$5.50 (U.S.), $6.50 (CAN.), £4.50 (U.K.) IN MUSIC NEWS #BXNCCVR ` xxxx 3 -DIGIT 908 #90807GEE374EM00211 BLBD 531 001 032198 2 126 0153 MONTY 3740 A LONG BEACH CA 90807 Metallica Boasts New Look, New Sound On Elektra Set SEE PAGE 9 THE INTE RNATIONAL NEWSWEEKLY OF MUSIC, VIDEO AND HOME ENTERTAINMENT MAY 25, 1996 ADVERTISEMENTS Building A Perfect Ork -Pop Masterpiece BMG Makes Eros EVERYTHING. A Global Priority BUT THE GIR Forward Thinking Acts Look To Past Flydaddy's Pop Spawn WALKING WOUNDED BY NARK DEZZANI BY CRAIG ROSEN masterpiece. BY CRAIG ROSEN Although the commercial success MILAN -Italian melodic rocker Eros Itor111 b the three -chord sim- of these acts -which include Port- It w ;Is t It I shared love and respect Ramazzotti is following up his multi- plicity of grunge and neo -punk, a land, Ore.'s Eric Matthews; Chica- for the music of singer /songwriter million- selling 1993 album, "Tutte Sto- new breed of popsmiths is going go's Yum -Yum and Plush; Kent, Richard Davies that led Sub Pop em- rie, wits the global release of "Dove Ln4 features the single "1NYong" MATTHEWS YUM-YUM DAVIES follow -up to their gold album to such inspirations as Brian Ohio's Witch Hazel; London's High ployees Kevin O'Leary and A lam Sil- C'é Musica" (Where There Is Music) AMPLIFIED HEART back Davies; verman to leave their jobs at tI e famed (DDD /E:MG /Arista), and the project #1 single Wilson, Phil Spector, and Burt Llamas; Sydney's Richard ani their a "success" in what- "Missing" Bacharach in the quest for building and Toronto's Spookey Ruben - Seattle independent in the fal of 1993 looks poised to be the perfect orchestrated pop has been moderate at best, their to start their own label, Flydaddy. ever language you say it. -RE music offers an alternative for Davies, onetime front mar of Aus- Heinz Henn, senior VP of A& Ft/mar- TLIJp C GROUP those who have grown tired of dis- tralian pop experimentalists the keting a: BMG Entertainment Inter - ATLANTIC RECORDING CORP A TIME WARNER COMPANY _ ¿. ©1996 v o- in (Continned on page 16) surf attar*. http /ANww.atlanticrecords.com Marcus Roberts' torted guitars and angst- ridden Moles, had relocated to B(ston (Colltillllr,l' r pay( 1'1 'mainned on -Jag(' 92) Double Sony Shot Exclusive Photo Essay BY JIM MACNIE Indie Sector Hobbled By NEW YORK Wanting to communi- David Gahr Goes cate with as many listeners as possible is a standard artistic goal. But in jazz, Stiff Returns For Early '96 To Jazz D Heritage BY ED CHRISTMAN a price war led by Circuit C1y and lest 'OS . and CHRIS MORRIS Best Buy. As a result, some record SONY store chains have been forced into NEW YORK -After getting clob- bankruptcy, while others Lre re- bered with returns in the first three structuring their balance shuts and r months of 1996, independent labels closing stores. Industry sour °es say CLASSICAL and distributors will they expect an-where be limping to Balti- from 500 to 1,000 ROBERTS more for their annual stores to close over the convention, at which NA/RID next 18 months proving your eloquence at a broad level discussions are likely Due to the corn - SEE PAGE 18 can be precarious: Wooing a mass audi- to focus on how to deal petiveness of tl e mar- ence often entails downgrading one's with the downturn at music retail. ketplace, open -to -buy dollars are musical sophistication. Pianist/compos- The National Assn. of Independent scarce and returns are plentful, ac- BILLBOARD SPOTLIGHTS ";..... er Marcus Roberts thinks he knows a Record Distributors and Manufac- cording to label and distribution ex- way to fully explain himself to his fans turers meet will be held at the Balti- ecutives. Industry executives cite a and maintain his standards of sophisti- more Omni Inner Harbor Hotel variety of reasons for the mounting cation: by widening his vocabulary. Wednesday (22) -May 26. returns. Since specialty retailers With the June 11 arrival of two discs, Music retail has been in a state of have seen their profits wiped out by "Time And Circumstance" (Columbia) disarray for almost a year, thanks to (Continued on pcge 104) (Continued (lI page 105) SEE PAGE 55 IORLU MUS II. A BILLBOARD SPOTLIGHT ; SEE PAGE 35 21> COPPEROPOL /S (4/2-445250) June ', 1996 http: / /www.RepriseR c.com/Grantl.eeBuffalo o 09281 02 552 8 ®I996 S ash Records b: I ISEMENT www.americanradiohistory.com listen globally ij groove local ISLAND I \ UE PE\ UE\T s g r #.,:/ www.americanradiohistory.com No. 11 IN BILLBOARD VOLUME 108 NO. 21 Challenges Await In Tempting Asian Mkts. THE BILLBOARD 200 103 * THE SCORE FUGEES RUFFHOUSE Royalty Practices Among Business Issues Faced BLUES 44 BY GEOFF BURPEE Western songwriters' demo tapes to re- the second MIDEM Asia conference, held * LEDBETTER HEIGHTS KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD