April 28, 1973
ATLANTIC CONVENTION
Atlantic Puts Accent on Product, 4-Channel Nostalgia
PARIS-
Atlantic Records used their 25th Anniversary sales convention to introduce a new marketing concept, involving the creation of eight new executive posts with the title regional marketing director.
The company also bowed 19 new albums, showed a 25 minute film, "History of Atlantic Records" that will be shown to dealers and on college campuses later this year, and announced that, by the end of May, nearly 30 four channel albums would be available.
There were sentimental moments too for the 500 delegates attending as Atlantic chiefs. Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun and Jerry Wexler presented awards to long serving Atlantic executives and were in turn given awards themselves.
Dave Glew, vice president, marketing, for the company, told the meeting: "We have assigned one man to each of our eight branches who will be responsible for day-to-day direction of the territory's entire sales, promotion, merchandising, advertising and artist relations activities.
“With the regional marketing directors we feel we are creating 'total record men' who will work with the local branch managers in all areas concerning distribution of Atlantic product."
Named to the new positions are Carrol Hardy, Boston; Bill Staton, New York; Ron DeMarino, Philadelphia; Nevin St. Romain, Dallas; Hal Kaplan, Cleveland; Eddie Holland, Chicago; Larry King, Atlanta; and Tom Davies, Los Angeles.
The new regional marketing director will make daily market out-sales reports checks, and inform branches of upcoming and catalog product, said Glew. They will also evaluate treatment of product according to "style and genre” and work with radio, stores and media outlets, he added.
In cooperation with the local WEA distribution arm, the regional marketing manager will help plan his area's media advertising.
In addition, each director will act as the company's regional artist relations official as liaison with touring acts and artists.
Glew also talked on WEA as a marketing arm to WEA delegates present at the sales meeting.
Senior vice president and general manager, Jerry Greenberg, presented the new releases via a short film presentation written by Atlantic special projects executive John Gibson.
The product included albums by Led Zeppelin and the Spinners, already released, as well as upcoming LPs by Yes, J. Geils Band, Cactus, Cross Country, Heads, Hands and Feet, Michael Kamen, Jimmy Stevens, King Crimson, King Floyd, Dave Brubeck, the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival.
Ray Charles - a repackaging of two live concert dates, and Chick Cores. Asylum releases present included LPs by the Eagles, Ned Doheny, David Blue and Steve Ferguson.
Greenberg also played cuts from upcoming Aretha Franklin and Rolling Stones albums, the latter brought into the meeting by Marshall Chess, of the Rolling Stones label. It was also announced that the new Roberta Flack album, which she and producer Joel Dorn had been working on for almost a year, was nearly complete. "Apart from two small changes," said
Dorn.
Atlantic will also release-in their anniversary year—three double albums that would be, said Nesuhi Ertegun, a "definitive history of the first 25 years of Atlantic Records.” One album would be devoted to popular and rock, compiled by Ahmet Ertegun, one to soul music, compiled by Jerry Wexler and the third to jazz. compiled by Neshui Ertegun. They would retail at $6.98.
The 25th Anniversary convention was opened by Atlantic president Ahmet Ertegun with a short reflective speech on the origins of the company. He stated:
"We were always attempting to get the best of black music on our records." In reference to the aquisition of the company by the WCI, Ertegun stated:
"The major thrust of our company is still that of an indie—we don't want to become a major, fat cat." Speeches were also made at the opening of the meeting by executive vice president Jerry Wexler—“We are on the threshold of a new form of enterprise both nationally and internationally" and president of WEA International, Nesuhi Ertegun, Vice president engineering, Tom Dowd demonstrated Atlantic's first quadradisks featuring Bette Midler, Aretha Franklin, Herbie Mann and the J. Geils Band. The four channel product is set for May release and the company has prepared a four channel sampler for dealers rather than the general public. An explanatory brochure will also be made available, said Dowd.
The convention film, produced by Braverman Productions. traced the history of Atlantic Records from the beginning to the present day, with "cameo" appearances from Atlantic executive personnel.
Following the production demonstrated Bob Rolontz, vice president advertising and publicity, announced the amount of media-trade and consumer- and radio advertising to support the releases.
He also stated that the company would have around 30 television commercials ready to support major product by the summer of 1973. Rick Willard, director of merchandising, in announcing the merchandising campaigns, stated that the new style catalogs which featured both old and current product had "met with universal acceptance."
Nesuhi Ertegun and Joel Dorn discussed the company's new jazz releases with Ertegun stressing the longevity of the product stating that very early product by, for example, the Modern Jazz Quartet had sold over 100,000, while Herbie Mann's Village Gate album had sold 500,000. "And they are still selling,” he added.
May will be Atlantic's Jazz Month, Dave Glew told the delegates with promotion centering around new releases from Herbie Mann, Roberta Flack, Yusef Lateef, and David Newman, Dave Brubeck, the Ann Arbor Festival and Chick Corea, as well as further issues in the two album "Best
Of … " series featuring John Coltrane, Hank Crawford and Freddie Hubbard. Also featured would be product by Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young from the Commodore label, now under the Atlantic banner.
Rick Sanjek, head of the country music division presented the new country releases and LeBaron Taylor, head of r&b, adr, unveiled new r&b singles.
A special trade paper chart seminar was also presented, which included Tony Lanzetta, director of charts for Billboard, and Candy Tuscan, also from Billboard's chart department. Micki Cochnar of Atlantic's merchandising department held a seminar on "Women in the Recording Industry" that included Atlantic executives Bettye Marx, Mavis Barton, Elin Guskind and Margo Knesz on a panel.
Friday evening was devoted to a banquet and awards ceremony.
Joel Friedman, president of WEA, Atlantic's marketing wing, received two awards and his assistants, vice presidents Skid Weiss and Henry Droz also received awards. Mike Elliot, WEA vice president, unable to attend because of illness, received an award in his absence.
Also presented with citations were eight WEA branch managers-Mike Spence, Don England, Bill Biggs, Don Dumont, Ted Rosenberg, Tom Sims, Vic Faraci, and Marv Slaveter.
A special guest at the convention was Max Silverman, of Warie Maxie's music stores, Washington, to whom Ahmet Ertegun paid tribute for help and advice given when the company was first formed. Silverman was given a "Godfather" award by Ertegun.
The Erteguns and Wexler also paid tribute to long-time staff members of the label and presented them with awards. They included Henry Allen, promotion vice president, Noreen Woods, executive assistant to Ahmet Ertegun and Wexler, Lionel Crichlow, Atlantic warehouse chief and Francine Wakschal.
The three Atlantic chief executives also came in for their share of awards, notably a replica of the label's first, his "Drinkin' Win Spo-de-de” by Sticks McGhee which was presented to them by Tom Dowd, (Dowd himself was also given an award). Additionally Jac Holzman, president of Elektra, Alan Cohen, executive vice president of WCI, Borge Ekberg, and Matti Laupe of Metronome, Scandinavia also paid tribute and presented awards to the executives.
