Music Week articles from January 2001

Music Week archives from January 2001

Playlouder to offer exclusive downloads.
January 6, 2001... Beggars Benquet-backed alternative music and media site Playlouder is finally taking the download plunge with the launch of a selection of exclusive single and album downloads for sale from next Monday (January 8). The Charlatans' Melting...

BRENDEL'S BIRTHDAY PROMPTS REISSUES.
January 6, 2001... Philips Classics is marking Alfred Brendel's 70th birthday this month with the January 15 release of a double-disc set of Schubert Sonatas -- one of a series of three new recordings and related concert performances backed by television...

MEDIAEVAL BAEBES DROPPED.
January 6, 2001... The Mediaeval Baebes have been dropped by BMG Classics following disappointing sales of the group's first album for the label, produced by ex-Velvet Underground member John Cale. Undrentide failed to repeat the chart success of earlier...

ALBUM of the week.
January 6, 2001... JS BACH: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5, Orchestral Suite No. 2, etc. Pahud, Kussmaul, Berliner Barock Solisten. (EMI Classics 5 57111 2). Flute player Emanuel Pahud's Bach is informed by knowledge of historical performance practice and carries an...

FAIREST ISLE: Songs and airs.
January 6, 2001... For records released up to January 15 2000 FAIREST ISLE: Songs and airs by Dowland, Campion, Morley, Byrd, Jenkins and Purcell. Bonney, Heringman, Phantasm, Academy of Ancient Music/Hogwood. (Decca 466 132-2). Barbara Bonney's desire to aurally...

BACALOV: Misa Tango.
January 6, 2001... BACALOV: Misa Tango. Martinez, Domingo, Passarella; Choir and Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia/ Chung. (Deutsche Grammophon 471 005-2). The world premiere recording of Luis Bacalov's attempt to combine the sacred with the...

CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON: OST.
January 6, 2001... CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON: OST, Yo-Yo Ma. Tan Dun (Sony Classical SK89347). Tan Dun's eclectic and profound musical language draws as much on eastern as western classical and popular traditions. His OST for Ang Lee's critically acclaimed...

THE OFFICIAL UK SINGLES CHART TOP 75.
January 6, 2001... This Last Wks Title Artist (Producer) Publisher (Writer) 1 1 4 CAN WE FIX IT(*) Bob The Builder (Mitchell) EMI (Joyce) 2 3 4 ...

THE OFFICIAL UK ALBUMS CHART TOP75.
January 6, 2001... Title This Last Wks Artist (Producer) 1 1 7 1 (*)6 The Beatles (Martin) 2 6 32 THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP (*)4 ...

THE OFFICIAL CHARTS.
January 6, 2001... SINGLES 1 1 CAN WE FIX IT Bob The Builder BBC Music 3 2 STAN Eminem Interscope/Polydor 4 3 NEVER HAD A DREAM COME TRUE S Club 7 ...

THE OFFICIAL UK AIRPLAY CHARTS TOP 50.
January 6, 2001... This Last Weeks Position music control UK on on sales chart chart 1 1 2 11 SUPREME 2 2 10 7 INDEPENDENT ...

SINGLE of the fortnight.
January 6, 2001... SANTOS: Camels (Incentive CENT15T). This highly individual, compelling stringswept house track from Italy swoops and glides with style. The track has huge crossover potential and has already been A-listed at Radio One. Camels is taken from...

SlNGLE reviews.
January 6, 2001... SPOOKS: Things I've Seen (Artemis ANTCD6706722). This impressive US outfit release their debut single which features on the Once In The Life soundtrack. Produced by Rick Dahrouge, it is an infectious blend of Fugee-style hip hop, and is...

THE OFFICIAL UK SINGLES CHART TOP 75.
January 6, 2001... TOP 75 This Last Wks Title Artist (Producer) Publisher (Writer) 1 1 3 CAN WE FIX IT(*) Bob The Builder (Mitchell) EMI (Joyce) HNE2 NEW...

