AND NOW FOR A MELLOW ITEM: Danny...

AND NOW FOR A MELLOW ITEM: Danny Goldberg, the rock entrepreneur behind everything from the rock documentary “No Nukes” to the anti-PMRC pressure group the Musical Majority, is starting a new baby boomer record label called Gold Castle Records. Geared for those pop oldsters who find shopping at Tower Records a terrifying experience, the new label will feature the “new age” music made popular by Windham Hill Records (and the company’s new operating chief is ex-Windham Hill exec Paula Jeffries).

“When I had an office at A&M; Records, we were right next door to Windham Hill’s offices and you couldn’t help but be impressed by their sales figures--George Winston sold more than a million copies with just one album,” said Goldberg, who said he has already signed Judy Collins and Peter, Paul & Mary to the new label. “It’s a great new way of addressing the marketplace. Also, record buying has become a real statement for a lot of people. By having a Windham Hill-type record, it sends a signal to your friends that you’re grown-up and responsible--it allows people to feel grown-up and hip at the same time.”

Goldberg said that he doesn’t expect his artists to necessarily get much radio play, but insisted that the records would only need to sell about 50,000 units to break even. “You can attract media interest in other ways, especially through TV coverage and magazine pieces. Most people buy a record because their friends tell them about it. We’d like to tap into those kind of catalysts.”

Goldberg is still shopping for a distribution deal, but it’s possible the label could be distributed by MCA, which already handles Goldberg’s Gold Mountain label.