HOUSE OF BLUES AT&T, Net Marketing Firm Electric (Continued from page 8) TWEENTHE several financial backers for HOB. The purchase price is gratifying, Artists Workifig On Music Venture Marciano says, reflecting future poten- BY MARILYN A. GILLEN "broadband pipe" that could be used ULLETS .. tial as well as current earning power. NEW YORK- Communications to deliver music into homes. C "It speaks not only to our potential powerhouse AT &T is "deepening its "That [observation] hasn't been but to our profitability as a company," relationship" with New York -based lost on us," says Varley, while declin- he says. "Ultimately, some of the price Internet music marketing firm Elec- ing to comment yet on specific plans. by Geoff Mayfield that House of Blues paid for Univer- tric Artists as the first step in what The wider goal is to leverage more sal is a reflection of Universal being it says will be a "significant expan- than the company's infrastructure, THUNDERING HERD: What two things do AC /DC; Alice In Chains; one of the most profitable concert sion" of its activities in the music he adds. "AT &T is not in the `dumb A Tribe Called Quest; the Backstreet Boys; Michael Bolton; Toni companies in the business." business in the coming months. pipe' business. We are a services Braxton; Garth Brooks; Mariah Carey; Eric Clapton; Natalie Cole; Hodges agrees. "We feel good AT&T, which markets the propri- company-we know how to offer Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; Cypress Hill; Celine Dion; the Doors; about what we've accomplished as a etary a2b Music online- distribution services to customers." DMX; Ice Cube; Kenny G; Jay -Z; Korn; Live; Paul McCartney; Mas- team, which helped make [Universal] technology and is a member of the He notes, for example, that AT &T ter P; Meat Loaf; Metallica; Nas; No Doubt; Pantera; Puff Daddy; attractive for any buyer," he says. "We industry's Secure Digital Music Ini- has experience offering subscription Rage Against The Machine; LeAnn Rimes; Stone Temple Pilots; did too good a job, in a way-$190 mil- tiative, expects to announce details services to people and providing the George Strait; and Barbra Streisand all have in common? Each has lion is a nice little compliment." about its as -yet- unnamed new music devices -such as cell phones -to go placed albums at No. 1 on The Billboard 200. And each is expected to have Universal's deal compares favorably venture in mid-August, according to with them. a new album hit stores in the last four months of the year, as labels jock- with what its former rivals brought Chris Varley, GM of AT&T's a2b Mu- "I have obviously looked at ways ey for their fair share of the Christmas- shopping sweepstakes. when acquired by SFX. All divisions of sic and VP of market development at that we could create and make mar- There are also murmurs of possible fourth -quarter releases by Pearl PACE, including interests in 13 sheds, AT&T Labs. kets around some of these [portable Jam, Michael Jackson, and Bush, but any of those may get pushed back went for $130 million in early 1998. Cel- Electric Artists has been tapped digital music] devices, offering serv- to next year, a fate already met by a Steely Dan album that had been lar Door, with two major sheds and a to help "build the projects and exe- ices where we would subsidize or expected. There will no doubt be some traffic jams during the holiday bevy of regional offices, brought about cute the vision," says Ken Krasner, give the device away for free on a drive. One appears to be Oct. 26, when the Dion, Master P and Nas titles $106 million last summer. president of the company, which ini- large scale to help develop and grow are due. And, of course, all release dates are subject to change. The retention of the management tially worked with AT &T in 1997 on the market for delivery of music to The Dion, Clapton, Tribe, and Master P sets will be hits collections; team is a key element in the deal. the launch of the a2b platform and those devices," he says. Genesis and Gin Blossoms have ones coming, too. The Doors and Alice While HOB has packaged national has also worked on Internet cam- AT &T intends to work with both In Chains are among the acts that will be represented by boxed sets, as will tours, such as Smokin' Grooves, in the paigns with such companies as BMG, labels and artists -a goal in which Buffalo Springfield and Yanni, which all follow the $400-plus Elvis Pres- past, it hasn't been a concert promot- Universal, and Warner Bros., as well Electric Artists is expected to assist. ley box. er per se, whereas Universal and its as a number of artists. "Certainly one aspect of this is Need Christmas