THE OFFICIAL UK ALBUMS CHART TOP 75.
January 6, 2001... Title This Last Wks Artist (Producer) 1 1 6 1 (*)6 The Beatles (Martin) 2 2 7 COAST TO COAST (*)5 Westlife...

DOOLEY.
January 6, 2001... One of the barometers of record company health is the annual competition to host the most memorable Christmas party of the year. And 2000 was no different. While some opted for staff-only affairs, Warner took on the mantle of London Records...

BBC in call to push Eurovision hopefuls.
January 6, 2001... BBC Eurovision supremo Kevin Bishop has issued a rallying cry for record companies to back this year's Song For Europe and reap the benefit of the best shortlist of UK entries for the contest in years. Bishop, who is the corporation's...

Bertelsmann mourns Rudi Gassner.
January 6, 2001... Bertelsmann is looking for a new leader for its music division following the sudden death last month of Rudi Gassner just days before he was due to take over as worldwide president and CEO of BMG. Gassner, 58, died of a heart attack on...

Universal makes Serious dance move.
January 6, 2001... Universal has further expanded its dance music portfolio by taking a 50% stake in indie label Serious Records. The deal, which was finalised last month, comes on the back of the label's most successful year to date, achieved largely via...

Emap plans Brits promotional blitz.
January 6, 2001... Emap is lining up a wave of promotional support for this year's Brit Awards after its cable/satellite service The Box won the contract to handle the voting for this year's best British video award. The media company, which takes over...

GASSNER: A TRAGIC LOSS.
January 6, 2001... Speaking to Rudi Gassner a month ago just after the announcement of his return to BMG, the pride in his voice was plain to hear. The news was so fresh that he was still in his holiday home in Bavaria, but in his mind he was already sitting in...

TIME FOR RADIO CHOICE.
January 6, 2001... Happy new year. I was struck by Bob Harris's comments in the pre-Christmas MW where he bemoaned the fact that he couldn't hear the music he played on his Radio Two show anywhere else. One of my resolutions in 2001 is to try to catch his...

Lewis's B-Unique inks deal with DreamWorks.
January 6, 2001... Mark Lewis's B-Unique label has struck an international licensing deal with DreamWorks in a move that highlights the increasing importance the US company is placing on UK repertoire. The first band to benefit from the deal - which gives...

Industry mourns,loss of MacColl.
January 6, 2001... The music industry mourned the loss of Kirsty MacColl during the Christmas break following her death in a boating accident in Cozumel, Mexico, on December 18. Kevin Nixon, MacColl's manager for the past four years, says, "We are absolutely...

VEGASTONES: Drag Queen Eyes.
January 13, 2001... VEGASTONES: Drag Queen Eyes (V2 VVR5015453). This haunting track precedes the trio's debut album, due for release in February, and is backed by two B-sides including a live cut from their Xfm session. It is B-listed at Xfm. (dotmusic)

BIG YOUTH: Natty Universal Dread 1973-1979.
January 20, 2001... BIG YOUTH: Natty Universal Dread 1973-1979 (Blood & Fire BAFCD034). This is a superbly compiled collection, including rare collaborations with Junior Byles, Leroy Smart and U-Roy. Currently working with Junior Delgado, Big Youth is a key figure...

KINGS OF CONVENIENCE: Quiet Is The New Loud.
January 20, 2001... [RECOMMENDED] KINGS OF CONVENIENCE: Quiet Is The New Loud (Source SOURCD 019). Twenty-four years old, but with a world-weariness that belies their youth, this Norwegian duo follow their Live In A Room EP with a mature, bittersweet album....

THE OFFICIAL UK SINGLES CHART.
January 20, 2001... This Last Wks Title Artist (Producer) Publisher (Writer) (HNE) 1 NEW NEW LOVE DON'T COST A THING Jennifer Lopez (Wake) Various ...

THE OFFICIAL UK ALBUMS CHART TOP 75.
January 20, 2001... Title This Last Wks Artist (Producer) 1 1 9 1(a) 7 The Beatles (Martin) 2 6 12 THE GREATEST HITS(a) 5 ...

