Tuesday 5 March 2002

Mariah: what's next?

It was a spectacular wedding, with an unhappy honeymoon and a wallet-emptying divorce. And now, on the morning after, both pop superstar Mariah Carey and her former record company, EMI Music Group, are facing serious questions about their futures. Although Carey refused to comment for this article, her music-business attorney, Don Passman, says "a lot" of labels want to sign her, though he won't say which ones. "Everyone knows she's enormously talented," Passman says, suggesting Carey is only one hit away from regaining her luster. "There isn't a superstar who hasn't had a glitch in her career."

Passman did not say when a deal could be expected nor did he comment on published reports that the advances being offered were for between $3 million to $5 million per album - nothing to sneeze at but nowhere near the $21 million she got from EMI for Glitter. A representative for Island and Def Jam, two of the labels reportedly pursuing Carey, declined to comment.

When Carey parted company with Sony's Columbia Records just a year ago, she was wooed by EMI Music with a long-term contract reportedly worth $80 million. For EMI, it was a chance to bolster a roster thin on current sellers with a pop star whose track record included selling tens of millions of albums worldwide; for Carey, it was an opportunity to step out of the shadow of her former husband and mentor, Sony Music chief Tommy Mottola.

Late last summer, however, Carey suffered a brief but highly publicized emotional breakdown on the eve of the release of the film Glitter, whose soundtrack was her debut on EMI's Virgin label. When both the film and the album tanked, the company quickly moved to end her contract. Ken and Nancy Berry, the former husband and wife who had headed EMI Music and Virgin Records, respectively, were both sacked by EMI's new chief, Alain Levy. To get out of Carey's contract, EMI paid the singer a reported $28 million - after already having shelled out $21 million for Glitter.

Carey can certainly console herself with the notion that getting paid $49 million for a flop may be the score of all time. Still, if she doesn't come up with hits quickly for her next label, her future will look a good deal less rosy. EMI's decision to cut Carey and to end its long-standing relationship with David Bowie are being viewed by some as a way for Levy to take a huge loss now, thus giving himself the chance to show an improved profit next year, his first full year on the job. EMI has also pruned its staff and those of its smaller labels.

In addition, the EMI Records imprint has been shuttered, and Virgin has consolidated as a small East Coast counterpart to the Los Angeles-based Capitol label. But cost-cutting alone can't solve EMI's biggest problem: a weak roster and disappointing sales by established artists such as Radiohead, Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney.

That EMI would repudiate a big contract with a proven seller such as Carey so quickly was a shock. Yet industry attorneys doubt it is a harbinger of things to come or a sign that prices for superstar artists will drop. "It's not going to lower the market," says Michael Sukin of the Sukin Law Group in New York. "This is about Alain Levy not believing Mariah Carey is worth that much money."

Various music-industry managers are split on how easy it will be for Carey to come back. "She's got to have a realistic view of who she is," says one manager who has worked on projects with Carey. "Nothing great happens quickly or by accident - that's what one-hit wonders are made of. I think she worked herself into the ground and needs to put a good team together. That's her light at the end of the tunnel."

Others are less convinced of Carey's staying power. "I don't think any artist who relies on heavy pop hits backed by MTV is reliable," says a manager who admits he's not a fan of Carey's recordings. "She needs MTV to sell large numbers, and she's not twenty anymore - she's going to be thirty-two. She can't continue to play the ingenue. I disagree with the notion that she's always one hit away from being a superstar - her career is only her next hit."

Similarly, industry players are split on whether EMI - which has previously sought mergers with other major record companies - can survive. "It has no future," one veteran manager says flatly. But another manager with wide-ranging industry and label experience says a big turnaround is possible: "EMI has the best music-publishing company in the business and a strong back catalog, so it's got a shot." The same manager also points out that when Levy was at Polygram, he had hoped to get that company into the film business. "So," he says, "don't be surprised if he tries to merge EMI with some film company like DreamWorks or MGM."

(Rolling Stone)

Many thanks to Mariah Buzz.



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