From EMI Around The World: (Continued from preceding page) sjuage recordings. The German public The E.M.I. banner is kept flying in is very internationally minded and Latin America through the manufac- enthuses for rhythms from the U.S.A., turing and distributing companies of Latin America and other continental the Group in Argentina, Brazil and countries. It also e.xtends a great wel- Chile and a network of licensees come to visiting artists, but they must sti’etching from Mexico to Uruguay. sing in German to establish them- The pop product is usually marketed selves firmly. A strong foreign accent under the “Odeon” label although doesn’t matter, in fact it is often the classical music is issued under the gimmick that sells the record. One “Angel” label and the “Capitol” la- of Electrola’s most successful artists bel is retained for the Capitol record- is an Englishman. Chris Howland, ings, as it is throughout the world. who first became known to the Ger- Latin America has produced and is man public as chief announcer of the still producing many artists of note. B.F.N. (British Forces Network). He Everywhere that Spanish is spoken became so popular with the German the name of Carlos Gardel, the Ar- listeners who “eavesdropped” the pro- gentine tango singer, is still revered: grammes that he soon graduated from he died in an air crash in 1934 and (leejay to recording star, specializing some of his recordings go back to pre- in numbers where his strong British electric days (deleted numbers com- accent lends a special flavour to the manding high collectors’ prices), but 'performance. even so, the yearly aggregate of the Among other non-German artists sales of his records is still among the Kvho have reached the German hit highest for any artist in Latin newer names, that of I parades through the medium of mak- America. Of the ing recordings in German are British- Lucho Gatica is probably the best (ers Laurie London and Cliff Richard, known: this Chilean bolero singer is iGitte, the teenage recording star from to Spanish speaking audiences what H.M.V., Denmark, and Eddie Constan- Gardel was to an earlier generation. itine and Jacqueline Boyer from Paris. “Down Under” In the field of merchandising and Last but not least in this round up (promotion, Electrola is very active of E.M.I. activities come the affiliates (with good links with the German Ra- in Australia and New Zealand. The !:lio Networks and Radio Luxembourg, importance of both of these markets jand a press service reaching around need not be stressed to American |600 journalists, deejays, etc. in Ger- readers. The Cash Box charts are many and Austria. studied as carefully there as they are Varied Repertories at home and American artists get a E.M.I. companies or licensees oper- fantastic welcome. The E.M.I. com- late in every country of Western Eu- panies in Sydney, Australia and Well- rope from Scandinavia to the Mediter- ington, New Zealand do a certain ifanean. All of them have their own amount of local recording, usually recording facilities so that the E.M.I. with a strong local “down under” fla- 'repertoire contains an enormous as- vour—in fact Australia produced a hit sortment of every conceivable type of of quite considerable international European folk music from Swedish proportions not long ago (“Tie Me ' lambos to Portuguese fados and Kangaroo Down Sport”). However, phasis in Australia for instance on made a startling comeback in recent Greek bouzouki music and Spanish the pop record sales of both com- the 108 commercial broadcasting sta- years. flamenco. Its resources of exotic music panies are based largely on American tions in addition to the State oper- Stereo is making steady though not io not stop there however: E.M.I. has material and their merchandising and ated network). The companies are spectacular progress in most coun- recording facilities throughout the promotional activities are specifically headed by John Burnett for Australia tries. Obviously the best results are Middle East and Africa, India, Pakis- geared to exploitation of that material and Jack Wyness for New Zealand. being achieved in the countries with ;an and the Far East. in the American manner (with em- Co-ordination the highest standards of living and The Chairman of E.M.I. is Sir in some countries such as the U.K., Joseph Lockwood, and its Managing more than half the sales of some new les compagnons de la chanson Director Mr. J. E. Wall. Mr. Richard individual recordings consist of stereo. Dawes is the member of the Board In due course it can be expected that who, as head of the Records and In- most countries will follow the pattern ternational Division, is in charge of established in the U.S.A. as regards the E.M.I. record business and policies. Stereo. From his headquarters at the Head Television is having a remarkable Office at Hayes just outside London, effect on record sales and trends in he undertakes the major task of co- two ways. TV keeps the family at ordinating the activities of the indi- home and thus stimulates the sales of vidual record companies of the Group. products for home entertainment, in- This involves not only the recording, cluding records; it also provides a manufacturing and trading operations magnificent vehicle for local artists of those companies, but also, the plan- to reach a wide audience and in the ning and execution of the Group’s field of pop music this can very often classical recording programme, and mean that the local version of the coordination in matters of marketing, latest American hit can be launched repertoire, music publishing, copy- successfully, while it proves impossi- right etc. ble to get the original version off the Current Trends ground. This underlines the impor- What impressions of current busi- tance of personal appearances by ness trends would be of special in- American performers who wish to terest to American readers ? The rec- establish their popularity with foreign ord business generally throughout the audiences. Recent international tours world is, in E.M.I.’s experience, ex- by such American recording stars as panding steadily and there is no sign Nat “King” Cole, Peggy Lee, Patti of any recession in the countries of Page, Connie Francis, Bobby Rydell, Western Europe, Australasia and the Frankie Avalon, to name just a few, Far East. In the prosperous markets have, in E.M.I.’s experience, had a of the more industrialized countries, pronounced influence in boosting rec- the 78 rpm record is a memory of the ord sales. past, having been completely super- By its representation of Capitol and seded by the 45 rpm record which is other American labels, E.M.I. provides now firmly established (however, it is one of the most important outlets for interesting to note that in many coun- the exposure of American recordings tries such as Sweden, France and abroad, and it is largely due to Spain, the 45 rpm single has never E.M.I. that the public in many coun- achieved much popularity, the most widely sold form of record being the tries succeeds so well in keeping extended play.) In several of the less abreast of the current trends in developed countries such as Greece, American music. Turkey, India, Pakistan, also in South In recent years, E.M.I.’s activities Africa and some of the Latin Ameri- have been extended to the field of can countries, the 78 rpm is still in music publishing, and the network of great demand. publishing companies, which includes LP records are universally popular the Ardmore and Beechwood com- though it is remarkable that in a few panies in Hollywood and London, is territories the 12" LP does not domi- rapidly becoming almost as extensive nate the market as completely as it internationally as the record opera- does in the U.S.A., the 10" having tion.

"ash Box August 5, 1961 — Part II —International Section 35