$4.95 (U.S.), $5.95 (CAN.), £3.95 (U.K.) IN THE NEWS ******** 3 -DIGIT 908 1B)WCCVR 0685 000 New Gallup Charts Tap 1GEE4EM740M09907411 002 BI MAR 2396 1 03 MON1 Y GREENLY U.K. Indie Dealers ELM AVE APT A 3740 PAGE LONG BEACH, CA 90807 -3402 8 Gangsta Lyric Ratings Discussed At Senate Hearing On Rap PAGE 10 THE INTERNATIONAL NEWSWEEKLY OF MUSIC, VIDEO AND HOME ENTERTAINMENT MARCH 5, 1994 ADVERTISEMENTS MVG's Clawfinger Grammy Nominations Spur Publicity Blitz Digs Into Europe Labels Get Aggressive With Pre Award Ads BY THOM DUFFY BY DEBORAH RUSSELL Clapton, and k.d. lang experienced draw some visibility to your artists." major sales surges following Gram- A &M launched a major television STOCKHOLM -The musical LOS ANGELES -As the impact of my wins, but labels aren't waiting for advertising campaign in late Febru- rage of Clawfinger, a rock-rap the Grammys on record sales has be- the trophies anymore. Several compa- ary to promote Sting's "Ten Sum- band hailing from Sweden, has come more evident nies have kicked off aggressive ad- moner's Tales," (Continued on page 88) in recent years, vertising and promotional campaigns which first ap- nominations, as touting their nominees for the March peared on The Bill- well as victories, 1 awards. board 200 nearly a have become valu- Says A &M senior VP of sales and year ago. Sting is able marketing distribution Richie Gallo, "It would the top- nominated evil oplriin tools for record seem that people are being more ag- artist in the 36th companies. gressive these days. [A Grammy annual awards, aturíin4 CLAWFINGER Albums by Bon- nomination] provides an opportunity R .M. with six nomina- rty in(tlt¡ slcy nie Raitt, Eric STING to get the consumer's attention and (Continued on page 83) od p mu ie be thiblt')Uiant!^ , tly<,tnew i Classical Labels Pursue New Markets Video Biz Is Dreaming Of A L, 3ur EM! C!assics/Angel Banks On Crossover 'Jurassic,' `White' Christmas J3,1y BY IRV LICHTMAN classical buyers. BY EILEEN FITZPATRICK this fall to cap a sell- through busi- 1C 1994 Elektra E - a division of Warr C s Inc. A Time Warner Company Murphy claims a 2.5% increase and SETH GOLDSTEIN ness attracting new players including NEW YORK -After three years as in market share in relation to the the Video Software Dealers Assn. president of EMI Classics and Angel other three U.S. classical majors: NEW YORK -Home video should (see page 89). Snow White will be fac- Records, Steve (Continued on page 50) have two megamillion -unit entries ing off against T. Rex , if MCA /Uni- GR00VECOlIECTIVE Murphy says his versal Home Video fulfills expecta- operation is not tions with a fourth-quarter release IS... only profitable, it (Continued on page 89) ,: is building new crossover custom- Hit Gershwin Disc Sparks G`/L' ers without alien- Traffic Jams On MURPHY ating traditional New Interest In Piano Rolls New Virgin Set BY IRV LICHTMAN Schnabel eventually succumbed, as did a remarkable list of other BY CRAIG ROSEN Sony Bows Three NEW YORK-In the heyday of the now -legendary performers and com- player piano, a leading maker of pi- posers- including George Gersh- LOS ANGELES -Virgin Records Innovative ano rolls tried to recruit pianist Ar- win, whose performances on the hit will launch "Far From Home," the Ns thur Schnabel to Elektra Nonesuch BY IS HOROWITZ commit his formida- release "Gershwin ble skills to the for- Plays Gershwin: The NEW YORK -With the release of mat. Schnabel, who Piano Rolls," have z three specially crafted new home vid- previously had re- spurred new interest Masco for your bassanon%/ eos this March, sisted offers from in the medium. m stoop /lamp /bedroom/and bout Sony Classical others, was told that From the turn of m Film & Video de- the company had de- the century until the WINWOOD CAPALDI of aU D4NCBTLOOR. But briny clares a pox on veloped the capabili- early '30s, piano roll grandma. Diront from NYC.. new classical mu- ty of reproducing 16 releases fed a broad first new recording from Traffic in sic video titles that musical nuances on its rolls. "I am market of consumers who wanted nearly two decades, using a three - Qlant atop. Produaod by tha ., merely attempt to sorry, but I am capable of 17," to hear the pop rhythms of pronged marketing approach that (toyonda ry) Gary Katz. ms GELB recreate a stan- Schnabel is said to have replied. (Continued on page 71) will rely heavily on a world tour be- (Continued on page 87) (Continued on page 81) IN THIS ISSUE P 50100-2/4 P 50099-2/4 Sony, MCA, New Line Top Billie Award Noms PAGE 8 PLANET EARTH R ECO.R DIN GS 10 A REVOLUTIOfl In GLOBAL RHYTHifi PLANET EARTH RECORDINGS 1 11 6634 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA 90028 213 -468 -9494 FAX 213. 