THE OFFICIAL CHARTS.
January 20, 2001... singles new 1 LOVE DON'T JUST COST A THING Epic Jennifer Lopez 1 2 TOUCH ME Kismet/Arista Rui Da Silva feat. Cassandra 3 3...

SPECIALIST.
January 20, 2001... MID-PRICE This Last Title 1 NEW PLAYING MY GAME 2 5 GREATEST HITS 3 RE THE BEST OF 4 RE GREATEST HITS 5 8 TRACY CHAPMAN 6 3 RELATIONSHIP OF COMMAND ...

DANCE.
January 20, 2001... CHART COMMENTARY The Stuntmasters' cleverly constructed and even more cleverly named The Lady Boy Is Mine -- a combination of Modjo's Lady and Brandy & Monica's The Boy Is Mine -- surges to the top of the Pop Chart this week, leaving...

EXPOSURE.
January 20, 2001... CHART COMMENTARY The top two singles on the sales and airplay chart are identical for only the sixth time in the last two years, as Rui Da Silva's Touch Me and Jennifer Lopez's Love Don't Cost A Thing move 8-2 and 6-1 on the airplay chart....

THE OFFICIAL UK AIRPLAY CHARTS TOP 50.
January 20, 2001... Weeks Position on on sales This Last chart chart (a) 1 6 6 1 LOVE DON'T COST A THING (a) 2 8 8 2 TOUCH ME 3 ...

Bob fixes it to be number one in battle for top single prize of 2000.
January 20, 2001... When 31 singles topped the chart back in 1998 it was a new record. That was subsequently shattered in 1999, when there were 36 singles number ones, and comprehensively beaten again last year, with no fewer than 43 singles taking turns at the...

EMI clinches top two positions as Beatlemania returns in 2000.
January 20, 2001... Something old and something new allowed EMI to claim the top two places in the annual best-sellers list for the first time since 1969. It did so courtesy of The Beatles' 1 and Robbie Williams' Sing When You're Winning. The Beatles album --...

Now! series secures hat-trick again.
January 20, 2001... The most successful compilation brand ever established, the Now That's What I Call Music! series celebrated its 17th birthday last year and managed to maintain its traditional domination of the sector. It didn't quite reach the dizzy heights it...

Orbit touch produces another winner.
January 20, 2001... For the second year in a row, the number one airptay hit, as determined by Music Control, is a William Orbit creation. Orbit produced and co-authored Madonna's Beautiful Stranger which topped the 1999 rankings and performed an identical dual...

NEW RELEASES.
January 20, 2001... RECOMMENDED CATALOGUE NEW RELEASES GEORGE HARRISON: All Things Must Pass (EMI 5304742) To mark the 30th anniversary of its first release, George Harrison's All Things Must Pass album gets an expanded, re-sequenced and remastered release on...

DOOLEY.
January 20, 2001... Remember where you heard it: It has been just days away for weeks, but now the AOL and Time Warner deal has finally gone through, the men who know at WEA and London suggest their own merger is finally set to roll. Questions still up in the air:...

INDUSTRY RECOVERS FROM Y2K's ONLINE WAKE-UP CALL.
January 20, 2001... Napster and MP3 brought the issue of downloading of music to the forefront in 2000. This year subscription will be the buzzword, says Toby Lewis TECHNOLOGY STOCKS in general may have had the stuffing knocked out of them during the past 12...

LICENSORS GEAR UP TO MEET NEW FACES AT MIDEM.
January 20, 2001... The internet is increasingly allowing licensing specialists to broaden the appeal of their catalogues to even more partners around the world. ONE OF Midem's main roles down the years has been as a forum for licensing deals. The fact that...

CELEBRATING FRENCH MUSIC.
January 20, 2001... Among the highlights of this year's event is a celebration of music which originates in the home of Midem. AS SOON as Dominique Leguern took over as Midem director on March 1, last year, one of her first initiatives for Midem 2001 was to...

KEEPING UP WITH THE PIRATES.
January 20, 2001... Karen Faux checks out the anti-piracy measures companies are now developing to protect their products THE YEAR 2000 was an exceptionally good one for the global disc-manufacturing sector, with CD and DVD production rising to a record 10bn...

