Words &music

CELEBRATING ARLEN: Harold Arlen's centennial celebration isn't until 2005, but S.A. Music, which publishes many of the legendary tunesmith's songs, has released a new promotional CD in anticipation of the late composer's 100th birthday.

Harold Arlen Now! Modern Recordings of Timeless Classics contains 10 Arlen tunes recorded by such notables as Faith Hill, Tony Bennett, Eric Clapton, and B.B. King. The songs include "I've Got the World on a String," "Stormy Weather," "Come Rain or Come Shine," "I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues," "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive," and "Over the Rainbow." All are available for use in film, TV, radio, and other media, says Sam Arlen, owner of S.A. Music and son of the composer, who salutes the tunes' timeless nature.

"Harold Arlen's songs are just as cool today as when they were written," Arlen says. "The artists on this CD skillfully demonstrate just that."

According to project coordinator Sharon Zak Marotta, the CD has already garnered "overwhelmingly positive [response]. People keep telling us they love it and that it's an incredible compilation," Marotta says. "They want to know where to buy it, but unfortunately, it's only for internal distribution." Interested industryites can obtain a copy by contacting Marotta at esqenterprises@haroldarlen.com.

In addition to Harold Arlen Now!, S.A. Music has established an official Harold Arlen Web site (haroldarlen. com). It features an in-depth biography, a photo album, and a listening lounge where visitors can hear streaming media clips of Arlen songs. Both activities herald the upcoming year-long centennial celebration, to include a gala benefit concert in New York, various concerts, revues, and exhibits honoring Arlen.

In addition, several Arlen musicals are slated for revival in theaters across the country as part of the festivities, as are special showings of films for which he wrote the music. Documentaries, CDs, and books are also in the works, to be released beginning this year through 2005. Further information about Arlen and the centennial can be found at the Web site.

Harold Arlen Now! follows a previously issued two-disc set, Harold Arlen Rediscovered, and companion book, both created by S.A. Music and Paul McCartney's MPL Communications, which also publishes many of Arlen's compositions.



NEW FROM BMI: BMI's writer/publisher relations staff has brought out a pair of items to help promote its songwriters, composers, and publishers to the rest of the music industry.

The BMI New Music Sampler #1 CD contains songs from 17 BMI artists spanning rock, triple-A, neo-soul, gospel, and hip-hop submitted by the organization's New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta offices. Writer/publisher relations VP Charlie Feldman says early response to the disc has been tremendous.

"We've sent it out to over 1,000 tastemakers and friends of BMI," Feldman says, noting that the thrust of the project is to provide greater service to BMI affiliates. Future samplers, he adds, will likely be released on a quarterly basis. "Our mission is to make them very high quality—and it takes time to find high-quality music," Feldman notes of the A&R-targeting discs. They clearly live up to that goal, as Feldman reports that rock group Goneblind, which is represented on the first sampler by "Clinch," has already inked a deal with Roadrunner Records. He salutes fellow staffers Samantha Cox, J.W. Johnson, and Brooke Primont for spearheading the samplers, which are sponsored by Disc Makers and will showcase artists from other BMI offices in future releases.

Accompanying the initial sampler is a copy of a new booklet, Your Music Matters. "It's a new piece that explains our story in a brief but effective way and shows some of the great affiliates we represent," Feldman says. It also encapsulates BMI's many endeavors while picturing many of its most important members.

Meanwhile, BMI has reached a final license agreement covering royalty fees for BMI repertoire performed on Viacom's many cable-TV networks (including MTV, VH1, Showtime, the Movie Channel, Sundance Channel, Nickelodeon, TNN, CMT, and BET). The agreement runs through 2005.