Reassessing the Labels After a Record Year

The bold, intoxicating sound you’re hearing in the music business in these early weeks of the new year is the sonic boom of change. Thanks to the information revolution, fads and fashions--and genuine shifts in musical taste--sweep through each new wave of pop fans as fast as you can say “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang.”

Alternative-rock poster-badboy Eddie Vedder was on the cover of Time before people finished arguing about what alternative meant. Snoop Doggy Dogg made the cover of Newsweek before his album even came out, then topped the charts as pundits brooded about the cultural impact of his violent, misogynistic lyrics.

You want to talk real impact?

Ten of last year’s Top 30 selling albums--records that all sold at least 1.5 million copies--were from artists who didn’t even have a record contract in 1990. Tiny independent Priority Records, which lives on rap’s razor edge, had a bigger market share than the EMI Records Group.

Thanks to a new burst of energy from the “Lollapalooza” generation--and an ever-increasing profit margin on CDs--the music biz is more than ever the money biz, with all sorts of labels reporting record earnings.

What makes industry execs bullish about 1994 is that this sweeping pop revolution has been a bloodless coup, with little of the nasty generational strife (Stones vs. “The Sound of Music,” Sex Pistols vs. Boring Old Rockers) of previous breaks with the past.

Neil Young shared the stage with Pearl Jam. Bono crooned with Sinatra. For gosh sakes, Cher flirted with Beavis and Butt-head!

This wealth of cross-fertilization has launched a flood of marketing-driven Big Event albums--something we’ll continue to see in ’94. Why make a live album when you can revamp your old hits with an MTV-endorsed “Unplugged” album? If you have stars, hitch them to a concept: Send Streisand back to Broadway. Got a Meat Loaf album? Call it “Bat Out of Hell II.”

Another lesson for ‘94: Most of the Big Event bonanzas capitalized on the mystique of an artist, not the talent. But with a wealth of fans eagerly exploring the brave new world of rap and “Lollapalooza” rock, there may be room in pop’s Big Tent for everybody in the coming months, whether it’s the scorched-earth rock of Rage Against the Machine, the creamy pop of Anita Baker or the first gangsta-rap Big Event--a Dr. Dre-Ice Cube reunion album.

For a glimpse at who’s hot--and who’s not--at the start of the year, here is Pop Eye’s annual Record Company Scorecard, which analyzes the performance of the industry’s six major distribution conglomerates, with individual listings for labels with the most distinct identities. The evaluations are based on interviews with key industry figures, who graded companies on both image and performance.

BMG

Arista: If the industry had a lifetime achievement award, this would be the year to give it to Clive Davis, a brilliant record executive who would probably earn more accolades if he weren’t always patting himself on the back. Thanks to another 5.5 million sales from the “Bodyguard” soundtrack and a huge record from Kenny G, the label had two of the year’s top three albums while racking up enormous country success with Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn. Arista’s hot LaFace team scored with Toni Braxton, the year’s biggest-selling female vocalist after Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey. The label’s ’94 priorities include Sarah McLachlan, Crash Test Dummies and a classic Big Event: an Aretha Franklin hits package that includes a LaFace-produced remake of “Natural Woman” with ‘Retha, Bonnie Raitt and Gloria Estefan.

RCA: Another dreary year for a label whose A&R; staff might have better luck signing a hit rock band by holding a raffle. RCA’s one success was SWV, a double-platinum En Vogue knock-off that is hard to imagine as an act with longevity. Meanwhile, in the midst of the biggest country boom ever, RCA’s Nashville roster looks weaker than ever. The big test for ‘94: the label’s just-released ZZ Top album, the first result of a $35-million signing gamble. Is it any wonder many of RCA’s top execs are floating their resumes?

MCA

Geffen: This highly regarded label bounced back late in the year, launching a respectable follow-up to Nirvana’s groundbreaking “Nevermind” album, cashing in on Beavis and Butt-head and--can you say meal ticket ?--selling a whopping 2.5 million new Aerosmith records. That should make up for its Coverdale-Page letdown and Guns N’ Roses’ sputtering “The Spaghetti Incident?” album. Not to worry: The label is this close to breaking the highly touted Counting Crows, with a crowd of rookie-of-the-year candidates, including Hole and Beck, on the way.

