Music Trust Fund $$ up Trade Wants Specifics
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" 08120 ?AAR 82 NEWSPAPER L NLYFILNT 00 EG 4 9(1-L 03 1C Y GF, tiLY M(7)N1 C T Y 37.J E L M LONS BEACI CA V Newsweekly Sept. 12, 1981 $3 (U.S.; A Billboard Publication The Radio Programming, Music /Record International WHOLESALERS DISTRESSED 12 -Inch `Mini' LPs Gaining Seen By Labels As $4.98 -$5.98 Midlines Trade Wants Specifics By SAM SUTHERLAND LOS ANGELES -Encouraged by sales base in dance music, and 7 -inch EPs remain On Warner Vid Rentals breakthroughs on recent I2 -inch "mini" al- confined to regional, import or promotional By JOHN SIPPEL bums, a growing number of manufacturers are goods, the '80s answer to the old 7 -inch EPs of LOS ANGELES -The trade jury is weigh- and Noel Gimbel of the burgeoning Video poised to enter this new mid -priced product the '50s looks to be a growth stock in coming ing the of the dramatic WEA -Warner Unlimited chain, go a step further: Both ques- category. months. potential Video rental -only concept, hampered tion whether they should turn over present in- That's the dominant trend surfacing in a Warner Bros., Epic /Stiff, A &M, I.R.S. and Home what many see as the need for more spe- ventory for replacement and then destruction survey of labels on release activity in both 7- PolyGram have all issued titles in this 12 -inch by cific operational details. six months after replacement. inch and 12 -inch extended play (EP) and 12- 33 r.p.m. configuration, Chrysalis and EMI - program (Billboard, Sept. 5. Gimbel feels his role as "distributor" or inch single disk configurations. America /Liberty will bow their first entries The radical such industry concern that "master licensor" must be more fully described While the last of these formats has outlived shortly, and Alfa, Capitol, Elektra /Asylum 1981) has caused that CBS /MGM Home Video by WHV. Anyone who does approximately premature obituaries to sustain a limited sales (Continued on page 15) it's understood has delayed announcement of its rental plans, $350,000 annual volume with WHV prod-act slated for imminent disclosure, until the stir gets an 11% discount, but that's the extent of has subsided. (Continued on page 86) Wholesalers -who are termed "master li- Music Trust Fund $$ Up censors" by Warner Home Video president Mort Fink -appear most distressed. WHV Sales Continue Rising Sales, New Labels Spark 6% Increase Gene Silverman, Video Trend, Farmington. Mich.. the most conservative of all surveyed in In Non -Rental Areas By IS HOROWITZ his early estimates of the plan, wants to know By LAURA FOTI NEW YORK -Manufacturer payments to Contributions to date for the six -month pe- specifically how he will involve his organiza- NEW YORK -Warner Home Video's cur- the Music Performance Trust Fund are run- riod ending June 30, 1981, are about $6.4 mil- tion from a work and profit standpoint, and he rent catalog will still be sold around the coun- ning more than 6% ahead of last year, reflect- lion, according to a Fund spokesman, with two is not alone. will do try, even after the firm's new rental -only plan ing an upturn in sales and the market impact major label entities, Arista Records and K -tel, He also questions what Video Trend seven is launched mid -October in Texas. New titles of newer labels. among those companies whose payments are between Oct. 15, 1981, when Fink said the pro- will he for rental only and will not appear in The Trust Fund, created by the recording still due. unidentified Texas markets unveil where the program is not in effect. industry and the American Federation of Mu- From past experience, however, the Fund gram to consumers, and when the WHV markets For now, only seven Texas markets are for- sic.ans to promote live performances of music, anticipates that receipts will be swelled by rental -only program is advertised to con- bidden to sell Warner product -old or rew- receives a little more than 0.5% on manufac- more than an additional $600,000 before the sumers in the Midwest. but that will change as the plan goes national turer sales at suggested list, less certain deduct- books are closed for the half year, reaching a George Atkinson, founder of the now al- (Continued on page 14) ions. (Continued on page 8) most 350 affiliated Video Station retail outlets, Country Concert Trail Rocky By EDWARD MORRIS NASHVILLE -In a summer notable for its record -breaking successes. live country music has also left a trail of financial disappointments that range from the moderate to the monumental. Almost every imaginable cause has been cited to explain these setbacks except the quality of the performers. On the success side, Barbara Mandrell has been a particularly bankable star lately (Billboard, Aug. 29, 1981), drawing larger than normal crowds at fairs in Wyoming, Montana and Ohio. Likewise, the Statler Brothers report that this has been one of their best seasons yet. And Tandy Rice. president