"We had to rush it for the October album release," said Eric Mudry, project coordinator for Innovative Internet Marketing Solutions. The Web site's address was going to be printed in the CD and cassette liner notes.

But up to the very last minute, IIMS still hadn't received photos showing the Connecticut crooner with shorn locks.

"We had to redo it at the last minute to get the new look on there," said Mudry.

The site's home page may feature Bolton's former trademark long hair, but other pages show the shorter cut.

IIMS developed the site for Bolton - and another for Mariah Carey - sponsored by Fan Emporium, a Branford-based firm that helps artists work with their fan clubs.

"We use the same process for any business," said Steve Rinaldi, managing partner. "What are their goals, their objectives, their markets? But here it's a different audience, more global."

IIMS was launched a little over two years ago. It is run by four twentysomethings - Rinaldi, Mudry, marketing director Jared Schmitt and director of technology Jerry Sofocli - out of second floor offices on Main Street in Wallingford.

The company has designed pages for the Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce, Barker Animation, St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center and other businesses. But Mudry admitted that "doing a site for a local hospital is different than one for Mariah Carey."

For the Carey and Bolton pages, the focus is getting people to join the artists' fan clubs. Bolton's page, which also includes information on his charitable foundation, receives about 250 visitors a day.

The World Wide Web has changed the way Fan Emporium does business, said company president Joyce Logan.

For $25, Bolton fans get membership in his "Platinum Club," six newsletters a year, a photo, the ability to purchase special, reserved seats at his concerts, and e-mail news flashes about the singer. Carey's page includes perks also, such as a photo pin and merchandise offers, for $22.

Both pages offer monthly contests. The writer of the best letter about the singer wins personalized signed items from the star. Katherine Lincoln of Iowa won the first Bolton prize. She wrote that Bolton's hit " 'Love Is A Wonderful Thing' lifted my spirit and brought a smile back to my face after a painful divorce."

Logan met Bolton in the late 1970's, when the singer performed in local rock clubs under his given name, Michael Bolton. She launched Fan Emporium in 1983 to handle Bolton's fan club.

"I would watch women who were mouthing every word and he didn't even have a record out. I knew he had a following," said Logan, who worked for radio stations and Oakdale Musical Theatre in marketing before making Fan Emporium a full-time job.

In 1990, Logan began doing similar fan club work for the pop trio Wilson Phillips and then-new-comer Carey. Logan said singer Kenny Loggins has just signed a deal and wants a full-blown Web page with chat rooms and other features. IIMS is developing pages for Fan Emporium artists Carly Simon, The Cranberries, Donna Lewis and John Mellencamp.

"I'm so pleased with the job they've done," Logan said of IIMS. "It's wonderful for the artist, to let fans know how they are doing."

Web surfers can't hear the artists' music on the fan club pages, but there are extensive links to Sony, Bolton's and Carey's label. There's also a link to fan sites and the IIMS web site.

Mudry and Rinaldi say they've received calls from a handful of musicians including the likes of Wynonna Judd interested in a Web presence. They hope the Bolton and Carey pages are first of many such efforts.

The pages may be found at: http://www.mariahcarey-fanclub.com and at http://www.michaelbolton-fanclub.com.

Record-Journal - Monday, December 3, 1997, By Paul Swan, Record-Journal Staff