Amnesty Inter-national.
The song is a rework ofFarewell To Alms by the bandNoviembre, which
is signed to thesame label. The one -year -old inde-pendent label,
based in Elche inSoutheast Spain, pressed an initial7.000
records.
Says Ati head of promotionJose Maria Rial, "On the night ofthe
first US attack we thought we
Spain by Serdisco. Top -10Spanish artists on the single in-clude
Rosendo, Los Ronaldos,Ramonoin, La Trampa and LuisPastor. None
received any pay-ment.
"We are ready to print more co-pies immediately," Rial
com-ments. "It is a good song. Wecould have got more famous
actswith more time but we did notwant to lose the moment."
SCANDINAVIA
Elap Debuts First Metronome Records TitlesDenmark's Elap Music
has rele-ased its first title under a majordeal with composer
BentFabric's Metronome Records.The 32 -track compilation ofFabric's
own Greatest Hits, in-cluding Alley Cat and a numberof film and TV
themes, was re-
leased on January 31.The move follows Elap's out-
right purchase of the entireMetronome catalogue (no rela-tion to
PolyGram's German sub-sidiary, Metronome Musik) onDecember 18. That
deal coversabout 1.500 recordings made by
Metronome between 1962 and1978, mainly of domestic Danishpop and
jazz artists such as TheRocking Ghosts and SvendAsmussen. Financial
details werenot disclosed.
Elap, owned by the UK'sPickwick International, domi-
Radio West Closes Downby Paul Andrews &
Kari Helopaltio
Finnish MOR private RadioWest/Espoo has gone bankruptafter less
than a year on -air.Broadcasts ceased on January24 and the entire
staff havebeen laid off. The station is thesecond in the Helsinki
area tofold within four months, folio -
say its debts amount to nearlyUS$1 million. First signs of
trou-ble came in December, with thedismissal of MD Jyrki
Otila.Programme director MattiPaalosmaa resigned shortly
af-terwards.
Says former editor -in -chief UlfAhrenberg, "We reached200.000
listeners out of the po-tential one million in the area.
"With hindsight, Radio West could pro-bably have survived if it
were smaller. "
- Ulf Ahrenberg
wing similarly formatted RadioSyke.
Backed by a number of localcompanies and both theConservative
and SocialDemocratic parties in Finland,Radio West opened in
February1990. It targeted the 30-45 agegroup, employing
well-knownDJs, but consistently failed toattract local
advertisers.
Sources close to Radio West
But of the three private stationsin Helsinki we were
alwaysnumber three. The marketingand sales sides couldn't
deliveragainst that competition."
Competitors Radio City andRadio Ettan both target ayounger
audience withEHR/rock-based formats.These, say industry insiders,
arefar more attractive to Finnishadvertisers than the over
-30s.
"With hindsight, Radio Westcould probably have survived ifit
were smaller," continuesAhrenberg. "From the beginninga lot of
money was put into thestudios and staffing --there were20
full-timers and about thesame number of freelancers --sothat the
finances were alwaysstretched. If the station had beenallowed to
start modestly andgrow with the market, therewould have been no
problem."
The fate of Radio West's FMfrequency has yet to be
decided,although Ahrenberg says thereare no known plans to revive
orreplace the station.
Comments Finnish privateradio association SPRL chair-man Nils
Tuominen, "The clos-ures show how hard the industryhas been hit by
the recession.There is a decline in business,and even big
advertisers such asbanks, car dealers, and restau-rants are pulling
out becausethey're going through hardtimes, too."
nates the Danish budget recordand video markets. This year,
itplans to re-release some 10 "clas-sic" albums, as well as about
30low -price compilations drawnfrom the Metronome roster.About four
titles per month willbe issued. Many will becomeavailable on CD for
the first time,retailing at Dkr79 each (app.US$13), as opposed to
the stan-dard price of Dkr149.
Says Elap promotion managerChristian Gunbak Kjeldsen,"This deal
has brought us a lot ofvery interesting material. It'ssomething of
a history of Danishpop from the '60s and '70s. We
themselves able to build up thatlibrary."
