Marketers Anticipate Frank’s Demise

Granted, the question is impolite. Maybe even crass. But rest assured, it’s being asked.

Are the companies responsible for packaging and marketing the hundreds of songs recorded by Frank Sinatra prepared for the inevitable surge in demand for his music when he dies?

“We’re always prepared,” said Bill Bentley, spokesman for Reprise Records, the company Sinatra founded in 1952.

Of course, Reprise is not wishing ill upon the 81-year-old singer, who suffered a heart attack last week and has been hospitalized several times over the past year. But any business that sells something wants to be able to respond to demand.

Those living in fear of cheesy commemorative products of the type that clouded the memories of Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix have some reason for optimism, however.

That’s because the three companies that own the rights to Sinatra’s music - Sony, Reprise and Capitol - have assiduously updated the artist’s catalog for the compact disc era.

Virtually every song Sinatra committed to tape is available on compact disc, said Jonathan Schwartz, a disc jockey for WQEW in New York City and an expert on the singer.

Packages are available for the fanatic and casual explorer. Reprise, for example, released in 1995 a 20-CD set of everything Sinatra recorded for the label and a single CD, “Everything Happens to Me” of favorite songs the singer selected himself.

“We’ve sort of wanted to do this in his lifetime,” Bentley said. “If you look back at least five or six years, we’ve really tried to treat his catalog with respect and do it while he’s here.”

There are also themed packages: Sinatra singing Sammy Cahn compositions, Sinatra singing Rodgers and Hammerstein songs, Sinatra singing Johnny Mercer tunes.

The reason so much is available is simple. Even in retirement, Sinatra is a mainstay of the music business. He sold one million albums during 1996, according to SoundScan, a company that measures music sales.

Pete Howard, publisher of the compact disc newsletter Ice, said he doubted there would be a rush to produce new commemorative discs when Sinatra dies.

“I would be surprised if anybody did that because it really does leave a bad taste in the public’s mouth if someone does that right away,” he said.

Reprise and Capitol representatives said they knew of no such plans, although there are other Sinatra projects in the pipeline. A Sony spokesman didn’t want to talk about the possibilities.

“Without question, there’s a bump in sales (when an artist dies),” Howard said. “Usually, that’s for already established releases. That’s what somebody does - they go back to their favorites.”

That means Sinatra classics, like 1965’s “September of My Years” or 1956’s “Songs for Swingin’ Lovers,” could be flying out of stores.

The sales surge could be significant, based on the experience of other artists with fanatical followings. Tupac Shakur’s “All Eyez on Me” album sold 76,000 copies the week after his death on Sept. 13, 1996; he sold 17,000 the week before he was shot, SoundScan said.

Nirvana’s “In Utero” album sold 18,000 copies the week before Kurt Cobain’s suicide and 40,000 copies after.

Capitol plans to alert retailers about Sinatra products already available when he dies, a spokeswoman said.

Based on a cursory review of the Sinatra section at an HMV store in midtown Manhattan, that label seems especially well-prepared. Dozens of copies of the three-disc set, “The Capitol Years,” and its one-disc distillation were stocked.

Among new Sinatra products being prepared for later this year: a Capitol live recording from Australia in 1959 and a two-CD greatest hits set from Reprise.