UNIVERSAL REVAMPS DECCA `WORLD OF' SERIES.
January 20, 2001... Universal Classics' declared commitment to improving and extending its back catalogue lines is set to continue in the first two quarters of this year with the revamp of Decca's established "World Of..." series, the launch of a British music...

ONDINE RELEASES RAUTAVAARA ONLINE.
January 20, 2001... Finnish classical label Ondine, distributed in the UK by the Complete Record Company, has brokered an online royalty deal with the Philadelphia Orchestra to extend its catalogue of works by the composer Einojuhani Rautavaara. Although Ondine is...

ALBUM of the week.
January 20, 2001... J.S. BACH: Sehet, welch eine Liebe; Du sollt Gott, deinen Herren, lieben, etc. Concerto Palatino; Bach Collegium Japan/Suzuki (BIS CD-1041). Masaaki Suzuki's survey of the Bach cantatas reaches its 13th volume in very impressive form, backed by...

HANDEL: Italian Cantatas, including Delerio amoroso, Le Lucrezia and Tra le fiamme.
January 20, 2001... HANDEL: Italian Cantatas, including Delerio amoroso, Le Lucrezia and Tra le fiamme. Kozena; Les Musiciens du Louvre/Minkowski (Deutsche Grammophon Archly 469 065-2). Magdalena Kozena follows her admirable Bach recital on the Archiv label with a...

SCHUBERT: Piano Sonatas D575, 894, 959 and 960.
January 20, 2001... SCHUBERT: Piano Sonatas D575, 894, 959 and 960. Alfred Brendel (Philips Classics 456 573-2). Four live recordings, including Brendel's first of the Sonata D575, are offered by Philips to mark the pianist's 70th birthday. These interpretations...

VERDI: Messa Solenne, Libera Me (1869 version) and other sacred works.
January 20, 2001... VERDI: Messa Solenne, Libera Me (1869 version) and other sacred works. Soloists; Giuceppe Verdi Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of Milan/Chailly (Decca 467 280-2). Conductor Riccardo Chailly fronts the cover of February's Gramophone and talks...

VILLA-LOBOS: Symphony Nos. 4 and 12.
January 20, 2001... VILLA-LOBOS: Symphony Nos. 4 and 12. SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart/St Clair (CPO 999 525-2). Villa-Lobos wrote his Fourth Symphony in response to the Allied victory and the end of the First World War. The Stuttgart players prove...

U2: Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of.
January 20, 2001... U2: Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of (Universal-Island CID770). While All That You Can't Leave Behind is perhaps not yet the runaway UK sales success that had been hoped, Universal-Island is preparing for the long haul, and the band's...

DUM DUMS: Army of Two.
January 20, 2001... DUM DUMS: Army of Two (Good Behaviour CDGOOD5). Following their triumphant tour with Robbie Williams, Britain's punkiest popsters slow down the pace for their fourth single. Though the media still finds them hard to place, their growing army of...

THE STROKES: The Modern Age.
January 20, 2001... [RECOMMENDED] THE STROKES: The Modern Age (Rough Trade RTRADESCD010). These three tracks from the nascent New York-based quintet -- renowned for their incendiary live shows -- show a band nurtured on the classic garage lineage (Velvets,...

ALICE DEEJAY: Celebrate Our Love.
January 20, 2001... ALICE DEEJAY: Celebrate Our Love (Positiva CDTIV149). In a similar vein to Better Off Alone and Back In My Life, a gospel accompaniment adds to this track's appeal. Celebrate Our Love is the final single to be taken from Alice Deejay's Top 10...

GRANDADDY: The Crystal Lake.
January 20, 2001... [RECOMMENDED] GRANDADDY: The Crystal Lake (V2 VVR 5015153). Praise for Grandaddy's Sophtware Slump album and sell-out shows have meant that their profile has risen markedly since The Crystal Lake's initial release last year. This re-release has...