Kjeldsen adds that some of theacquisitions also have
interna-tional potential, such as jazz re-cordings featuring
StephaneGrappelli. These titles will beoffered to Pickwick
companiesthroughout the world for release.
Metronome Records was thefirst company founded by BentFabric.
Established in the early1960s, it formed the nucleus of agroup
which now covers a broadspectrum of the Danish entertain-ment
industry. Central activitiesinclude home video, film produc-tion
and a Copenhagen entertain -
"We already work with about 60 localstations, and it's quite
easy to get mostto play some of our material. "
- Christian Gunbak Kjeldsen
expect it to generate considerableinterest in Denmark and the
restof Scandinavia, so we want to dosomething special with it."
Despite their vintage, he hopesradio will be among those
inte-rested in the reissues, saying,"We already work with about
60local stations, and it's quite easyto get most to play some of
ourmaterial. Many would like toplay more oldies like this
along-side new releases, but becausethey are small and only a
fewyears old, most don't have them.Especially now that made
themavailable on CD, they're finding
ment centre Metronome Recordshas not issued a release
since1978.
"We were able to acquire theserights because Fabric no longerhas
the time to work with the re-cord company," explainsKjeldsen. "I
think he felt we hadthe right organisation, attitudeand ideas to
take things on fromhere." He adds that MetronomeRecords will
continue to exist,though "not as a record com-pany".
At press time, no Metronomespokesperson was available tocomment
on the transaction. PA
MUSIC & MEDIA FEBRUARY 16 1991 9
AmericanRadioHistory.Com
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Telephone Request Lines:
The Undervalued AssetDiscover a gold mine hiding inside your
existing radiostation. A simple telephone request line pays big
divi-
dends, both in the search for new listeners or just to incre-ase
the listening -time of an existing audience. Let's look
at some reasons why it is such an undervalued asset.
by Scott Lockwood
The telephone request line esta-blishes a link between the
listenerand your radio station. Lees notforget we are in the
business ofcommunication, and spend 99%of our time talking to
listeners viathe microphone. The telephonegives each listener a
special andpersonal way of communicatingback to us. Listeners who
contactradio stations even just once goaway with an impression that
cre-ates a bond to last a lifetime.
It is worth taking a few minu-tes, perhaps half -an -hour, to
askyourself if you are really gettingthe most from these lines. Do
thephones ring a lot or are theymostly silent? Do presenters
often
ning and your audience is gro-wing incrementally. This is not
anexact science nor is this a guaran-tee, but it is safe to say
that activephones mean an interested au-dience. Getting your
audience tocommunicate with you increasesthe chance that they will
reportyou in an official rating survey.
The people that call are youractive listeners. These are
thepeople who love radio the mostand serve as opinion leaders
whe-rever radios are found. Servingthis group is of the utmost
impor-tance.
The manner in which they aretreated and served by your
radiostation could determine the fateof how they will report you to
theratings. Resolve to handle each
"Resolve to handle each phone call as ifit were an ounce of
gold."
tell you of new listeners that havecalled during their
programme?Or do they complain about thesame group of five people
callingevery day?
If you are constantly hearingfrom new listeners and the
phonerings frequently, you can assumethere are plenty of people
liste-
phone call as if it were an ounceof gold, because it truly is.
Evenjust a few phone calls handledwell from survey participants
canmake a difference to your results.
Additional BenefitsListener phone calls can also actas a form of
inexpensive research
that can be used as a program-ming tool. Presenters or
telep-hone operators who answer thephones can obtain valuable
basicinformation from callers, such assex, age, location and
musicalpreferences.
When presenters answer the te-lephone it can actually help
im-prove their performance on theair. As we all know, it can get
aw-fully lonely in the studio at times.Presenters often need a link
to theoutside world.
Rating surveys are nothing butnumbers games. Answering agroup of
phone calls is the same.The more phones that are answe-red then the
more listeners are tal-ked to and the more your au-dience is liable
to increase. Atypical presenter can answerabout 10 phone calls an
hour as aside to their regular on -air duties.In a typical 24 -hour
day, thattranslates to 240 calls. This maysound like a pittance to
some, butthe numbers multiply surprisinglyfast.
