Kinks label on the block

Castle catalog auctioned by Alliance

By ERICH BOEHM

LONDON -- Castle Communications, the Brit record company that owns the entire back catalog of '60s pop group the Kinks, is being sold in a court auction in New York on May 21 for a minimum of $31 million.

The auction -- unusual for the music industry -- is part of the restructuring process of Castle's financially troubled American parent, Alliance Entertainment, which is based in Florida (and is unrelated to the Canadian film and TV company). The disposal of Castle, a profitable company, is required under U.S. law.

Castle could easily sell for considerably more than the minimum amount. A Castle spokesman told Daily Variety that approaches had already been made by Sony UK, the investment group Foreign & Colonial and the new U.S. company 411 Music.

Besides Kinks hits such as "Waterloo Sunset" and "Lola," Castle's repertoire of 60,000 recordings includes material by fellow '60s act the Small Faces and heavy metal bands Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath.

Castle was set up in 1983 by Terry Shand and Jon Beecher. It was sold to Alliance in 1994. Both Shand and Beecher left the company last year.