GIANT gional record companies. here May 12 -16, highlighted problems CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN HONG KONG -The hunger of Asian However, the desire to have East meet surrounding not just this new repertoire * WHATCHA LOOKIN' 4 52 markets for local -language versions of West in the recording studio has created practice but the larger differences be- KIRK FRANKLIN AND THE FAMILY GOSPO CENTRIC Western songs has opened a Pandora's huge headaches for those who would like tween Asian culture and the dozens of in- T COUNTRY 34 box of royalty headaches for songwriters, to see Asian copyright and royalty prac- ternational countries trying to penetrate O * BORDERLINE BROOKS & DUNN ARISTA publishers, and record companies. tices brought in the world's fastest -growing market. Lively discussions at a panel on music P GOSPEL Long driven by cover songs, pure pop line with interna- * WHATCHA LOOKINE 4 51 markets, such as Hong Kong and Taiwan, tional standards. publishing in Asia pointed to an interna- A KIRK FRANKLIN AND THE FAMILY GOSPO CENTRIC have increasingly sought hits from other And while the will MIDEM tional industry coming to terms with the of doing in Asia, as pub- L HEATSEEKERS markets for adaptation into Mandarin and to evolve may be realities business 22 ASIA '96 and to work to- B * GRAVITY KILLS GRAVITY KILLS TVT Cantonese. Major international publish- there, the reality lishers songwriters try ers in the region have refined the practice, demonstrates that gether to fit into, and in some cases rede- U THE BILLBOARD LATIN 50 with such companies as Warner/Chappell such change will fine, the region's often opaque copyright M * ENRIQUE IGLESIAS ENRIQUE IGLESIAS FONOVISA 50 and EMI Music Publishing introducing not occur overnight. and corporate culture. S "The practices in Asia are so dramati- Brad Parker, VP of the board of direc- POP CATALOG 44 cally different here than overseas," says tors of the U.S. -based National Academy * LEGEND BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS TUFF GONG Harry Hui, regional director for Warn- of Songwriters, expresses concerns that Local Music TV er /Chappell Hong Kong. "Copyright is songwriters whose work is translated by R &B 26 * THE SCORE FUGEES RUFFHOUSE such an evolving concept here. If we tell record companies for use by Asian pop the local record industry you can't do this, stars are surrendering copyright in order REGGAE 44 Channel To Start how will they grow? Cantopop and a lot of to secure deals. * BOOMBASTIC SHAGGY VIRGIN Chinese pop has to change; it is dying "With some record companies here, it is out." a condition of doing business that we ne- WORLD MUSIC Up In Thailand 44 Against a backdrop of heated copyright gotiate copyright," Parker says. "We * TIERRA GITANA GIPSY KINGS NONESUCH HONG KONG -Asian music television and piracy negotiations between China want it to be non -negotiable: The original took another step on the long road to lo- and the U.S. (see story, page 5), debate at (Continued on page 101) THE HOT 100 100 * THA CROSSROADS BONE THUGS -N- HARMONY RUTHLESS calization at MIDEM Asia here, with STAR TV's Channel V announcing a new ADULT CONTEMPORARY 90 joint- venture partnership with Thai * BECAUSE YOU LOVED ME CELINE DION 550 MUSIC broadcaster BNT to facilitate the launch of a 24 -hour local -language channel in ADULT TOP 40 90 Thailand. * BECAUSE YOU LOVED ME CELINE DION 550 MUSIC Broadcasting Network Thailand H COUNTRY 32 Q * MY MARIA BROOKS & DUNN ARSTA chairman Itthivat MIDEM Bhiraleus says the / PLAY T DANCE CLUB 29 setup required a * ONE MORE TRY KRISTINE W CHAMPION ASIA '96 $10 million initial S DANCE / MAXI -SINGLES SALES investment from I * GET MONEY 29 BNT, mostly to up- N JUNIOR M.A.F.I.A. / THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G. UNDEAS/ BIG BEAT grade local studios with hi -tech digital production and broadcast equipment to G LATIN 49 L * AMARTE A TI CRISTIAN FONOVISA make it compatible with facilities at STAR's Hong Kong headquarters. E R &B 24 Speaking at MIDEM Asia, Bhiraleus S * THA CROSSROADS BONE THUGS -N- HARMONY RUTHLESS said the channel aims to "combine the ex- of Channel V with our RAP pertise expertise, 27 local personalities, local * THA CROSSROADS BONE THUGS -N- HARMONY RUTHLESS and repertoire." The new channel will be distributed on encrypted, pay -per -view cable ROCK / MAINSTREAM ROCK TRACKS 91 distributor Life In The Real World. Qawwali master Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Peter Gabriel were among * HUMANS BEING VAN HALEN WARNER SUNSET UTV. for launch in Slated early June, the the performers at the recent "VH1 Honors" tribute to the Witness program, which Gabriel co- cable channel will initially be viewed in a founded.