Mike Oldfield has been criticising EMI for giving away the complete 'Tubular Bells' album with the Mail On Sunday last month, claiming no one formally told him about the cover mount promotion and that he only heard about it on the grapevine. The Sunday paper gave away the CD last month alongside a promotion around Richard Branson's latest book - 'Tubular Bells' being the first album Branson's Virgin Records ever released back in 1973.
Contactmusic quote Oldfield thus: "EMI's decision to give away Tubular Bells was taken without my agreement or even the simple courtesy of EMI telling me about it. I heard about the campaign by pure chance. To group real music with cheap loan leaflets and the other freebies that fall out of most publications is to devalue it. I have no desire to push my music to someone who has not sought it out. I know that other artists feel the same".
His comments may renew opposition to covermount promotions among the artist and management community. Opposition from those communities a few years back, coupled with pressure from the big music retailers, meant many record companies introduced blanket bans on their labels getting involved in covermount CDs. Although some artists and labels re-warmed to the covermount proposition when they could be linked to the promotion of key album releases or tour activity, others, EMI included, remained opposed to the format. Why EMI approved the 'Tubular Bells' covermount isn't clear, though it would have delivered some useful extra profits to add to the balance sheet.