468.9488 o 7"48b 02552 s DISTRIBUTED BY INDI: MALVERNE DIST, BIG STATE DIST, AND CALIFORNIA RECORD DIST. ADVERTISEMENT www.americanradiohistory.com ACE 0 BASE PLATINOPA AND A HALF AND JUST GETTING STARTED! America's reaction to the World Pop explosion of ACE OF BASE has been immediate. The singles "ALL THAT SHE WANTS" and "THE SIGN" both soared to #1, then both remained together in the Top 10 for weeks. In less than four months their debut album, THE SIGN, is 1,500,000 units and still soaring. Whether being called "Perfect Pop" by SPIN or '`the World Beat to which the entire globe throbs" by THE VILLAGE VOICE, the arrival of ACE OF BASE is much more than just an incredible beginning. It's a sure sign of bigger things to come! -' ARISTA , Arista Record4. no., a Retlolsmann www.americanradiohistory.com No. 'I IN BILLBOARD PG. VOLUME 106 NO. 10 Afro-Plane And The Power Of Surprise THE BILLBOARD 200 84 Rock'n'roll is the creative trouble of making art, and the creative Love)," a conscience-scalding track on "Afro-Plane" in which a taut * MUSIC BOX MARIAN CAREY COLUMBIA art of making trouble. Emerging in the aftermath of a world war rhythm bed of drums, conga, and chanted harmonies creates an NEW AGE that almost obliterated mortal decency, the best rock, R &B, and aural trampoline for the group's electrifying testimony: "All this * HOURS BETWEEN NIGHT + DAY 57 rap have agitated in the decades since for the fierce social convic- talk about leadership / Malcolm, as much as I love him, he's a leg- OTTMAR LIEBERT + LUNA NEGRA EPIC tions beyond failed social conventions, doggedly railing against the endary MTV Buzz Clip / And Martin, yes he's dead, too / And what WORLD MUSIC dimming of human dignity. did they do? They reduced him to a fantasizer, a dreamer who T * LOVE & UBERTE 57 since the dawn of Roy Brown and Muddy Waters, didn't exist in the real world But as for other so-called leaders / GIPSY KINGS ELEKTRA MUSICIAN Forty years ... O the sounds that would be rock, blues, R &B, or rap wear many They've turned us into bleeders ... They are old, tired, burned-out, P REGGAE masks, copious costumes. But it's only those in the frank ranks sold-out ... spending their time trying to create illegitimate clout * PROMISES & LIES UB40 VIRGIN 57 that still dispense fact above fashion and truth without tidiness, ... Trouble thought it was love / And now we've lost the branch courting no ritual, seeking no acolytes, respecting no demagogues, and the dove!" A CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN 36 during the dozen years of the Reagan-Bush re- L * BEYOND A DREAM TWILA PARIS STARSONG requiring no pimps. Coming of age Afro-Plane is four intense young men from Atlanta whose debut gimes, the members of Afro-Plane first intersected as two pairs of s GOSPEL album, "Afro-Plane" (RCA /Kaper, due April 26), is one of the few friends frequenting Atlanta's club scene. At the time, Nous (pro- u * IT REMAINS TO BE SEEN 37 MISSISSIPPI MASS CHOIR MAIACO debuts of '94 that audaciously asserts its own sonic and narrative nounced "know -us," the Egyptian word for reality), aka Rodney will, deeply gritty and often just as witty. In a period when many Trevon Oliver, was a student at Decatur High School; Blues was a S COUNTRY 34 performers want all your attention but none of your scrutiny, political science major at Clark Atlanta University; Moon, aka Kha- * KICKIN' IT UP JOHN MICHAEL MONTGOMERY ATLANTIC Afro -Plane bluntly invites listeners' closest ap- lil Sharif McIntosh, was enrolled at Cheyney Uni- HEATSEEKERS praisals, as on "Ghetto Blast," a sweetly rising versity; and "Brother Soggi," or Christopher Leh- 21 * FUMBUNG TOWARD ECSTASY a cappella street riff that suddenly becomes a bru- man Turner, attended Georgia State. SARAH MCLACHLAN ARISTA tally unsparing parody of a TV beer spot: "We all began hanging in late '92," says Blues, THE BILLBOARD LATIN 50 38 "Ghet -to Blast! Ghet -to Blast! ... / `Hey, what's SSC second child of car dealer Houston Perry Jr. and * GLORIA ESTEFAN MI TIERRA EPIC mi we up? What's that in yo' hand ?' the former Doris Oliver, an accountant. "And " `It's the ghetto to the B- L-A -S -T can! / When I EARS listened to house music and acid jazz and did home- R &B 24 get a thirst, I drink the worst / Malt liquor in a made demos that included songs on the album like * 12 PLAY R. KELLY JIVE cup, to get fucked up / A dollar forty -nine, yeah I `Flower Child,' `Afro- Desiac,' 'Dig Deep,' and THE HOT 100 got mine ..