How It WorksA short sales pitch should wrapup each call by
inviting listenersto listen longer or at other loca-tions. For
instance, if they are cal-ling from home, invite them tolisten at
the office. The possibili-ties here are endless. Do not stopuntil
you have got them listening24 hours a day and everywherethey go (if
you can get away withthat). Have presenters finish each
Five Good Reasons To ImplementTelephone Request Lines
They are a special and personal way for listeners tocommunicate
back to us.
They are an inexpensive means of research that can be usedas a
programming tool.
The presenter is linked with the outside world. Communicating
with listeners makes presenters feel good,
hence their on -air presentation improves. Audience figures are
increased through greater station
awareness.
phone call by thanking the callerfor listening and inviting them
tocall any time. Allow presenters todo this in any style they like,
justbe sure and leave them feelingimportant and sold on the
station.
How To Implement APhone ProgrammeSchedule a special staff
meetingwith your presenters to discuss thetopic. About an hour
should do.Use this time to instil in each pre-senter's mind how
important it isto find new listeners and take careof existing
listeners on the phone.
Develop a blank form for allpresenters to use to accurately
re-cord all information taken fromthe phone.
Do not let presenters get lazyand use scrap paper. Keep anample
supply of forms in the stu-dio at all times.
Designate a file for presenters toplace finished request forms
at theend of each shift.
Create another form especiallyfor your private use to record
rawnumbers of requests taken for eachpresenter's shift. After a
shortwhile, not only will you be able tosee who is getting great
response,you will also be able to chart somegreat graphs and later
see how it
correlates with ratings results.Get a highlighter in your
favou-
rite colour to highlight significantsong requests of new
recordingsetc. It is not necessary to keeptrack of every single
request (un-less of course you want to), justget an idea of the
trend of newsongs etc.
Keep up with this task on adaily basis. Be sure to really
readeach request form that comes in.
Scott Lockwood is President ofScott Lockwood Enterprises, an
in-ternational programming consul-ting firm. Clients include
Nur-emberg's Radio Charivari andHitradio NI. Scott can be reachedin
Germany on 911-238-727.
Calypso: Refusing To Talk Politics In Hungary Format: Classic
rock and
oldies. Core Artists: Beatles, Cliff
Richard, Deep Purple. Audience: 92% reach
(Source: Budapest Uni-versity). Peak time: twomillion.
Target Audience: 15-40. Launch Date: May 1989. Ownership:
78%
Hegedus's Multimedia;22% Hungarian govern-ment.
Frequency: AM 873 kHz. Address: Belgrad Rkp 21,
1056 Budapest. Tel: (1) 1179488. Fax: (1) 138 8925.
by Howard Shannon
MD Laszlo Hegedus says,"Calypso went on -air in May1989 as a
semi -national privatestation. It uses an AM frequencyand is 22%
owned by the govern-ment. The transmitter actuallytakes in a radius
of 120 kilomet-res around Budapest.
"AM is important because mostHungarian retailers have soldonly
this type of radio in the past20 years. FM receivers have
beenexpensive until of late, and eventhose were tuned to a
specialEastern Europe 66-88 MHz fre-quency.
"The secret of success is a uni-que concept which is totally
con-centrated on entertainment anddisregards everything which
wasstandard to the previously mono-
polised radio broadcasters.Calypso refuses to deal with
anypolitics.
"We have a classic rock and ol-dies format, as the '60s and
'70sformed an important basis formusical tastes in Hungary. I
alsogrew up influenced heavily byRTL and Radio Free Europe.Head of
music is Laszlo Toth.
"Research by BudapestUniversity of Economics indica-
tes our weekly reach might be ashigh as 92%, with the
strongestage group being 25-35. Anothersurvey, by Szonda,
reportsCalypso is listened to by 50%more people than the
nationwidenetwork Radio Petofi and 300%more than Radio
Danubius.
"I can say with conviction thatin the late afternoon and
earlymornings there are about two mil-lion listeners. To be honest,
whenwe first started, even our staffdidn't expect such a good
re-sponse.