ATOMIC KITTEN: Whole Again.
January 20, 2001... ATOMIC KITTEN: Whole Again (Innocent SINCD24). Lacklustre R&B from the trio who have never quite achieved the crossover hit they have been chasing. There is also a version of Daydream Believer that fails to live up to the original. (A)

DURANGO 95: Lectronik.
January 20, 2001... DURANGO 95: Lectronik (Duty Free DF023). This third release for Durango 95 on Duty Free ventures into the floor-friendly tech-house arena with steel drums and subtle percussive riffs. Force Mass Motion provide a remix.

LOWGOLD: Mercury.
January 20, 2001... [RECOMMENDED] LOWGOLD: Mercury (Nude NUDES3CD). Preceding their debut album, Just Backward Of Square, this promising indie-rock outfit release their third single. Having had a successful year supporting Doves and Coldplay, this is another great...

MYA: Case Of The Ex.
January 20, 2001... [RECOMMENDED] MYA: Case Of The Ex (Whatcha Gonna Do) (Interscope/Polydor CD4974772). Sultry R&B from the US vocalist best known for her guest spot on Pras's Top Five hit Ghetto Supastar in 1998. B-listed at Radio One, it should help lift sales...

JJ72: Snow.
January 20, 2001... [RECOMMENDED] JJ72: Snow (Lakota LAK0019CD1). Coinciding with a headline slot on the NME Carling Awards tour, this ballad should assist JJ72's rise into the premier league, It is A-listed at Radio One.

KINNDA: Don't Bring Sand to the Beech.
January 20, 2001... KINNDA: Don't Bring Sand to the Beech (London FCD360). Following her debut Top 10 hit, Don't Think I'm Not, acclaimed writer Kandi teams up with husband Kevin `She'kespere' Briggs for this polished track. Swedish newcomer Kinnda performs on...

ASH: Shining Light.
January 20, 2001... ASH: Shining Light (Infectious/ Homegrown infect 98cd), Produced by Owen Morris and mixed by Alan Moulder, this is the first offering in nearly two years from the indie stars. Although slightly more polished than their earlier work, their sound...

Emerging Talent lines up for Brits boost.
January 20, 2001... The surge of new UK talent emerging in 2000 will be officially recognised in tonight's (Monday) Brits nominations with breakthrough acts poised to dominate the domestic categories. Wildstar's Craig David -- who is now lined up to perform at...

Sanctuary powers growth with new publishing arm.
January 20, 2001... Sanctuary Group is continuing the acquisition and expansionist strategy that it set in place last year with the launch of a new music publishing division and its first continental Europe base. Sanctuary is bringing in the veteran publisher...

PPL gives digital jukeboxes green light.
January 20, 2001... The UK's biggest entertainment machine operator Leisure Link has secured a licence from PPL allowing it to roll out a digital jukebox system which could revotltionise the jukebox industry. Its planned introduction of the system next month...

Worldpop nets Trinity Street for digital marketing venture.
January 20, 2001... Chart sponsor Worldpop is bidding to create a digital marketing powerhouse with marketing operation Trinity Street Direct after raising 5.1m [pounds sterling] of second-round funding. The two companies plan to pool Trinity Street's...

BPI and IFPI help shatter Russian piracy operation.
January 20, 2001... BPI and IFPI anti-piracy officers helped bust apart a Russian mafia gang running a 1m [pounds sterling] music piracy business out of London. The two music organisations worked alongside City of London police in a two-year operation which...

Polydor takes honours in 2000 market shares.
January 20, 2001... Polydor has rounded off its best year to date by capturing both the singles and albums market share crowns for the whole of 2000. The Universal operation becomes the first company since Virgin in 1998 simultaneously to take both titles. On...

Music Week Awards launch online voting.
January 20, 2001... Online voting is figuring in the Music Week Awards for the first time this year with the introduction of an event website. The site (www.musicweekawards.com), which is being launched tomorrow (Tuesday), will carry the latest news on the...

newsfile.
January 20, 2001... AOL/TIME WARNER GETS US GO-AHEAD The AOL/Time Warner merger cleared its final hurdle last Thursday -- almost exactly a year after the $106bn deal was announced -- when the US Federal Communications Commission gave it the green light. The US...

