September 9, 2004

Deal Is Struck for Two Albums Related to 'Fahrenheit 9/11'

ichael Moore has struck deals with two major record companies to release "Fahrenheit 9/11"-theme albums less than a month before the presidential election, record executives and Mr. Moore said yesterday.

The deals, with Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group, were reached after months of closely guarded and laborious talks and will add a musical dimension to Mr. Moore's political efforts. The albums are set for release Oct. 5.

Sony BMG will release the more unusual of the two recordings, a compilation of artists who Mr. Moore said provided motivation to him and his crew while they were making the film. It includes a new song from Zack de la Rocha, the former front man for the politically charged rock band Rage Against the Machine, and previously released songs from Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, the Clash, System of a Down and Jeff Buckley. It also includes a new song from the Nightwatchman, an alter ego of Tom Morello, the former Rage Against the Machine guitarist.

Warner Music is set to release a soundtrack of the film's score and several songs used in the film, including Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" and R.E.M.'s "Shiny Happy People."

The industry's pursuit of Mr. Moore is the clearest sign yet that music executives see commercial potential in music that has sometimes scared them off, and it comes at a time when talent scouts are taking fresh looks at socially outspoken bands. The companies' interest in the soundtracks illustrates the differing approaches of major media corporations to politically charged material.

The Walt Disney Company, for example, did not allow its Miramax subsidiary to distribute Mr. Moore's documentary, citing its partisan nature. But Sony BMG has been pursuing a soundtrack deal with Mr. Moore since late June, when the film was released theatrically.

"You shouldn't be afraid of controversy,'' said Glen Brunman, the executive in charge of Sony's soundtrack division. "Why hide from it? I felt like we should be doing something to give people a departure point for discussion and debate so they would be motivated to take on their responsibilities as citizens and act on their beliefs."

Mr. Moore said: "There are some songs that might upset some people. Sony has in the end done the right thing and said, 'Let's go for it.' They haven't been nervous at all, unlike Disney." Given the film's success at the box office, he added, "at this point, really, who would be?"

But executives at Sony BMG, the recently created joint venture between the Sony Corporation and Bertelsmann, said the album was not intended to offer the company's political stance. Sony previously cut a deal to release a recording of the score to Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ."

Sony's film division is also planning to release the DVD version of "Fahrenheit 9/11" the same day as the album. Mr. Moore said he would also release a book of letters he had received from soldiers in recent months.

Under the deal for the compilation album, according to people in the music industry familiar with the contract, the partnership that owns the film will receive an estimated $125,000 advance, a nominal fee by music business standards. For its part, Sony BMG said it would donate half of its profits from sales of the album in the United States to a charity designated by Mr. Moore, the Fallen Patriot Fund, which provides benefits to families of soldiers killed in the Iraq war.

The compilation is to be released on Sony BMG's Epic Records label, which has been storming the charts lately with hits from Los Lonely Boys, Modest Mouse and the soundtrack to "Garden State." Label executives are expected to begin promoting Mr. de la Rocha's new song, "We Want It All," to radio stations later this week.

Officials from Warner Music, which also paid a small advance, said its album would be released on the company's Rhino label. Proceeds will be donated to the voter registration organization Rock the Vote.

Mr. Moore is not entirely new to the music business. He directed music videos for two Rage Against the Machine songs and the System of a Down song "Boom," which also appears on the compilation.

Music executives have been reticent to discuss plans to market the albums but say they expect them to sell well past Election Day.

"This is not a record about the next 55 or 56 days in America," Mr. Brunman said of his company's release. "These songs deal with issues that will be with us long after Nov. 2 no matter who's president."