Bacs sitting on a goldmine

A British Academy-backed record label is poised to unleash a goldmine of new and previously unavailable material by some of the country’s leading songwriters. The move comes as Bacs’ chief executive Chris Green readies himself to step down from the role he has enjoyed for the past decade.

Academy Recordings is a joint venture between Bacs and online distributor and aggregator The Orchard, and will launch an album at this Thursday’s 53rd Ivor Novello Awards. Volume 1: Songs from the British Academy will assemble more than a dozen songs, many unreleased, from former Ivor winners including KT Tunstall, Cliff Richard, The Pretenders, Robin Gibb, Brian May, David Arnold and Peter Gabriel.

It is likely to be the first of a raft of recordings made available by the organisation’s members to reflect the “huge range” of talent Bacs represents and promotes. On his own personal situation, Green says he is ready to move on after recently celebrating his 65th birthday and wanting to spend a little more time with his family.

For more, see this week’s issue of Music Week, out today.

By Robert Ashton Music Week