NOVEMBER 19 9 9

Sounding Board
your connection to NARM news, views and issues

Convention 2000

Sony And Columbia Plan Introduction Of Singer/Songwriter Lara Fabian At NARM Scholarship Foundation Dinner
Sony Music Distribution and Columbia Records are very excited to be introducing French singer/ songwriter Lara Fabian at the 2000 NARM Convention in San Antonio. She will perform at the Scholarship Foundation Dinner on Monday evening, February 28. Fabian has already taken France and Quebec by storm, emerging as one of the biggest and brightest stars of the French-speaking music scene, wowing audiences in numerous countries and selling an astounding six million units in the French territories in just two years. Despite her incredible talent, the voice that has charmed and captivated millions of listeners has been unheard in the United States. Her self-titled English-language debut, set for a spring release, is filled with her own emotional and evocative songs and production from Walter Afanasieff (Mariah Carey), Pat Leonard (Madonna), Brian Rawlings (Chers Believe), and longtime collaborator Rick Allison. Fabian, who also records in Italian and Spanish, comes by her intersing and perform as a child and took lessons in anything to do with music. She moved to Montreal when she was just out of high school and established her own independent label and production company. After learning all she could about the industry and facing obstacle after obstacle, her hard work began to pay off in 1991, when her first album came out in Canada and sold 100,000 copies. In 1994, her sophomore set, Carpe Diem, hit the streets and sold over 800,000 copies in the French territories. Pure, released in 1997, would go on to sell an astounding two million copies in France alone. Word eventually filtered back to the heads of some of the biggest labels in the world and, bowled over by her music and captivated by her live show, Sony Music signed her. Sony and its labels have a solid track record of bringing to the Convention new talent that soon takes the industry by storm. Do the names Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Charlotte Church ring a bell? notes President Pamela Horovitz.

LARA FABIAN COLUMBIA RECORDS

national appeal naturally. Her father is from Brussels, her mother is from Sicily, and Lara was born in Belgium and raised there and in Italy. Fabian realized she wanted to

New Scholarship Endowment Announced

NARM Scholarship Foundation Executive Director Pat Daly is pleased to announce the establishment of a $20,000 Platinum Endowment Fund by Crystal Clear Sound, an independent distributor from Dallas, Texas. The companys President, Sam Paulos, confirmed the generous donation to the Foundation on October 20. The recipient of the as yet untitled Endowment will be announced at the Scholarship Foundation Dinner during the 2000 NARM Convention in San Antonio, Texas, on Monday evening, February 28. A Platinum Endowment creates four $6,000 scholarships. If you are interested in establishing a scholarship, please contact Daly at the NARM Office at (856) 596-2221.

An Inside Look...
Latin Music Issue Forum .............. 2 Fall Conference Survey Winner .... 2 2000 Convention Schedule ........... 3 DVD Video Player Sales ................ 3 Educational Outreach .................... 4 Merchandising Schedules ............. 4 Rock The Vote Program Update ... 5 New Members .............................. 5 Facts & Figures ............................. 6 Wanted: Silent Auction Items ....... 8