Mail on Sunday hits back in Mike Oldfield row

The Mail on Sunday today responded to musician Mike Oldfield's attack on its giveaway promotion of his album Tubular Bells by pointing out sales of the album rose 30% afterwards.

The Associated Newspapers title took out a double-page ad in trade magazine Music Week claiming that its covermount CDs of artists such as Simply Red, Madness and Dolly Parton stimulated interest in music.

Sales of full-price copies of Tubular Bells increased 30% after the Sunday paper distributed the album recently, the MoS said.

But music industry sources said they believed that Tubular Bells was a low-selling title and that a 30% hike was not that significant.

The Music Week ad claimed that Dolly Parton's new album, the Very Best of Dolly Parton, entered the charts at number nine after the paper "gave away" her Live & Studio album; and that the band Madness experienced a 3,000% increase in hits on its website after the paper distributed their Edge of the Universe double album.

The paper was responding after Oldfield recently attacked music company EMI for agreeing to give away his album Tubular Bells in the MoS.

Industry sources estimate that the paper paid between £200,000 and £500,000 for the rights to Tubular Bells.

Oldfield - who announced before the MoS deal that he was moving his back catalogue to Universal - received undisclosed royalties from the deal.

The MoS managing director, Stephen Miron, defended the paper's giveaways, saying that they promoted music.

"We spend more money marketing music acts than any other music company does. A lot of people recognise that we are a different distribution channel," Mr Miron added.

"I have never understood why retailers have never come to me and said 'Is there a way we can work with you?'," Mr Miron told Music Week. "We can draw people in to a retailer on Sunday to go and buy music."

Mr Miron said that the MoS would continue its covermounts.

"This isn't going to stop," he added. "Their [record companies'] worst fear is that we stop doing it. When we stop doing it, it will have a far worse effect on album sales.

"We are promoting music. Record companies are desperate to work with us again. They are nervous, but they don't want to bite the hand that feeds them."

Rival Sunday papers such as the News of the World and the Sunday Times have cut back their DVD and CD giveaways, but the Mail on Sunday still offers a CD or a DVD to readers each month.

· To contact the MediaGuardian newsdesk email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 7239 9857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 7278 2332.

· If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".

You’ve read it. Now review it.

Back to top

Back to top