PHANTOM OF THE AIRWAVES: A&M; Records has...

PHANTOM OF THE AIRWAVES: A&M; Records has got a bit of an identity crisis on its hands regarding its new album by Sarah Brightman, the ex-wife of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and a frequent star of his pop operas, including the London version of “Phantom of the Opera.”

Afraid that pop radio programmers might be turned off by her past endeavors, the company placed “Captain Nemo”--one of the songs from her new “Dive” album--on a sampler CD mailed to radio programmers by the Album Network trade magazine--without any credits to identify the artist.

“We wanted the track to speak for itself,” says Jeff Suhy, the label’s national alternative promotion director. The good news for A&M; is that some programmers played the song and listeners responded, many mistaking the voice for that of cult hero Kate Bush.

The problem was A&M; feared fans might reject the song once they discovered the true identity of the singer. Lloyd Webber may be big on Broadway, but his sweeping epics are more likely to be the butt of jokes on alternative radio.

Not so. Program directors report that listeners continue to request the song--even though the cover has been blown. Meanwhile, though, Kate Bush fans can look forward to a new album from the English singer in the fall.