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED.
January 20, 2001... Anyone who could have confidently predicted a year ago that the Top 10 list of best-selling albums in 2000 (see p26) would feature then relative unknowns David Gray, Craig David and Coldplay deserves a job in A&R. And a very senior job at that....

CHARTS MUST BAN CHEAP RELEASES.
January 20, 2001... The fact that the first Westlife album went to number one on the mid-week album chart highlights the need to review the current chart rules which allow a release sold at 3.99 [pounds sterling] to top the main albums chart. If as an...

DIGITAL SOLUTION IS CRUCIAL TO MIDEM'S BRIT PACK.
January 20, 2001... The attendance of a British government minister underlines the importance of music to the UK economy. THERE WILL once again be strong representation for British music at Midem 2001 as the BPI and British Music Rights join forces on the...

DAVID FOSTER: PERSON OF THE YEAR.
January 20, 2001... He has worked with legendary figures and has always moved with the times. David Balfour looks at Foster's impressive track record WHEN DAVID Foster receives the prestigious Nesuhi Ertegun Person of the Year trophy at the Carlton Hotel in...

UK EXHIBITORS.
January 20, 2001... * ABBEY ROAD INTERACTIVE Abbey Road Studios, 3 Abbey Road, London NW8 9AY. Tel: 020 7266 7282 Fax: 020 7266 7321 E-mail: interactive@abbeyroad.co.uk Website: www.abbeyroad.co.uk Business: multimedia developers Delegates: Colette...

Producer in Pistols case unlocks early demo vaults.
January 20, 2001... Dave Goodman, an early producer and live soundman of the Sex Pistols, has submitted a mass of documents -- and seven CDs worth of music -- to his lawyers in a case which could lead to a wealth of widely-unheard Pistols tracks being given an...

DVD packaging firms in settlement.
January 20, 2001... Packaging specialist DuBOIS has reached an out-of-court settlement with Japanese company Shoei, bringing to an end an ongoing dispute in which the latter company was accused of infringing its rival's intellectual property rights. DuBOIS,...

CRISIS MANAGEMENT.
January 20, 2001... Managers are still seen as the bad guys when the relationship with an artist breaks down. The appearance of Jonathan Shalit and former protege Charlotte Church outside the High Court in November was yet another reminder of the fact that...

THE MANAGER'S ROLE -- THE LEGAL PERSPECTIVE.
January 20, 2001... The traditional image of a music manager is of a cigar-smoking, hard-nosed deal-maker who takes advantage of a naive artist. Managers have, however, come a long way since the days of Brian Epstein. Cases such as that of Joan Armatrading in...

HOW TO SAFEGUARD THE TRUST FACTOR IN ARTIST-ACCOUNTANT RELATIONSHIPS.
January 20, 2001... Many artists' disdain for business matters while they are making their fortunes can come back to haunt them in future years. Adam Woods looks at those acts who have had their fingers burnt in the past and looks at how artists and accountants...

ARAB STRAP: Love Detective.
January 20, 2001... ARAB STRAP: Love Detective (Chemikal Underground CHEM0490). The first single taken from the new album The Red Thread sees Arab Strap in fine form. A dark story is woven around chunky breakbeats and nagging guitars to create a typically...

JAMNESIA: My Memory Is Back.
January 20, 2001... [RECOMMENDED] JAMNESIA: My Memory Is Back (IDJ IDJ12T). With DJs like Paul Van Dyk, Sasha and Lee Burridge giving it heavy support for almost a year, this melodic trance track is likely to enjoy heavy demand in specialist stores and among vinyl...

LOWFINGER: Go Go Me A Big Pop.
January 20, 2001... LOWFINGER: Go Go Me A Big Pop (Elemental ELM063CDS). Bursting out of north London with a fresh blast of high-octane-fuelled guitar pop for the new year, Lowfinger's infectious enthusiasm looks likely to pay off in 2001. This new single is a...