FOLIO FIRST FOR JONI: As part of an ongoing project to create guitar-tab folios for significant artists who have never been published in such editions, Warner Bros. Publications is releasing early next year the first guitar-tab folios created for Joni Mitchell.

The folios, which carry a list price of $21.95 each, are designed to reflect "her penchant for unusual open tunings (she uses more than 50 distinct tunings in her repertoire); her style of strumming, slapping, and picking her guitar; and her treatment of the bass and treble registers to evoke the tone of colors of the entire spectrum of musical instruments," the company says. According to Warner, Mitchell recently agreed to release folios to match her two new albums, "Hits" and "Misses," which are being released simultaneously. The folios will be published in Warner's authentic guitar-tab edition format, which fea-tures complete transcriptions, including all solos, in standard notation and tablature. All of the open tunings are clearly indicated. The company also used the services of Mitchell's musical archivist, Joel Bernstein, as a consultant to ensure accuracy. Mitchell has released 19 albums since 1968.

Other guitar-tablature releases in the series include a folio by the Ramones that is already already out and forthcoming anthologies by Jackson Browne, Gordon Lightfoot, and Cracker.

EMI/ROMEO ESTATE DEAL: EMI Music Publishing will continue to publish the Tony Romeo catalog as well as other Romeo copyrights under a new deal with the Tony Romeo estate. Among the songs EMI Music has published are two Partridge Family hits, "I Think I Love You" and "It's One Of Those Nights (Yes Love)," and the group's "Summer Days," as well as "I'm Gonna Make You Mine" (Lou Christie), "Indian Lake" (the Cowsills), and two hits by the Brooklyn Bridge, "Blessed Is The Rain" and "Welcome Me Love."

Paul Tannen, VP of catalog exploitations, will play a key role in obtaining new usages for the Romeo songs.

PROMO STORY: From the desk of Philip "Flip" Black of Music Sales Corp.'s A&R/creative services division comes word of the company's Music Publishing Highlights Update, a free promotional package that updates the user on the company's hit songs and original-artist and sound-alike masters available for licensing. There are two CDs that feature 60 one-minute versions of songs from the catalog, one covering the '70s to the '90s, the other spanning the '20s through the '60s. The accompanying book has sections on titles, years, peak chart positions, artists, specific categories, CD cuts, and masters.

A ROSE IN NOVEMBER: Writer Earl Rose's music is hitting various exposure routes this month, including film, concerts, the stage, and nightclubs. He's written the score for the new MGM/United Artists film "Mad Dog Time," in which Rose's original jazz compositions are performed by a quartet featuring Harvey Mason, John Patitucci, and Mike Lang.

On Nov. 8, Rose premiered the symphonic version of the film's love theme, "When Do I Think About You," with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra in Los Angeles, where Rose opened for Barbara Mandrell. Rose will appear at New York's Tavern on the Green's Chestnut Room Nov. 26, 27, 29, and 30.