albums? Chart- toppers Backstreet Boys, Cole, Kenny team rank among the best in the busi- "Over the course of the last 18 that we are connected to all the G, and Strait each go the seasonal route, the second time around the Christ- ness. Last year, Universal promoted months, [AT &T] has made acquisi- spokes of the wheel of the music mas tree for Cole and Kenny G. Amy Grant brings her second Christmas or co- promoted concerts grossing a tions that have changed the shape of business and bring that knowledge title; Brooks is scheduled to follow his Chris Gaines outing with his second total of $144.5 million, according to what AT &T is, and as a result music and relationships to AT &T," says seasonal album, due Nov 23. Also fishing the yule tide: Jewel, 98 °, Reba Amusement Business' Boxscore. is far more strategic to us as a core Marc Schiller, Electric Artists' CEO. McEntire, and Ringo Starr. Marciano says long -term expan- part of our business," says Varley. In May, the majority of AT &T's Among the other high -profile acts aiming for the last trimester: Will sion plans for Universal Concerts will He was brought in two months ago a2b Music team -including co- Smith, `N Sync, Sting, Creed, Nine Inch Nails, Insane Clown Posse, remain largely intact. Previously to "take a2b from a spinout to basi- founders Larry Miller and Howie Adam Sandler, Melissa Etheridge, David Bowie, 311, Jars Of Clay, announced amphitheater projects in cally a spin -in," he says -"a larger Singer -left to join digital rights Paula Cole, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Tony Bennett, Tori Amos, Primus, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, and AT &T initiative that will incorporate management company Reciprocal; Everything But The Girl, Meredith Brooks, Queensryche, UB40, the Austin, Texas, will go forward, as will and leverage all those other assets AT &T retained a2b Music. AT &T Cure, George Winston, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Rappers Method plans for midsized theaters. Addi- that AT&T has, including our college has since rebuilt the a2b operation, Man and Redman team up for one album, then release individual ones, tionally, more than a dozen new marketing group and our general which competes in the marketplace with OutKast, Mobb Deep, 01' Dirty Bastard, Goodie Mobb, and the House of Blues venues are planned. communications customer base." with Liquid Audio, among others. Roots also waving hip -hop's flag. Alan Jackson, Faith Hill, Brooks & The new company will also create In addition to its core telephone On a separate front, AT &T has Dunn, Randy Travis, Martina McBride, Clint Black, Toby Keith, new programming for non -HOB operations, AT &T's recent takeover been working with Universal, BMG, Trace Adkins, and Mindy McCready lead Nashville's invasion. venues. The company will produce a of TCI Cable -which is being and Matsushita on development of a new "Lord Of The Dance"-style arena rebranded as AT &T Cable -posi- digital music delivery system, code - STEADY ON: Although Limp Bizkit continues to trail the Backstreet dance show that will kick off in March tions it among the nation's largest named Nigel (Billboard, May 15). Boys on The Billboard 200, consistent sales of "Significant Other" are shap- 2000 at Madison Square Garden in cable-TV companies, offering lots of ing up as a significant story. The rock'n'rap band's sophomore album has New York. The game plan calls for the exceeded 200,000 units in each of its first five weeks, the first rock title to show, titled "Burn The Floor," to play do so since -drumroll, please -the Beatles' "Anthology 1" in 1995. arenas in the spring, sheds in the POST -WOODSTOCK ACTIVITY ON TRACK A few rock titles came close to this feat. Last year, Metallica's "Garage summer, and theaters in fall 2000. Inc." was above 200,000 copies for all but the third of its first five weeks (Continued from page 8) The $190 million purchase price on the street. Bush's 1996 release, "Razorblade Suitcase," exceeded that includes cash and assumed debt and plates, pizza boxes, and garbage That event, boasting a lineup that milestone in all but the third of its initial six weeks. In '93, Pearl Jam's buys the bulk of the Universal sheds strewn around the field, erupted included Green Day, Bob Dylan, and "Vs.," which set what was then a first -week record of 950,000 copies, sur- and venue -booking arrangements. during the set by Red Hot Chili Pep- Aerosmith, spawned a double -CD set passed the 200,000 mark for all but the fifth of its first 11 weeks on the Seagram will retain ownership of the pers, the last scheduled performer on A &M that has sold 454,000 copies, market.