"Only one hour a day do we airtop 40, hard rock and
disco.Calypso programmes two charts:the Coca-Cola Eurochart Hot100,
and the US Billboard Hot100 Singles chart. Programmingis
computerised, created byHungarian software company
NOVITAX."The station carries commer-
cials, mostly local firms. About85% of these local ads are
actu-ally our presenters 'endorsing' aproduct from a prepared
script.International commercials repre-sent about 8% of total. Peak
air-time costs $US500 per minutewith a daily average of five
minu-tes per hour.
"I see the Hungarian adverti-sing market growing at around25%
annually. However, inflationis running at 28%. But on an an-nual
turnover of US$1.6 million,we are in profit.
"Calypso is very keen on 'per-sonality' presenters, often on
-airin five -hour blocks. They alsoread the news half-hourly.
Manyof our DJs were formerly TV re-porters or rock stars."
10 MUSIC & MEDIA FEBRUARY 16 1991
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SINGLES
Kim ApplebyGLAD - ParlophoneThe well-known PWL-vibe,
sometimesknown as 'the sound of a bright youngBritain' strikes
back. GLAD. stands. forGood Lovin And Devotion, and is takenfrom
Appleby's solo debut album as thefollow-up to Don't Worry. It's
solid but notexactly profound.
Digital Underground
digital underground
Same Song - Tommy Boy/IndiscSame as it ever was: more groovy
stuff.This EP contains six (!) songs, all as magi-cal as each
other. Not your average rapcrew, but a one -in -a -million.
Julio IglesiasWhen I Need You - ColumbiaMadrid calling. In
another attempt tocrack the US market, Spanish superstarIglesias
covers Leo Sayer's well-knownsong. This time without the help
fromAmerican megastars Diana Ross andWillie Nelson.
The Jack Of HeartsCan't Win 'Em 4/I - MunichRather surprising
remake of the song thatappeared on their latest album Blue.
TheAmsterdam -based rock band team up withthe sensational American
gospel trio TheHolmes Brothers. Suitable for top 40 pro-grammers
and preachers.
Judas PriestA Touch Of Evil - ColumbiaJust after the notorious
court cases, thisbunch continue their evil. Repeatedplaying of the
record backwards yieldedno result. No sublimely hidden messages,but
pompous cod -piece metal in the dan-ger zone.
MC Fixx ItRock The Discotex - Freaky/CNRDutch rap crew deliver a
freaky style overa demanding house beat. The piano solo inthe
middle is a real treat. Grooves to setthe dancefloor on fire.
New Kids On The BlockGames - ColumbiaDon't play games with this
dangerous lot,especially when "The Kids Get Hard Mix"is involved.
Tougher than the rest? Noway, the baseline is recycled from
obscureNew York "no wave" act Liquid Liquid.But there are lots of
worse crimes:
Grandmaster Flash used the same sampleon White Lines (Don't Do
It).
Donny OsmondMy Love Is A Fire - CapitolSince David Cassidy's
return, it was only amatter of time for a Donny Osmond come-back.
Listening to his new heavy disco di-rection, George Michael seems
to be hismain inspiration these days. Listen wit-hout
prejudice.
RomanRainy Day - WEADebut single by a promising new Germanact.
who play very sophisticated pop.Special, because of the mix of
orthodoxand modern electronic instruments.Roman is the pseudonym of
multi -talentedBertram Ernst. He sounds like a combina-tion of
Lloyd Cole (his voice!) and DavidSylvian (the machinery). Taken
from theupcoming album Blue Moonbeam.
Tanita TikaramOnly The Ones We Know - East WestCall it
precocious, call it what you want, itremains an amazing fact that
such a younggirl plays such mature music. And she'seven started
smiling. She should beEverybody's Angel as the title of her
newalbum suggests.
VictoriaThis Love Is Not For Sale -Jonathan/Carrere"Can't buy me
love" is the message here.Jump to the beat of this Greek
productionand dream of your summer holidays in thesun.
