Olympics sparks sales in Australia

Album Of Opening-Ceremony Music Benefits Local Acts

By Christine Eliezer

SYDNEY – There’s a veritable bush fire spreading across Australia’s music retail outlets, sparked by the arrival of the Olympic flame on those shores.

The fire’s been fanned by a gale of Aussie nationalism blowing across the continent, and local record labels are working their domestic roster hard. With Sydney’s population boosted by an influx of Olympics-fixated tourists, retail outlets throughout the city and beyond are draped with merchandising based around banners proclaiming “Our Heroes”.

The initial sales pickup has been impressive, and labels expect greater retail activity through the coming weeks. Paul Dickson, CEO of Festival Mushroom Records (FMR), predicts an extra $1 million Australian ($510, 000) of FMR back catalog sales at retail during September.

The primary catalyst was the opening ceremony of the games, held Sept. 15 at the 110, 000-capacity Stadium Australia. The global telecast was to an estimated 3.5 billion viewers; the national telecast by the Seven network was the highest-rated ever, watched by 10 million out of Australia’s 19 million population.

Immediately reaping the benefits is a joint-venture album by SonyMusic Australia and BMG Australia. “The Games of the XXVII Olympiad – Official Music From The Opening Ceremony” went on sale the day after the ceremony and shipped platinum (70, 000) copies in the first 24 hours, according to Sony. After only two days’ sales, it debuted at No. 11 on the official Australian Record Industry Assn. chart (and at No. 3 in the New South Wales state chart), with Sony reporting further orders of 11, 000 units from retailers.

“With emotion running so high and the opening ceremony being such a magnificent production, it’s not surprising it’s reacting like that out in retail,” says John Sackson, managing director of Columbia and Epic. “I expect it to end up triple-platinum and reach No. 1, especially as the Seven network intends to replay the opening ceremony again.”

Although Sony is TV-marketing the album, Sackson agrees that much of the sales impetus behind “The Games Of The XXVII Olympiad” comes from the blanket media coverage of the games. Its 18 tracks include songs written for the opening ceremony, including Tina Arena’s “The Flame,” performed with the Sydney Children’s Choir and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John’s “Dare To Dream”; and teen star Vanessa Amorosi’s “Heroes Live Forever.”

Also included is a version of the Aussie national anthem “Advance Australia Fair,” performed by vocal quartet Human Nature, veteran vocalist Julie Anthony, jazz trumpeter James Morrison, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonic Choirs, the Sydney University Musical Society, and the Sing 2001 Choir.

Despite the album’s initial success, it has yet to be decided whether the project will be released internationally. The International Olympic Committee insists that labels must negotiate separately for each territory.

Sony has no plans to release the Arena track as a single to retail, at home or abroad. However, Sackson says he has no doubt that the opening ceremony performance will “promote Tina more than ever an an international artist with a brighter future” and will set up the early October domestic release of Human Nature’s single “He Don’t Love You” and an untitled album in November.

Sony is also in discussions with 13-year-old Nikki Webster, who had a starring role in the opening ceremony’s theatrics. Webster, who already has a number of stage, TV, and film roles under her belt, performed a duet with Michael Jackson at the Sydney football stadium during his 1997 tour and has been hailed as the new Kylie Minogue.

Coincidentally, Minogue, who was the same age as Webster when she first emmerged on the TV sitcom “Neighbours”, is set to appear in the games’ Oct. 1 closing ceremony as an adult version of the latter’s “Hero Girl” character.

The telecast also set the scene for Amorosi’s first foray into the European market. The 19-year-old, who aknowledged the opening event as being “the biggest audience I’ll ever play,” is signed here to Transistor Music and will shortly release a debut single across Europe through Universal Music.

The Farnham and Newton-John duet will not be released as a commercial cingle. But Farnham’s manager, Glenn Whatley of Talentworks, says his performance will reactivate interest in European territories and Canada, where his “33 1/3” album is set for release through BMG. Wheatley is also hoping that the exposure may encourage local radio programmers to play Farnham’s October single, “Man of the Hour”. The singer has sold 120, 000 tickets for a November/December arena run, and “22 1/3” debuted at No. 1 here in August and sold 140, 000 copies nationally without mainstream radio play.

Newton-John is currently making a return to Australia with her just-released “One Woman Live Journey” (FMR), an in-concert album of past hits recorded here is August with Farnham’s band. “She’s an artist whose time has come,” says FMR’s Dickson, adding that the singer will do extensive promos and performances in Australia and is looking to activate U.S. interest.

The British-born, Australian-raised (but U.S. based) singer’s album is one of four new releases FMR is working through September as an Olympics tie-in. The others are bu multi-platinumm artistts Minogue (signed to Parlophone outside Australia and New Zealand), Christine Anu and Yothi Yindi; all three will appear at the games’ closing ceremony.

The Anu and Yothu Yindi releases contain songs about celebration and achievement that have gained TV exposure during the games coverage. Anu’s “Cos I’m Free” (FMR), about her good friend Australian Aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman, is picking up a lot of TV airplay.

FMR’s compilation of traditional and modern Aboriginal music, “Our Island Home” – featuring Anu, Yothu Yindi, and Artie Roach and distributed through tourist and and Aboriginal artifact stores – has proved to be a sales boon after the lengthy exposure of Aborigine culture during the opening ceremony.

Warner Music’s “The Olympic Record,” issued Aug. 4, includes collaborations between musicians and athletes like Ian Thorpe, Michael Klim, and Susie O’Neill and Olymian anthems by Marcia Hines (“Rise”) and Jon Stevens (“Carry The Flame”). “It’s picked up in sales this week, and we’ll market it around the games,” says a Warner spokeswoman.

Cathy Oats, EMI contemporary marketing manager, notes that the label is promoting “Anthems,” the new album by country singer John Williamson, who sang “Waltzing Matilda” during the opening telecast. “Anthems” was released in August.

The games have also been a boon to new and independent acts, who are playing myriad showcases and festivals around Sydney to cater to the tourists. In addition, two alternate acts with “anti-Olympic”-themed records – Regurgitator with “Crush The Loser” (Warner) and the Fauves’ “Celebrate The Failure” (Shock) – are enjoying strong airplay on the national youth Triple J radio network.

Some of Australia’s biggest internationally know acts will perform at the closing ceremony, including INXS (with guest singer Jon Stevens), Savage Garden, Men At Work, Midnight Oil, Jimmy Barnes, John Paul Young, and opera singer Yvonne Kenny. Overall, the closing event will feature 7, 000 performers.

Says Met At Work vocalist Colin Hay, “I’m not a particularly patriotic person, but to be part of something with that sort of scope and energy will be memorable – even if our part is only no more than 3 1/2 minutes.”

Via Billboard

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