Variety Is Spice of Life for Industry

It’s a good thing for the record industry that it hasn’t let its love of awards shows tempt it into coming up with a ceremony devoted to midyear bestsellers.

Whom would you invite to the podium this time around?

* The Spice Girls, the London pinup ‘n’ pop act whose debut album has sold a whopping 2.7 million copies in the U.S. during the first half of 1997?

* LeAnn Rimes, the 14-year-old country wonder whose two albums have sold a combined 3.2 million during the last six months?

* Or the late rapper Notorious B.I.G., whose “Life After Death” collection has sold 2.3 million copies, but generated a larger gross than its two rivals because it’s a two-disc set with a higher price?

Whatever system you use to declare a winner, the success of the three artists underscores the uncertainty and diversity of the pop scene these days.

Though each year produces its share of new faces, the midyear Top 20 sales list is dominated by them. Besides the three cited, the list includes No Doubt, Jewel, the Wallflowers, Erykah Badu and Deana Carter.

Mike Shalett, CEO of SoundScan, the company that monitors U.S. record sales, believes the influx of new faces and the diversity of their musical approaches offer good news for an industry looking for encouragement after the sluggish sales of recent years.

“Sales are up 5.5% so far this year and one reason for that is the diversity at the top,” he says. “If you look over the best-selling albums of the last six months, you’ll find pop, alternative rock, country, rap and R&B; all represented. It means different audiences and different tastes are being served.”

Stan Goman, senior vice president of Tower Records, says that business has picked up in the last three months especially.

“The first part of the year was the same old crap,” he says, “but April, May and June were better. The second half of the first half was very encouraging.”