Thi$ Week Ultimately, We're All in the Busi- R Ess of Picking Hits
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THE MOST TRUSTED NAME IN RADIO ISSUE 2066 AUGUST 4 1995 Thi$ Week Ultimately, we're all in the busi- r ess of picking hits. On the record side, it's called A&R. On tie radio side, it's what adds up tj adds. In the earlier days of Top 40, DJs played their own "pick hits of the week," 11 and stations had KDWB GAVIN "DisCoveries," KYAces in the holes, hitbounds, picks to click Here at Gavin, we're always 'coking around the corner at artists wno've got whatever it takes to make it. Sometimes we're right, sometimes, wrong, bit it's always fun for us and, hopefully, interesting and useful fcr you. This issue, we asked all our 4ormat editors to pick an artist they believe is ready to break through, tell why they're betting on them, and offer a brief profile. The artists can be brand new (like Jon B., top) or well - weathered (like Joe Ely, middle). Or like Take That, they can be ricing the charts outside the U.3., but still on the verge of ge:ting radioactive here. One thing they have in common: there's a buzz around them. Listen. In .,.!!!!!thl .1..1. OOOOOOOOOO News, it's media merger - mania (again), as Disney lards Capital Cities/ABC and And Take Our Word for It, CBS slips into the .11144*".;" Westinghouse. We weigh ............ ... .... Warner's response to bad raps 44,11i8.446" 118... from Bob Dole and company, " ....... welcome Kato Kaelin as a radio As We Pickalion Artists Who talk host (!), and salute some of the many great names who've trooped through Los Angeles rad o. On the GO Chart, Blessid Are Ready To Take On The World Unijn of Souls (bottom), Firehouse, Jamie Walters and Dioine Farris are faring particu- larlwell. First Person Inside AS TOLDToBEVERLY MIRE AND DAVID DALTON 5 News 8 That's Sho-Biz 10 Friends of RadioGeorge Ghiz 46 Classifieds RichardBranson 30 Take That On Virgin, Matchmaking and Selling Music Feature Story in which each Gavin format editor profiles a star of the future Richard BransonS a bright guy, more economical to make them FORMATS right? Brilliant entrepreneur willing pay. 12 Top 40KYLD/KYLZ/KSOL to take risks to break new ground? From the record industry point of When Branson was in San view, it's good for retailers to stick operations manager Francisco last week to announce the their necks out and have prime sites Bob Hamilton opening of his biggest Virgin right in the middle of a main street. 13 Top 40 Profile: Megastore, he talked about his If people walking down the main Better Than Ezra newest store, his new products, street are thinking of buying some 14 Go Chart including Virgin Cola and Virgin clothes, and run across a record 16 Alternative:Probing the Vodka, and resurrecting what shop, they're likely to buy Alternative virus brought him to most of our atten- records-which will be very good 20 CollegeToenut celebrates tion: a record company (more on news for the record industry as a their album debut that next week). whole. 22 Rap So why, when so many technology From an advertising standpoint, 25 gurus are speeding down the super- Rap Profile:Shabazz The Richard Branson take a site like Times Square. Our highway, is Branson sticking with building is right next to the Coca- Disciple the tried and true? Because, as friend or boyfriend. Cola sign. Every time there's a film 26 Urban Landzscape you'll read here, he sees the future in Yes, we're in the matchmaking about Times Square, Virgin will be Urban On-lineReligion and Rap taking what works and simply doing business. We always were, I sup- there. So it's not just the profit we 38 Adult Contemporary it better. pose. make from being a retailer, we're 48 Gavin Americana 1%1 The only other site (besides San helping enhance the Virgin name. 49 A' Album Adult Alternative Ithink there's a future in retail Francisco) where we have the One of the reasons we haven't Boulder Update! only if you can be sure that bookstore is the Paris megastore moved into the really high tech 53 Jazz the experience of shopping is and it works well there. area-although we do have a com- more than just a shopping experi- We find that people spend more On Z CornerQuite Storm in pany that produces CD ROMs-is tb, morning ence. That's why we're trying to money-that's after all what we that I can't work a computer.I still 55 A' Adult Alternative create