Wee Papa Girl RappersBest Of My Love - JiveHumpty hump, and the
hip -hop goes on.Nice chorus, but why does all this rappingspoil
the soul of this Emotions cover ver-sion? Please, Papa, don't
preach.
Ambitious Lovers
ALBUMS
ambitions RIMS
Lust - ElektraComing out of the 1979 against -the -grain,No New
York -movement, Arto Lindsayhas developed in a more accessible
direc-tion. It's no longer music from the uneasychair; now it's
intelligent dance music.Tuck It In and Ponta De lanca
AfricanoUmbabarautna are pure hit material.Dance programmers put on
your dancingshoes!
BlanchardClochard Milliardaire - EMINot to be confused with
Belgian singerDirk Blanchart, this is Frenchman GerardBlanchard.
Indeed he's a Genii] Chanteur,and he plays a mighty fine
accordeonalongside. His 12 -track set is folky, it'spoppy, and it's
perfect for parties.
ChicagoTwenty I - RepriseBusiness as usual. Since these veterans
in-vented AOR way back in time, they ha-ven't changed a bit. Never
change a win-ning team. Just keep Holdin' On as theysing
themselves. Guest musicians includeToto's Steve Porcaro and their
former pro-ducer David Foster. New producer RonNevison surely knows
how to record an"FM -only" album.
Delta Cross BandTough Times - Medley (Sweden)Basic blues from
the Copenhagen -Delta. Mostly recorded in one take, adelight in
these modern times, whenmusicians sometimes spend years inthe
studio. This reunion album, filledwith covers of blues standards
ofMuddy Waters and Robert Johnson, isthe follow-up of 1978's No
Overdubs.
Contact tel: (45) 31-171 411: fax:(31) 171 766.
Rakotobalmy Andro - Bird (France)Originally from Madagascar.
Bordeaux -based Rakatosings in his mother tongue.His warm-blooded
style will appeal toprogrammers tuned in on Sting and PeterGabriel.
Contact Bertrand Coqueugniotat tel. (33) - 1 407 101 80; fax: 1 407
10405.
Paul RolandMasque - New Rose (UK)If pop music had existed in the
19thcentury, Paul Roland, "the last eccen-tric", would have been a
star.Preoccupied with fantasy and historicalthemes, his folk/rock
takes place inVictorian times. Read Edgar Allan Poewhile listening
to this fascinatingalbum. Contact Karen or Brian at tel.(44) 71-978
8611; fax: 71-738 5039.
Sun DialExploding In Your Mind - UFO (UK)Are these unreleased
tapes by the earlyPink Floyd? This neo-psychedelic/acidrock outfit
reflect back to the days ofPipers At The Gates Of Dawn. Thisalbum
also tops their "Desert IslandDiscs" -list. Contact Mark Hayward
attel. (44) 71-636 1281; fax: 71-6360738.
Susanna HoffsWhen You're A Boy - ColumbiaFormer Bangles
leadsinger Hoffs solodebut is a jukebox filled with upcominghits.
The first single taken from it, MySide Of The Bed, is pop in the
best bubble -gum traditions. But the ultimate pop tuneis the Cindy
Lauper- compositionUnconditional Love.
Inner CircleBlack Roses - RASWarm reggae sounds do wonders in
thecold areas. The first single taken from thisLP, Bad Boys, is
already a smash hit inScandinavia. Carlton Coffie's vocals growwith
the years. A fine collection on thisnew album.
LitfibaEl Diablo - CGDMuscular power rock from popular
Italianduo. They don't just devil around, theyalso tease with nice
melodies. Listen to thetitle track, also the first single.
SiamoUmani and Resisti. Hard to resist forwarm-blooded radio
programmers.
Mute ArtistsInternational Compilation - MuteDepeche Mode and
Erasure are probablythe most famous artists on the Mute label.They
are both featured on this compilationamong many others less famous,
likeNitzer Ebb and the notorious Yugoslavianband Laibach. A
splendid compilation ofall Mute's activities, which range from
top40 material typical album rocks. Besttracks: I Have The Gun by
Crime & TheCity Solution and The Train Song by NickCave &
The Bad Seeds, both bands fromAustralia.
