WITH Mm nnoio uuhc chart,Singles 13; chart, New 6-7;singles, Album 26; guide,New albums,22-23; Retailing,12; Airplay 24. IjCi iifi April 14, 1980 VOLUME THREE Number Four Importers fear industry backlash on EEC discs THEimports HUGE could marketcollapse inif cheapmore majorEEC WEA'sAt present, lead, CBSthere chairman,is no rush toMaurice follow andrecord slash companies the price followof all theirWEA's albums lead Oberstcin,be watching said thethat theWEA company experiment would shortlyThat afterwas therelease. concensus among lead- closely,director, Kenand Maliphant,Phonogram said managing that his ingthe boldUK importersdecision by last WEA week Records following to company"Going For had A learntSong" its scheme. lesson with the reducethree months the retail after price release of all itsdate. LPs by £1 monthsThe moveWEA albumsmeans willthat carryafter a retailthree Indies concern price of £4.00 and a dealer price of £2.44 over PPL bias plusno longer VAT, andbe importerseconomically say thatviable it will to AN UNOFFICIAL group of six inde- THE FOUR PEOPLE concerned with the Boomtown Rats 'I Don't Like import WEA product from the EEC or pendent record companies is pressing Mondays'companies. which They won are (leftthe RBto right; Video LexiGodfrey, Award for the producer, best promotion NigelGraingc, film, major md Portugal.Paul Howick, managing director of PPLfor fundamental is run and the changes manner inin thewhich way it Ensign Records, Henrietta Roper, production manager John Roseman Produc- Stage-1, told Record Business: "A move distributes revenue around the record Withtions, themand David is DJ Mallett,Tommy director.Vance, who The comperedRats' 'Diamond the presentation Smile' was aceremony. runner-up. liketime. this Except has been in isolated on the cases, cards it for will some not An official meeting with the PPL thebe worth companies bringing do in the WEA same albums. thing, It weall long-runningboard is unlikely Performing until the Rightend of Tri- the CBS joins the industry on exporting." needletimebunal set up payments. to look into ILR stations' mented;Paul Feldman,"There won'tof Simons,be any pointcom- dissatisfiedThe independents with the structureare said ofto thebe trend to lower margins importing WEA albums although there PPL(Phonographic Performance Ltd) CBSPolydor RECORDS and Phonogram has joinedby deciding WEA, to towhich £3.04 were earlier reduced this year in price as well from as £3.16being will£2 and still £3be bracket.a market If for the imports other recordin the recordboard which companies. is dominated by the major cut its dealer margins from 33 percent to included in the company's five percent companies follow suit quite a few minor And the affair has been brought to a Business30 percent last -month. as predicted in Record returnsCBS salessystem director, for the John first Mair, time. said in theyimporters don't will follow go out suit, of businessWEA deserves -and if actionhead in over the thepast BBC's fortnight breaches when ofPPL its The move, effective from the begin- a letter sent out to retailers last week that 100 percent of the market." needletime agreement on new releases albumsning of except May, TVwill product, apply to which all CBSwill thatthe company it had been regretted forced the upon decision them butby- hatHe off added: to John "You've Fruin. got He to is takethe youronly tionand reviewin record records broadcasting resulted in hours a reduc- on margin. rising costs that could not be absorbed managing director to take positive Radios 1 and 2. All rr will rc n the lullst priceit LP:the internally.The reaction from dealers has been action over imports without going to voiceNow their the grievancesindependents over are increased ready to will rise Irom £2.90 to £3.04. fairly muted. Mike Isaacs, Our Price Feldman did point out, however, that difficulty in obtaining airplay for their be Thereduced dealer to margin30 percent on singles with the will dealer also recentdirector, assurances commented: from CBS"Despite that mar-the onsome the importers three month might period try to before capitalise the records,or consultation lack of at formal PPL boardrepresentation level and price rising from the present 66 pence to gins would not be cut, the move obvi- retail price of albums was cut - although the whole system of how recorded The new margin structure brings dealersously doesn't and punters come aswill a surprise.suffer." Both he claimed Simons would not be among UK.music is licensed for radio use in the albums into line with CBS cassettes. ■ New Musik-from AtoB ■ K The new album featuring ■ V/ This world of water' and 'Living by numbers' TOE CITY HALL.VhuR 22 MAN C H ESTE^FRliB TRAD E HA L L HKatl AT FIELD POLY. SAT 24 BRIGHTON DOME. ^ -1 V_y | \ ORDERALBUM FROMOTLP 041CBS ALSO ORDER AVAILABLE DESK TEL ON 01 CASSETTE96 0 2155 CBS QTMC DISTRIBUTION 041 CENTRE BARLBY ROAD LONDON VV.10 