APRIL 26, 2003 Volume 21, Issue 18 Music £3.95 euros 6.5 AvrilLavigne'sLet Go (Arista) is this week's Sales Breaker on M&M's European Top 100 Albums chart,at Medis®wetalk to radio number eight. M&M chart toppers this week Europe 2powers upWill Apple bite Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 50 CENT into Universal? In Da Club French ratings table by Juliana Koranteng (Interscope) European Top 100 Albums by Lisa Pasold AC to a CHR format with a rock edge in LONDON- As bid speculation mounted LINKIN PARK a move designed to challenge mar- last week that Apple Computer Inc Meteora PARIS- Just 18 months after ket -leader NRJ. "But of course would table $6 billion (euros 5.5bn) for (Warner Bros.) Christophe Sabotbecame we know there's still a lot of Universal Music Group (UMG), further managing director of work to do. We have to stay questions were beingaskedasto European Radio Top 50 Lagardere Active's two FM humble." whether an IT company is best placed ROBBIE WILLIAMS networks, Europe 2 has Using audience figures for to own and operate a music company. Come Undone become France's third most - listeners aged over 15 (Medi- News wireservicesreportedat (Chrysalis) popular musicstation,while ametrie only began surveying 13 presstime on April 16 that Claude European Dance Traxx RFM is also going from strength to and 14year -oldslastautumn), Bebear, a director of UMG's strength,accordingtonewMedi- Europe 2's daily audience reach has owner, French conglomerate PANJABI MC ametrie figures covering January to grown by 522,000 new listeners to 7.3% Vivendi Universal, said Mundian To Bach Ke March 2003. over the past year, and it has overtaken Apple would "probably make (Superstar) "It's been a lot of hard work andFun Radio and Skyrock in the league an offer for the music busi- we're very happy," says Sabot, who has table of national music networks. ness for about $6 billion" but Inside M&M this week changed Europe 2 from a rock -leaning continued on page 21 that the price was "a bit low". Daysearlier,industryobservers SINGLED OUT Mis-Teeq sweeten up Europe were busy analysing reports that both The future of the single format in Apple, famous for its Macintosh desk- the UK-and the various different by Gareth Thomas top computers and iPod MP3 players, charts which monitor the popular- and computer giant Microsoft were in ity of singles releases-was the LONDON- After establishing a solid talks in the US to buy UMG. In the lat- leading issue at the Radio Acade- base in the their home market with a er reports Bebear added that other com- my's Music Radio 2003 conference string of hit singlesoff their first panies,including General Electric- in London last week. Page 4 album, Lickin' On Both Sides, UK which owns MTV parent Viacom-were female urban trio Mis-Teeq look like also interested in buying the company. NOT -SO -SUNNY SPAIN being more fully embraced in continen- While these reports have attracted Beset by managerial instability, tal Europe with the release of their both positive and negative comments rampant piracy and an excessive second set, Eye Candy. from analysts, there is no doubting the focus on TV talent shows, the past The marketing effort behind the new intention of Vivendi Universal to cut its year has not been the best for album has added impetus since their huge debt mountain. Spain's music industry.Yet label Telstar forged a licensing deal Ironically,Applehadpreviously there's still plenty of new material with Warner Music International last angered the music industry with its to enthuse about, from both estab- year for the world excluding the UK, the iPod ad campaign strapline "Rip, Mix, lished and new artists. Pages 5-11 US and Japan. Although the band's first Burn". Record labels said at the time album was released soon after the deal that the slogan was effectively con- FREEBEE SET SAIL was signed, the girls-Alesha Dixon, Su tributing to the music business' ruin by Tom Van Laere's Admiral Freebee Elise Nash and Sabrina Washington- encouraging consumerstodownload aretoppingtheFlemish were not available for promotion as they and burn to blank CDs unauthorised album charts with a mix of were busy recording the new album. music distributed on the Internet. accessiblepopsongsand That record, Eye Candy, was re- But the news of the acquisition bid harderedgedtracksthat leased on March 31 in the UK and will comes as Apple, which accounts for less hope to find favour across the be available on a staggered basis from than 5% of the world's desktop comput- Belgian borders. Page 12 continued on page 21 continued on page 21 $ OTIONO THE SOURCE FOR PAN -EUROPEAN CHARTS Weekly, quarterly and annual chartpackagel Monthly chart share reports Customised research services usi For further information please contact Beverley Evans at bevansemusicandmedia.co.uk Media AmericanRadioHistory.Com NEWS amount of disbelief-at how Jobs plans to turn free music Music online into a money-maker. It would also raise issues such as access to Apple's service for the other labels, large and Media. Upfront small. Apple would certainly need to avoid alienating the by Emmanuel Legrand, Music & Media editor -in -chief other majors, or else face serious competitive issues. Call M&M on: tel (+44) 207 420 6005 Over the past three decades, we've been through a fax(+44)207 420 6016 How times change. Having spent years encouraging peo- period when hardware companies were buying into con- ple to rip and burn songs on their PCs, it appears the com- tent providers (Sony/CBS, Philips/PolyGram). Then we For direct lines dial +44 207 420, puter industry now wants a bigger piece of the music saw the building of mediaempires,of which music was followed by the required extension business-and they're even prepared to pay for it! one part (AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann, Vivendi Uni- Editor -in -chief: Emmanuel Legrand (6155) The irony of last week's news that Apple was consider- versal). The latest step in this pseudo -Darwinian process Director of operations: Kate Leech (6017) ing acquiring Universal Music for $6 billion, plus reportssees the association of repertoire owners with computer Editorldi that Intel had its eye on Warner Chappell-since deniedmanufacturers and software companies. Deputy editor: Jon Heasman (6167) News editor: Hamish Champ (6163) by AOL/Time Warner-will not have been lost on music In this hi -tech age it seems a natural evolution, and it Music & talent editor: Gareth Thomas (6162) industry executives who were incensed a couple of years might finally provide the much antic- Features/specials editor: Steve Adams ago by Apple's launch of iTunes, which promised ripping ipatedbreakthroughforonline Charts 8( resecirch and burning for dummies. music. The likes of Apple or Microsoft Chart production manager: Beverley Evans (6157) But the main question is: why Apple? And why now?are in the intellectual property busi- Charts researcher: Paul Pomfret (6165) Steve Jobs, Apple's strong man, seems to have changedness, after all, and they understand Production his vision regarding the music industry. If reports are to the value of copyright. If they were to Production & art co-ordinator: Mat Deaves (6110) Correspondents be believed, he thinks the time has come for the musiceventually own repertoire providers Belgium: Marc Maes - (32) 3 568 8082 industry to cash in on the business of music online and themselves, they will quickly find the Classical/jazz: Thrry Berne - (34) 91 474 4640 that Apple can play a leading role with its technology. solutions to allow consumers to rip, Dance: Gary Smith - (33) 49172 4753 If-and it is a big "if'-the deal is sealed, the industrymix and burn, and to make a cent or Denmark: Charles Ferro - (45) 3369 0701 Finland: Jonathan Mander - (358) 503 527384 will look on with considerable interest-and no small two in the process. France: Lisa Pasold - (33) 14252 8370 Germany: Michael Lawton - (49) 172 241 2107 Music & Media values its readers' opinions-you can e-mail the editor -in -chief at: [email protected] Olaf Fumiss - (44) 797 457 2072 Greece: Maria Paravantes - (36) 932 665432 Ireland: Ann Scott - (353) 864 061 570 Italy: Mark Worden - (39) 02 4802 4127 New Media: Juliana Koranteng -(44)208 891 3893 Portugal: Chris Graeme - (351) 21 840 1488 Major overhaul for Universal Sweden Spain: Howell Llewellyn - (34) 9 1593 2429 Sweden: Johan Lindstrom - (46) 8 470 3730 by Jeffrey de Hart ing sees consolidation of its four "We still have separate A&R [for Salesand Marketing frontline operations-the interna- Sonet and Polar] on the local level, but International sales director: STOCKHOLM - A major restructuring tional repertoire labels Mercury and that may change so that they work for Archie Carmichael - (44) 207 420 6154 Sales executives: Francois Millet (France) - of Universal Music International'sPolydor, and thelocal -repertoire both labels to be as efficient as possi- (33) 145 49 29 33 (UMI) affiliate in Sweden is intended labels Sonet and Polar-into two ble for every artist and every project. Jean -Baptiste Caudal (France) - (33) 147 58 84 12 Lidia Bonguardo (Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal) to ensure the company remains "adivisions, one for international -and Instead of all Sonet artists being - (39) 031570056 dominant force" on the one for local repertoire. worked by one A&R, his skills may Siren Ramsing (Scandinavia) - (44) 207 420 6048 domestic scene. "Within the changingsuit a Polar act much better, so we'll Petia Pavlova (Eastern Europe) - (44) 777 9353 722 The changes, effective Swedish market, we feltlet him work that act." Christopher Morgan (USA) - (1) 646 234 5058 immediately, see frontline we had to restructure Mercury and Polydor previously Sales & marketing co-ordinator: general manager Marten our company into twohad one marketing manager and one Claudia Engel (6159) International circulation marketing Aglander (pictured)-who focused marketingproduct manager apiece, but now director: Ben Eva (6010) was promoted to general departments, one for ourjointly have one marketing manager, Group circulation manager: managerofStockholm - Anglo-American reper-Johan Lindgren, to whom two product Paul Brigden (6081) European Sales and distribution manager: basedUniversalMusic toire and one for a more managers report.