CLARK GETS IN NEW GROOVE.

Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer

Dick Clark Productions Inc., one of the oldest and most financially conservative companies in the entertainment world, announced Monday that it will take a chance on the highly volatile recording business.

The agreement marks the first time Clark, whose ``American Bandstand'' television show helped transform the music business from a fly-by-night operation to a major industry, has allowed the Bandstand trademark and logo to be used on recordings sold in retail outlets.

The deal with New York-based Wind-up Entertainment creates a 50-50 joint venture dubbed American Bandstand Music, which will release a series of reissues and compilations beginning in September. The compact discs will include audio and video footage from American Bandstand shows that can be played on personal computers equipped with CD-ROM players.

``We spent two years talking with Dick Clark about this before he finally felt completely comfortable about it,'' said Wind-up Chairman Alan Meltzer, an industry veteran whose start-up label has released a platinum record (1 million copies) by Creed and seen its release by Dr. John receive a Grammy nomination.

Clark said in a statement that he selected Wind-up for the venture partly because it is a boutique-type operation. ``In this situation, we're a priority,'' he said. ``We won't get lost in the shuffle.''

No specific titles have been selected yet but Meltzer said a wide range of candidates were under consideration including offbeat categories such as protest songs of the late 1960s. The venture also will seek marketing partners for custom-designed projects.

Clark founded his Burbank-based company in 1957 to produce ``American Bandstand,'' which ran through 1989. The concern began diversifying in the late 1960s when Clark started producing game shows and awards shows such as ``The American Music Awards'' and went public in 1987.