entertainment complexes. want-when they can buy their work with my notebook and the A few days ago we bought the books and records in the same phone, and I like to go into things 56 CountryWal Mart's MGM cinema chain, and the new place. which I feel I know a bit about. In Country Tour cinemas we'll be building will most Our Paris megastore is the largest fact I've bought one to take on holi- 60 Gavin RocksTestament visits likely be next door to the megas- per -square -foot turnover store in the day to see if I can finally get it. Garin tores we're building. They'll be world-of any kind of store, bar Staying ahead of competition is 61 Rock Profile:Seaweed multi-plexes; extremely comfortable none. In 30,000 square feet we're critical. Going into any new busi- places to go for an evening out.If turning over about $130 million. ness, you have to do it so well that you don't make that experience We have a quality environment. nobody can go and do it better. NEXT WEEK really special, what's the point of Our concept isn't pile it high and We have to do the same thing we Urban Makes Gaines people going out? That's why we're sell it cheap. We've been fortunate do with the airline, where for ten It's a tough road to hoe, trying to make our stores more than in that in America we got some big years we've been on the leading what with deregulation and just stores-they're cafes, places sites, like Times Square and this edge. We offer a service much, where you can read books and lis- site, at a time when the recession in relaxed ownership rules much better than the other airlines, working against them, but ten to music, places that are nice retailing was quite bad. We got so they're looking at ways of catch- places to be seen in, and where you prime locations at reasonable rents, ing up but because we were so far urban radio programmers fight back by doing the best might even find your future girl- which should make it that much ahead, they can't. GAVIN radio they can, and playing stellar artists like Rosie AgtWords Gaines. Quincy McCoy finds 01, them on the Urban Richard Branson and I go back to the '70s when he had this feet in a better position. Here's a Landzcape in a spotlight feisty "indie" label and I was working for the U.K. tradeMusic guy not afraid to take on the issue on urban radio and eek.Our main reference point from those days is a brilliant likes of Coca-Cola, British music. April Fool's joke he perpetrated on the magazine. He fed us a Airways, Tower Records and the "world exclusive" about a royalty -free system for beaming record industry establishment. To Iusic-of-choice direct into the home, thereby destroying the those in records or radio, here's a music industry as we know it. Sound familiar? Twenty years piece of advice. If he decides to enter Founded by Bill Gavin --1958 later, we're still waiting for that "supermusichighway" into the your backyard, don't dismiss him lightly, and he's still plowing millions of dollars into giant retail as you might just find you've got a kung fu GAVIN is published 50 weeks a year on Friday of each week. Subscription Rates $325 for 50 issues or $180 Illa°me-outlets. My money's on Branson for the moment. fighter about to land on you. for 25 issues. Subscription and circulation inquiries: These days he has his sense of humor intact, but he also has a (415) 495-1990. All rights to any or all of the contents of this publication are reserved. Materials may not he billion more dollars to play around with. I've seen him go into reproduced in any form without the publisher's (and often back out of) more businesses than a year's worth of permission. Harvard graduates might tackle in a lifetime. I've seen him ©1995 GAVIN, Miller Freeman Entertainment Group David Dalton 140 Second Street, San Francisco arty go out of business three times but, like Bruce Lee, he California 94105, USA to manage a triple somersault and land on his Chief Executive Officer Miller Freeman illS United News & Media company GAVIN AUGUST 4, 1995 Is) following the club smash "come back," the next h:t from their self -titled new album and -he soundtrack virtuosity "SUNDAY CLOTHES" "I never got in trouble just lucky I suppose But I never was quite an angel even in those Sunday Clothes" going for adds august 8 FROM THE ALBUM produced and mixed by john waddellItim b. -an management: sandra turnbull and the ream at hyper/kinetics, ltd.