of Top Bill - (Continued on page 31) Talent Forum Push: Marketing NEW YORK -Applying more classic marketing techniques to musical ca- reers will be the central message when personal manager Ken Kragen kicks off Billboard's International Talent Forum VII here Wednesday (9) as keynote The time is right for LITTLE RIVER BAND's sensational new album TIME MICKEY THOMAS IS ALIVE ALONE AT LAST! After a star- studded career as speaker. EXPOSURE (ST 12163), featuring the smash single "THE NIGHT OWLS" lead singer on countless hit records and superstar bands, Mickey Thomas In formally opening the sessions, slated for the Sheraton Centre Hotel, the (A5033) plus a spate of immensely programmable selections. Capitol's takes time out to record an exceptional premier album. He establishes his Kragen & Co. founder and principal will also assess the precarious state of the campaign for the album includes a variety of point- of.purchas> merchan- vocal brilliance on the unreleased Eagles song "Too Much Drama Mama," well as its future. Now managing such acts as Kim Carnes dising items, extensive print advertising, aggressive radio and television a cover of Cream's "Badge" and "She's Got You Running," the first single. talent industry as Kenny Rogers and Dottie West, spot schedules and a three -song promotional video production On Capitol The spotlight belongs to Mickey Thomas ALIVE ALONE (5E -530). Produced and the J. Geils Band as well as sales titan 86) Records and Cassettes. ( Acvertisement) By Bill Szymczyk on Elektra Records & Tapes. (Advertisement) (Continued on page (Advertisement) ti N CO O O FE )60(17 "Dead Ringer." Featuring the single, "I'm Gonna Love Her For Both 01 Us!' On Epic' Cleveland International'" Records and Tapes. or Inc. 1981 CBS Inc. C&\41.AR'M Inc. Cleveland International Records is a division of the Cleveland Entertainment Company. "EPIC' .vas- ars trademarks CBS Produced by Meat Loaf and Stephan Gallas Management: David A. Sonenserg & Al Dellentash for Amundo Enterprises, " www.americanradiohistory.com www.americanradiohistory.com 3 General News Makers Of Videodisks Adopt CX Small Player Population Minimizes Compatability Issue By ALAN PENCHANSKY & JIM McCULLAUGH CHICAGO -Recognizing the with CX decoders. because of millions of home stereos need for audio noise reduction in The system's adoption for video- without decoder circuitry. videodisk players, manufacturers disks is simplified by the small ma- Although CBS developed the au- have adopted the CBS CX encoded chine population in the U.S. today - dio system to be compatible -no fi- disk technology. no more than 75,000 videodisk play- delity loss when played without a The CX system, a sound encoding ers of both available formats, CED decoder -this issue continues to be a method used during record master- and LV- according to industry ob- source of debate. ing, will be employed, to enhance servers. This virtually eliminates the Charles Wood, president of Au- videodisk audio reproduction - issue of "compatibility" which has dionics, an Oregon electronics firm, much as it was designed for en- arisen in the CX audio disk program (Continued on page 8) hanced reproduction from conven- tional analog phono disks. Encoded albums, played back through a spe- RIAA Filing Petition cial decoder, have reduced noise lev- IMPROMPTU SHOW -Paul Jabara, left, Oscar and Grammy winner for his els and expanded dynamic range. song "Last Dance," performs a few tunes from his upcoming Broadway mu- RCA's adoption of CX for Select- sical "Tough Times" for top BMI executives Theodora Zavin and Edward aVision was On Mechanical Hike Cramer at their New York office. announced last week. CX will be part of the second gener- By JEAN CALLAHAN ation videodisk players which in- WASHINGTON, D.C. -The U.S. Tribunal must set a flat rate that will After Hard clude stereo and are expected to be Appeals Court's release of its full remain in effect until ... 1987," the Times, Disco introduced in 1982. opinion in the mechanical royalty opinion reads. The appeals court The Philips /MCA -developed La- adjustment proceeding clears the suggests that the Tribunal devise "a Industry Enjoys Upsurge serDisc video system employs highly way for the Recording Industry reasonable mechanism for auto- advanced laser technology. How- Assn. of America to petition for re- matic rate changes in interim years" By RADCLIFFE JOE ever, CX also is being added here to consideration, and requires the which would not require specific NEW YORK -The U.S. disco- consumer interest, operators at all achieve greater audio fidelity. Copyright Royalty Tribunal to de- Tribunal meetings. theque industry is currently experi- levels of the disco business are once Japanese Laserdiscs with CX -en- vise an alternative method for in- encing a resurgence, after a year or more gearing for what they believe coded audio, marketed by Pioneer, terim royalty rate adjustments be- more of difficult conditions.