Les NaufragesCa Baigne -Art TraficFolk seems to be the main
attraction inFrance these days. These good -timersjump on the Les
Negresses Vertes andSoldat Louis bandwagon. Music to partytill
daylight with lots of bottles of wineand baguettes. LAccordeoniste
really istres, trs iolie.
Graham ParkerStruck By Lightning - DemonOld soldiers never die.
God in America,almost forgotten in Europe, Parker hasdone it again.
On this new self -producedLP it's back to the semi -acoustic
setting of1988's The Mona Lisa's Sister, and itworks wonderfully
(She Wants So ManyThings and Weeping Statues). FeaturingGarth
Hudson (The Band) on accordeonand harmonica player John
Sebastian.
The Tragically HipRoad Apples - MCAIf time could turn backwards,
they wouldhave been the fill-in of the gap betweenThe Rolling
Stones and CreedenceClearwater Revival. Singer GordonDownie of this
Toronto -based swamp rockband is as passionate as Jim Morrison
ofThe Doors (Long Time Running). But thisis definitely no revival
act.
Singles and albums featured in New Releases are listed
alphabetically. Selections include those which have achieved
significant airplay within the last four weeks and those releases
judged
to have musical merit. Records mentioned in this section are by
acts signed to independent labels for which license and/or
publishing rights are available, except as noted. Pleasesend your
samples to Machgiel Bakker, PO Box 9027, 1006 AA Amsterdam,
Holland.
MUSIC & MEDIA FEBRUARY 16 1991 1
AmericanRadioHistory.Com
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Rick AstleyRick Astley 's 87 Stock, Aitken & Waterman
-produced debut album"Whenever You Need Somebody" entered both the
UK album chart
and the European Top 100 Albums (January '88) at no. 1. The '88
fol-low-up "Hold Me In Your Arms" reached no. 6 and no. 8,
respectively,
a year later. Having sold 10 million albums combined, the
release ofhis new RCA album "Free" on February 18, marks a new
direction.
by Robbert Tilli
The collaboration between Astley and PWLproducers Stock, Aitken
& Waterman wasa success right from the start. The first
singleNever Gonna Give You Up, released in July'87, was not only a
no. 1 hit in the UK forfive consecutive weeks, but it also
toppedthe charts in the US, Germany, Australia and12 other
countries worldwide. The secondsingle, Whenever You Need Somebody,
fol-lowed a similar course. The magic S/A/Wimprint did wonders
again. The combinationof the trio's carefree arrangements,
andAstley's gravelly voice, continued on the se-cond album with a
good result. This time,Astley was listed as co -producer.
The third album, Free, continues his needfor independence. He
split with the PWLteam and chose to sign directly toRCA/BMG.
According to ChrissieHarwood, head of international marketingat BMG
Records (UK), the two-year recor-ding hiatus was partly due to
legal problems.She says, "It cost nearly a year to get
thingsstraight. And it took another year to writenew material and
record it."
However, the split was amicable.Harwood explains, "Astley didn't
leavePWL because he was ungrateful with thesuccess. On the
contrary, he was very thank-ful. He only wanted to have a more
creativeinput in his music. Everything he did wastheir idea, he
didn't want to continue likethat. He wanted to do his own material,
witha greater appeal to a more adult audience."
And, indeed, it is a different Astley withnew music and a new
image. He has matu-red, and his music has matured with him.The
initial radio response on the album'sfirst single, the gospel
-framed ballad CryFor Help, has been very encouraging, Atpress
time, it held no. 8 in the EHR Top 25and was being played by a
total of 44 EHR
stations, including 20 on the A -list. In theCoca-Cola Eurochart
Hot 100 Singles, itis moving up with a bullet from 46 to 19 inits
second week; in the UK chart it has alre-ady reached no. 7.
"He was very nervous to begin with abouthow people would react,"
says Harwood."It's like starting all over again. This is hisown
work. You can imagine he was over themoon about the radio
reception."
During 1990 Astley co -produced and re-corded the album with
Gary Stevenson (GoWest) at different locations,
includingStevenson's Old Schoolhouse studio on theIsle Of Man. They
also visited metropoleslike Copenhagen (Werner Studios) andLondon
(Angela Studios).