MCA: Each year, unable to break a new rock band, MCA tries to invent one. 1992’s attempt--a Spinal Tap reunion--flopped. But in 1993, MCA Music Entertainment Group Chairman Al Teller executed a stroke of marketing wizardry--a sequel to Meat Loaf’s “Bat Out of Hell” album that has already hit 2.6 million in sales. Add to that MCA’s impressive roster of country hitsters (Reba McEntire, Wynonna Judd, George Strait and Vince Gill), a surprise hit from urban crooners Shai and continued sales from Mary J. Blige and you hardly worry about a flop from Bell Biv DeVoe or the defection of Tom Petty to Warner Bros. Now MCA’s newly overhauled rock A&R; team needs to prove that it can compete for new talent with such hot labels as Epic and Interscope. ’94 Big Event: A “Rhythm Country and Blues” duet album that marries the label’s Nashville stars with R&B; heavyweights (sample matchup: Trisha Yearwood and Aaron Neville).

Polygram

A&M;: While its image has dulled in recent years, it did yeoman work breaking the Gin Blossoms, squeezing almost 2 million in sales out of an artsy Sting album and re-signing Bryan Adams, who came through with a million-selling hits package. If touted rock contenders Soundgarden finally bust out this year, A&M; will be riding high again. If not, critics will be focusing on the negatives--like why LaFace has delivered huge urban pop hits to Arista while Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis’ Perspective label hasn’t produced a true star yet.

Mercury: It was big news when the bottom fell out of British rock--and bad news for Mercury, which had banked on a bunch of young Brit bands, none of which have made a dent here yet. The label’s hits came from Billy Ray Cyrus, who bolstered an aging Nashville roster, and Tony Toni Tone, who almost went platinum. Bon Jovi may still sell a ton of records overseas, but in America he’s a fading star, like label-mate John Mellencamp. Mercury is still a label in need of an infusion of energy--or vision. Among its challenges: Can it make Vanessa Williams the next Mariah Carey? Can it somehow transform Bon Jovi into a pop balladeer? And can it ever get any money back from its pricey Lionel Richie deal?

PolyGram Label Group: Island is the real performer here, perhaps the industry’s most promising small-roster label. U2 defended its rock throne, selling 1.8 million “Zooropa” albums (and another 500,000 “Achtung Baby” records). The Cranberries came out of nowhere to sell a million albums. Thirteen years after his death, Bob Marley’s “Legend” album still sells 680,000 albums a year. And who wouldn’t love to have a host of acclaimed up-and-comers like PM Dawn (who sold 525,000 albums) and PJ Harvey?

Sony

Columbia: Finally supplanting Warner Bros. as the stretch limo of the record business, Sony, as redesigned by COO Thomas D. Mottola doesn’t just go for hits--it hits home runs. A model of corporate efficiency under chairman Don Ienner, Columbia sustains its superstars at impressive sales levels while also launching “Lollapalooza”-generation acts. The result? Huge sales from Mariah Carey and Michael Bolton, the biggest albums in a decade from Billy Joel and Barbra Streisand, a big breakthrough from Soul Asylum, plus cutting-edge rap success from Cypress Hill and Onyx (and that’s not counting Pink Floyd, which easily sells a million catalogue albums every year). Even a mud-slinging lawsuit with George Michael has done little to soil the label’s reputation as today’s reigning hit factory, which comes into ’94 with a new Alice in Chains EP on the way and break-out releases from rapper Domino and rockers Cry of Love.

Epic: Blessed with a savvy young A&R; staff and promotion smarts, chairman Dave Glew’s label is pound-for-pound the best place for breaking pop and rock acts--whether it’s Pearl Jam, whose two albums sold a whopping 6 million albums last year, or the Spin Doctors, whose 1992 debut racked up another 2.5 million in sales. Add a big hit from Sade, a monster “Sleepless in Seattle” soundtrack and another 1.3 million from Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous,” and Epic scored six of the Top 50 selling albums of the year, a figure matched only by Columbia. The label’s ’94 priorities include the touted Rage Against the Machine as well as Celine Dion and the Indigo Girls, both showing higher profiles after recent hit singles from the Epic Soundtrax label, another example of the label’s marketing synergy savvy.

Thorn-EMI

Capitol: No one’s taken a wrecking ball to the Capitol Tower. But otherwise everything is different here, starting at the top, where president Hale Milgrim was abruptly ousted in May and replaced by Geffen A&R; exec Gary Gersh, who has made huge trims in the label’s roster, abolished the black music division and brought in a cadre of sharp lieutenants. Both Milgrim and Gersh can claim credit for breaking Blind Melon, whose success was followed by a Big Event “Duets” album from Frank Sinatra, a Duran Duran comeback, and enough sales of Garth Brooks’ Liberty albums to fill the Tower from top to bottom. With a new album due from Bonnie Raitt and make-or-break records from the Beastie Boys and Richard Marx on the way, Gersh has the daunting task of redefining Capitol in an era where everyone expects instant results.

