No Rock And Roll Fun

IT ALMOST MAKES YOU FEEL SORRY FOR THE LABELS: Record labels complaining about the provision of cover mounts, on the grounds that it doesn't really add many sales to the artists concerned, and, because it does boost the sales of the paper or magazine concerned, they end up having to pay more for the advertisements they buy in the issue as well. Or so Gary Farrow of Sony tells the FT. This comes in the wake of the Sunday Times promoting Heathen Chemistry with a free CD (and that probably says more about Oasis' audience now than anything), but then - what do you expect? Using a covermount compy as a way of mixing new artists with more established names can be a great way of enticing people to give unheard acts a chance; just cutting fat slices off an over-established band's heavily promoted album is unlikely to do much to boost sales. Did they really picture the kitchens of England resonating to the phrase "Ah - so oasis sound like that, do they?" In fact, the whole motivation seems to be an admission that the experience of purchasing Oasis albums of late has been a disappointing one - seemingly as if Sony were saying "Look, we know you've bought the last couple and found them to be pompous and overblown, but this time... see? They sound like Oasis."
Still hasn't helped move the sales marker, though.