For the 10 -track album, Astley collabora-ted on two songs
--including the currentsingle --with Rob Fisher (of Climie
Fisherfame) and on another one with Level 42'sMark King (Be With
You). Elton John isfeatured playing piano on the tracks BehindThe
Smile and Wonderful You. All the stringarrangements are by Ann
Dudley of TheArt Of Noise. Famous sessions singerCarol Kenyon
appears on backing vocals.
A major European promo tour (includingall European TV shows of
significance, andpress and radio) will run from February 21till
March 2, kicking off in Holland.Afterwards Astley continues his
businesstrip to the US, Australia and Japan. Themarketing campaign
consists of TV adverti-sements in the UK; for the rest of
Europe,apart from Italy, this has yet to be confir-med. Radio
advertisements are scheduledfor Italy and Austria. Also there is a
fullrange of window displays for retail.
A concert tour is more or less confirmedfor Japan, but his
management (TonyHenderson/London) is still looking for aEuropean
concert tour, probably starting inAugust or September in the
UK.
Hanny Signed to Telstar. Publisher: Vader Abraham
Produkten. Management: Total Rocket
Management. A debut solo album is scheduled for
May. New single: Maar Vanavond Heb lk
Hoofdpijn. released on November 9,currently no. 3 in the Dutch
Top 40and no. 2 in the National Top 100; no.72 in the Coca-Cola
Eurochart Hot100 Singles.
Recorded at Telstar Studios. Producer: Pierre Kartner. Hanny is
currently on a Dutch tour. The record is already released in
Belgium (Telstar/CNR) and a Germantranslation is about to be
released. The label expects to announce a licensing deal very
soon.
Hanny Lomis started her career in 1972as the replacement of
Corry Konings,lead vocalist with popular Dutch main-stream band De
Rekels. Although she hadan instant hit with the single Mario,
shenever achieved the same level of successas Corry Konings. Now
that she has em-barked on a solo career, things are chan-
ii
Torfrock Signed to Polydor. Publisher: Pingo Music/Hamburg.
Management: Dietmar
Kolk/Hamburg Current album: OST Werner Beinhart
was released on November 19 and hassold, to date, 250.000 copies
inGermany. This week it is no. 5 in theGerman album charts and no.
18 in theEuropean Top 100 Albums.
Current single: Beinhart, released onOctober 12, last week no. 1
inGermany (second week in a row), andno. 18 in the Coca-Cola
EurochartHot 100 Singles.
Recorded at Hastings/Hamburg. Other chart positions: single is
no. 35
in the Swiss charts and the LP is no.27 in Austria.
Producer: Klaus Biichner/RaymondVoss/Achim Gunske.
New album ....Alle An Die Ruder isdue for a February 20
release.
New single Trunkenbold, a cover of aDubliners song, is scheduled
forMarch.
Marketing: Radio advertisements inGermany for the new album.
A nationwide tour will start on April18 and lasts until May
4.
Werner Beinhart is a very popularGerman cartoon character. With
4.5 mil-lion at the box office for the BerndEichinger-produced
movie of the same
ging drastically. Pierre Kartner akaFather Abraham --one of the
world'sbest-selling songwriters ever with the1977 global hit single
The Snnuf Song --wrote and produced her current hit single.
The song --in English translating intoBut Tonight I'll Have A
Headache --is sel-ling in big numbers and has already re-ached the
50.000 mark. This is the morestriking as it hardly received major
air-play. Only Dutch broadcasters TROS,Veronica and NOS put the
single on theplaylist.
Belgium is bound to follow as thesingle is already a powerplay
on RadioRoyaal, while a TV appearance for theFlemish commercial
station VTM, is furt-her cementing Hanny's sales basis.
name it is last year's second most succes-sful film in Germany,
following "PrettyWoman". The soundtrack features theband Torfrock
on the track Beinhart--their current no. I gold record in
Germanywith 330.000 copies sold --and a strangecollection of other,
songs.