EMI Records Group: Charles Koppelman, who runs Thorn-EMI’s North American record division, wanted a high profile and now he has one--as the successor to Irving Azoff as the most disliked mogul in the business. Last year wasn’t much to boast about, with EMI’s biggest hits coming from a forgettable pop crooner (Jon Secada) and a children’s TV icon (Barney). Unable to sustain Jesus Jones, unable to revive Billy Idol, EMI has earned a reputation for overspending on lightweight artists (like Joshua Kadison) and high-salaried executives who seem to travel everywhere by chauffeured Bentley. The year’s biggest blunder: Trying to cash in on Arrested Development with a quickie “Unplugged” album instead of setting up the rap group’s second album. Koppelman deserves total credit for Capitol’s Sinatra coup, but without a credible A&R; staff don’t expect much action here, especially with such ’94 priorities as an album of Elvis Costello songs from Tasmin Archer and a new release from--yikes!--Vanilla Ice.

Virgin: Paula who ? With or without an Abdul, Virgin re-established itself as an industry presence--and EMI’s big moneymaker--with a brilliantly marketed Janet Jackson album (her Rolling Stone cover pose was the sexiest media come-on since Sharon Stone uncrossed her legs). Other triumphs included huge breakthrough records from Smashing Pumpkins and Lenny Kravitz. The label’s big challenge this year will be getting something back from its investment in the Rolling Stones, reviving Steve Winwood’s career, pushing Guns N’ Roses guitarist Gilby Clarke’s solo album and breaking singer Sam Phillips.

Time Warner

Atlantic Group: With a new, youth-oriented artist roster and an energetic new label president in Danny Goldberg, Atlantic has finally shed its old rock-warhorse image. At 2.7 million, the Stone Temple Pilots were the year’s best-selling new rock band, while Atlantic’s Nashville wing scored the two biggest country debuts with John Michael Montgomery and Confederate Railroad. The East/West subsidiary also contributed to the mix with a surprise hit from Snow, while Atlantic’s acquisition of Rhino Records provided an opportunity to repackage and market its valuable catalogue. This year the label’s priorities include Juliana Hatfield and the Lemonheads, along with a big push for Tori Amos and Pantera.

Elektra: With its marketing and promotion departments adjusting to big changes, it was an up-and-down year here. The label’s only new million-selling album came from Silk, though 10,000 Maniacs sold 1.7 million copies of their last two records, boding well for Natalie Merchant’s solo career. Otherwise the big moneymaker was Metallica, which sold a spectacular 2.5 million catalogue albums plus 350,000 new box sets list-priced at $89. This made up for Elektra’s fumbling the ball with Natalie Cole, whose follow-up to “Unforgettable” went nowhere. That leaves plenty of challenges: Can Elektra take the Breeders over the top? Is there any life left in the post-Vince Neil Motley Crue? And can Anita Baker fans be persuaded to buy the real thing, not one of her many imitators?

Interscope: With label chief Jimmy Iovine providing both energy and focus, this label exploded in ‘93, launching the year’s two biggest (and controversial) rap artists, Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg, whose albums combined to sell over 5.2 million copies. On top of that, Interscope hit paydirt with 4 Non Blondes, selling 1.2 million of the group’s debut album. What to do for an encore? This year the label will work its blue-chip stable of cutting-edge rock contenders, going for the gold with Primus, Nine Inch Nails, Helmet and Possum Dixon.

Warner Bros.: Maybe it’s time for Warners to get the Keith Richards treatment--an infusion of new blood. With its deep artist roster and executive stability, the Mo Ostin-led label has long been the industry’s blue-chip stock. But it’s nowhere near as aggressive as Sony’s hard-charging labels, and in ’93 the seams started to show. The label slumped in both urban and country (where only Dwight Yoakam hit the million-sales mark) and went another year without breaking any of its young critics’-darling bands. To make money, Warners relied on aging superstars Eric Clapton and Rod Stewart, who both had huge “Unplugged” albums, while Giant Records finally made its presence felt with its “Common Thread” collection of country stars’ versions of Eagles songs. With its Rick Rubin-led American Records making news only by staging a mock funeral for its old name, Warners focuses its ’94 hopes on Morrissey, an Elvis Costello & the Attractions reunion and New Age harpist Lorena McKennitt.

Robert Hilburn, Chuck Philips and Steve Hochman contributed to this article.