iy ll ncuii Tougher times Pye takes ahead says Uttal's new market report on industry UKLARRY UTTAL, label former head of Bell A NEW report on the record industry andrecord Private business Stock, with is a returningUK-based tolabel, the businesspredicts toughcan break times out ahead of itsunless current the Earlobe. He has concluded a licensing vicious circle of reduced profits and find release,deal for Britain'Mind withMade' Pye and(ELS1) the firstby a newMarket popular intelligence sound. journal Afinte/, in Thieves Like Us will be released on an examination of the UK record and assigned.April 25. No other territories have been factorstape industry> that have points contributed toa combination to the of Thieves Like Us is a five-piece band poorest results for many years. 200from gigs Winchester in the last which 12 months has played and over has sounds"There to havecatch been the noimagination earth-shanering of the THEstaff toEND ring ofdown an era. the Threecurtain Irish on theirrecording record stars label gathered and one together of the country's with the built a strong reputation in the London record-buying public, production costs oldest distribution firms - Irish Record Factors. arearelease and was the South-West.a self-financed Only production previous superstarshave soared claim and have the maderoyalties it increas- which Decca,Situated has in closed Hanover following Street inthe the take centre over of of Dublin, Decca's the record firm, aoperations subsidiary byof on their own label last year which sold ingly difficult for record companies to Polygram (see RB, March 17). pendent5,000copies distributors. at shows and through inde- make"Since profits," reduced Minzel profits says. make it harder DanaThe and three Joe stars Cuddy. pictured The threewith therecorded staff are for (from the Rex right label to left) which Sonny was Knowles,launched Uttal, who supervised production for companies to invest in new artists, by IRF for home-based acts. tenhimself, years, the has first retained time he Winston has done Lee so toin soundthe chances are reduced of finding and the a popularvicious circle new upFor to recordDana the her occasion first hit was'All especiallyKinds Of poignant Everything' - it wasafter IRF she who won signed the local her handle promotion with Howard Hard- National Song Contest before going on to win Eurovision - exactly ten years ing"I as have press decided representative. to start my new oper- ingThe reveals report's 65 percent market of research singles andsampl- 56 ago.The man who signed her, IRF general manager Michael Geoghegan (second ation in Britain because I feel that this percent of LPs are bought by under-35s. from left) who presided at the farewell function commented: "This was just the pendentcountry nowentrepreneur has more to thanoffer theAmerica inde- advertisingThe advent had of thebudget effect albums of broadening and tv immense,thin edge ofranging the wedge from afor crippling the Irish excise recording duty, industry.cheap imports The problems flooding theare where limited radio station playlists plus the market in the early 70s, but in market and home taping." Geoghegan was among the 13 people made the chancescosts of promotionof succeeding combine extremely to make dif- ofMintel's adults latestclaimed figures, to have only bought 29 percent an LP redundant. ficult. With Earlobe I am interested in in 1978-9 compared to 35 percent in the buildinginto breaking major Thievesacts. All myLike effort Us willbefore go boomOn yearsthe home-tapingof 1973-4. front, Mituel Manx frequency clash with we release our second record." adultsreports havethat althoughaccess to60 percenttape playing of all Lincoln angers Tynwald 11 Euro songs equipment,have bought onlya pre-recorded 11 percent tape claim in 78-9 to - which is no increase on the figure freeTEN OF thefor 19 entries UK in this year's returned in 1975-6. That percentage,heage has Eurovision Song Contest, due to be profile has also remained low. M-'Radioobliterated in signalsall but thewill strongest be completely recep- returnedarrangements to London agreetnwould have beenscreened picked by upBBC-1 for UK on release April at19, press- had homeEstimates taping ofvary industry between losses £75 milliondue tion areas of the island. time. However, as is customary, release and £200 million, but the report says When Manx was allocated Radio Lincolnshire is due to begin whichwill depend in the on televised the final form placing will of be songs per- sales of blank tape have rocketed to 60 quencyin 1975i1 iie nearestshared being by an no Italian other Homebroadcasting Office in has November not acted. and Astill high- the formed in the language of the country of percentmillion areunits suitable in 1978 for of music which taping only and 20 fi Polish tion. However at the end powered delegation representing the origin. only 6 percent of hi-fi standard.