These include oldies from DelShannon, Chuck Willis,
RonnieHawkins and Chris Montez and Germanbands like The F...' Kius
Band and BelaB. & Jan (who used to be in famous localband Die
Arzte).
Torfrock, the band of mainstay KlausBiichner, are a well
-established name onthe German rock scene, since they recor-ded
five albums for RCA in the past.Their sixth album --the first in 10
years --istheir debut for Polydor and includes thecurrent Beinhart
hit single.
Torfrock are playlisted on Radio Gong2000/Munich, NDR 2 (for
several weeksconsecutively on the A -list), WDR l's"Schlager
Ralleye", Bayern 3/Munich andRadio Plus/Monte Carlo.
Pan -European Spotlight: Artists featu-red have achieved Top 15
chart status inthe European Top 100 Albums within thelast five
years.National Spotlight: Artists featuredhave achieved Top 15
chart status in theircountry of origin.
12 MUSIC & MEDIA FEBRUARY 16 1991
AmericanRadioHistory.Com
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Interview With Alberto Hazan,President of Rete 105,
Italy'sLeading National CommercialRadio Network.
Music Program With a Smile. The Comprehensive Advertising
Approach.
A Music & Media Advertising Supplement. Issue 7. February
16, 1991.
AmericanRadioHistory.Com
-
RETE 1050 n February 16, Alberto Hazan will be celebrating the
15th an-niversary of Italy's leading private national station Rete
105.He confesses he was reluctant to get seriously involved at
thevery beginning, recalling; "I had tried to form a partnership
with AngeloBorra at Italy's first station, Radio Milan
International, but that did notwork out. My brother Edoardo was
keen to open a station with somefriends and I agreed to participate
in a small way. Deep down I wasagainst the idea because I had
always thought you had to be the first to dosomething in order to
succeed.
"My brother Edoardo was determined and forged ahead. When
hisfriends lost interest after a few months, Alberto and sister
Jenny steppedin to complete a team that has become a formidable
force in the country'sprivate radio sector.
It was never plain sailing, as Hazan explains, "The station was
closeddown a hundred times and I was brought before the courts on
each occa-sion. Everybody was against us and that includes the
government and stateRAI. It was only thanks to our lawyers that we
were able to exist. The lawstated there could be no private
national station which broadcast live 24hours a day. Even local
stations took legal action against us."
Rete 105 was closed down for a full month in 1988, but after
winning amajor case in the court of appeal, the Hazans were free to
operate. In hisopinion this legal victory encouraged competing
stations to develop as na-tional broadcasters too.
Hazan has always taken an active interest in the musiccontent of
the station. He says that when Rete 105 waslaunched, all
broadcasters were airing the same US produ-ced music. But he
noticed that disco music was most popu-lar among young people.
Hazan explains, "No other sta-tions would play disco music because
it was consideredvulgar. But we introduced it and played it all
day.
"We included artists such as Gloria Gaynor, Sylvester,Barry
White and Donna Summer. It was melodic musicwith a happy sound,
very different from the dance musicplayed today."
After only six months, Rete 105 became the leading sta-
"NRJ is a willingpartner... now isthe time to move."
tion in Milan. Hazan claims that by 1985 all other stations
started to copythe music format that they had previously viewed as
classless.
"They still do, even today," he says. "They copy our programmes
andeven our jingles."
Hazan is adamant his station's rapport with record companies is
verygood and professional, explaining, "Sometimes they love us,
sometimesthey hate us. It all depends on the promotion that we
succeed in doing. Wewould like to be helpful to every record
company but sometimes it is notpossible.
"We have 14 hours a day which is useful for promotion and in
this timewe have to play about 150 records. Some are rotated two or
three times,some are new releases and others are unforgettable old
songs that we mustinclude. Sometimes we do not have the airspace
record companies want.
"But we are not like a magazine where you can add pages. We aim
to beprofessional. If a record does not fit our format we will not
play it."
Rete 105 is the undisputed leader in the private station
audience ratings.The 1990 Audiradio statistics gave the station an
average daily audienceof 1.94 million. The other Milan -based
research institut