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The run-in to the fourth quarter begins in earnest this week with the long-awaited reunion of Take That and Robbie Williams helping to give record-industry chiefs cause for optimism – but their live counterparts are more pessimistic.

The forthcoming Take That album will take centre stage in a release schedule that will also include Robbie Williams’ own Greatest Hits album and new studio sets from Susan Boyle, Michael Bublé, JLS and Kings Of Leon as well as Katy Perry’s second album, released this week.

A curious mix of emotions appears to be playing out across the industry ahead of the most important three months of the year, with the live business adopting a decidedly gloomy view of the fourth quarter (see page 8) and even blaming a light release schedule for its woes. However, the recorded-music industry has a more optimistic take, believing it has the goods to make it a strong Christmas.

“The Take That record is potentially one of the biggest records of the decade,” says Epic UK managing director Nick Raphael, whose own company has a packed fourth-quarter schedule including albums from JLS, Olly Murs, Russell Watson and The Priests, as well as a Glee best-of and Christmas album. “I have high expectations for my records, otherwise I wouldn’t put them out,” he adds.

Anticipation for Robbie’s return to the Take That fold intensified last week when Shame, a new duet he has recorded with Gary Barlow and which will lead-off his new EMI best-of, had its radio debut.

To date, Polydor is keeping details of the new Take That album under wraps. However, Polydor president Ferdy Unger-Hamilton told Music Week recently that it is “a very modern-sounding record” and “cutting edge” album that will surprise people.

“One of the major Christmas stories, of course, will be the new Take That and Robbie album, which I’m already hearing really good things about,” says HMV head of music and impulse Melanie Armstrong.

“You definitely need key releases like this to get the public and media excited, especially during Q4 peak gifting and it is bound to have an incredibly broad appeal that will see mums buy it for daughters, husbands for wives and kids for their aunts and parents.”

Sony SVP sales Nicola Tuer says her company has “a very strong Q4 line-up”, including albums from Kings Of Leon, The Script, Mark Ronson, Susan Boyle, Michael Jackson, Rod Stewart, Joe McElderry and Westlife.

“If we are talking about other record companies then Take That will be a phenomenon,” she adds. “For Sony, Kings Of Leon is the most anticipated album for years from the now biggest band in the world. The Script is setting up really well to be a very big record, and internationally they are now very strong for us.

“With Susan Boyle, we have the follow-up to the 8.5m-selling debut – the biggest-selling album in the world last year and with public interest in her just as high.”

Warner Music UK CEO Christian Tattersfield says this time of year is always competitive “but our line-up is outstanding – with superstars such as Phil Collins, Linkin Park, James Blunt and Michael Bublé as well as other big names coming through including Cee-Lo [see page 2] and The Soldiers”.

For the indies, however, things are slightly different. While there are big independent albums on the slate from Rough Trade’s Belle And Sebastian and Antony & The Johnsons, as well as Asthmatic Kitty’s Sufjan Stevens, PIAS managing director Peter Thompson explains that Q4 is traditionally less important to the indies than the summer festival season.

“The key for us is to make the most of Q4 and start really pushing through to Q1 and Q2 next year,” he says. As a result, there are a number of big releases from the indies set for the first half of next year, including the second album from XL’s Adele.

And it is set to be an interesting few months in the political sphere, too: this week will see the Department for Business Innovation and Skills report on its cost-sharing consultation as relates to illegal filesharing, while moves are said to be afoot to launch a second phase of the Music Matters campaign, to educate the public about the value of music.
http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?storycode=1042352

Take That are being tediously tight-lipped regarding the grand Robbie Williams reunion album. All we know is: it'll be out in November; and it's being produced by Stuart Price whose production credits encompass Madonna's "Hung Up" and an awful lot of Scissor Sisters. This presumably means we can expect an electronica-type departure from Britain's foremost Man Band. Songwriting duties and lead vocals will be shared between Gary, Mark, Jason, Howard and now Robbie; and so will the profits from what will undoubtedly prove a fabulously gratifying commercial endeavour.

Will it be any good? Oh, probably. I actually love "Shame", the new Robbie single involving Gary Barlow for his own greatest hits album. It's got wit, warmth, even some pseudo-homoerotica, and it generally reminds a person that, when it comes to pop music, this lot know exactly what they're doing.

They say "I get embarrassingly excited when the five of us are in a room." Robbie Williams PV
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music....e-panda

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