FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

NEW DUALDISC TITLES TO HIT STORES

BEGINNING FEBRUARY 2005

AC/DC's Back in Black, David Bowie's Reality, Avril Lavigne's Under My Skin, Jennifer Lopez's Rebirth, John Mayer's Heavier Things, Velvet Revolver's Contraband and Toby Keith's Shock'n Y'all

Among New DualDiscs Released In February and March

Initial Holiday Sales Generate Strong Consumer Interest

New York, NY - January 26, 2005 - Following an impressive debut over the 2004 holiday season, major and independent record labels are set to release more than 25 additional titles on DualDisc, an exciting new double-sided music entertainment product that combines audio and video content on a single disc.

With the first side of every DualDisc containing a full audio album, and the DVD side providing the same album in enhanced sound (such as 5.1 Surround Sound), along with such multimedia features as music videos, documentary footage, photo galleries, web links, and so on, DualDisc was created to bring the fan even closer to the creative artistic process.  DualDisc will add an exciting new dimension to the consumer's musical experience. One disc, two experiences.

"We're thrilled to be coming to the marketplace with an innovative slate of DualDiscs, representing a broad range of artists and genres, including titles from Omarion, Jennifer Lopez, Velvet Revolver, Usher, AC/DC, Destiny's Child and Avril Lavigne," commented Jordan Katz, Co-President, SONY BMG Sales Enterprise.

Bill Frohlich, Co-President, SONY BMG, Sales Enterprise added, "From the brilliantly stylized, high concept film, created by David Bowie, which is included on the Reality DualDisc, to ŚMade In Heaven,' the compelling 25-minute mini-documentary that is part of the Kind Of Blue disc, SONY BMG's first DualDisc releases make extremely good use of the extraordinary capabilities of this exciting new product."

"DualDisc technology provides artists with a new creative outlet which combines their passion for music with the endless possibilities of DVD," said Phil Quartararo, President of EMI Music Marketing and EVP, EMI Music North America. "Over the next year we look forward to enabling more and more artists to reach their fans using this exciting new product."

"We are thrilled with the consumer response to DualDisc and look forward to bringing many additional titles to the market in the coming months," said John Trickett, Chief Executive Officer, 5.1 Entertainment Group.  "Initial sales figures exceeded our expectations and retailers have reported strong consumer demand for albums on DualDisc."

In fact, just 10 weeks after its release in October 2004, Simple Plan's sophomore album Still Not Getting AnyŠ (Lava Records), released on DualDisc, was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The certification, for sales to retail in excess of one million copies, marks a first for DualDisc.

"Music fans responded very well to the introduction of DualDisc this holiday season," said John Esposito, President and CEO, WEA Corp., Warner Music Group's U.S. sales and retail marketing company. "The platinum certification of Simple Plan's album illustrates DualDisc's appeal to consumers."

All of the major recording companies including SONY BMG, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and EMI, as well as independent companies such as 5.1 Entertainment/Silverline Records, are developing DualDiscs. Among the DualDisc titles slated for release in February and March of 2005 are:

  • AC/DC, "Back in Black"
  • Academy of St. Jane, "Johann Sebastian Bach: The Brandenburg Concertos"
  • Astrud Gilberto, "Now"
  • Avril Lavigne, "Under My Skin"
  • Baltimore Symphony/Orchestra, "Saint Saen's Organ Symphony/Franck's Symphony in D Minor"
  • Baltimore Orchestra/Houston Symphony Orchestra, "Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4"
  • David Bowie, "Reality"
  • Destiny's Child, "Destiny Fulfilled"
  • Dishwalla, "Opaline"
  • DJ Haul and Mason, "Half Baked Goods"
  • Donovan, "Fairy Tale"
  • Five for Fighting, "The Battle for Everything"
  • Good Charlotte, The Young and the Hopeless"
  • Humble Pie, "Live at the Whisky A Go-Go Ś69"
  • Incubus, "A Crow Left of the Murder"
  • Jennifer Lopez, "Rebirth"
  • John Mayer, "Heavier Things"
  • Joshua Bell, "Romance Of The Violin"
  • Judas Priest, "Angel of Retribution"
  • Lee Ann Womack, "Greatest Hits"
  • Los Lonely Boys, "Los Lonely Boys"
  • Mercy Me, "Almost There"
  • Miles Davis, "Kind of Blue"
  • Motorhead, "Overkill"
  • Omarion, "O"
  • Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, "Live at the BBC"
  • Philharmonic Promenade Orchestra of London/Boult, "Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No.5 and Leonore Overture"
  • REO Speedwagon, "Live: Plus"
  • Sammy Hagar, "Hallelujah"
  • Slaughter, "Then and Now"
  • Stray Cats, "Rockabilly Rules"
  • Switchfoot, "The Beautiful Letdown"
  • Tesla, "Standing Room Only"
  • The Church, "Forget Yourself"
  • The 5 Browns, "Introducing The 5 Browns"
  • The Pentangle, "Basket of Light"
  • The Pogues, "Streams of Whiskey"
  • The Searchers, "The Very Best of the Searchers"
  • Toby Keith, "Shock'n Y'all"
  • Todd Rundgren, "Liars"
  • Train, "My Private Nation"
  • Usher, "8701"
  • Utah Symphony Orchestra/Abravanel, "Leroy Anderson‹Fiddle Faddle"
  • Utah Symphony Orchestra/Abravanel, "Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake"
  • Utah Symphony Orchestra/Abravanel conducting, "Mahler - Symphony No. 6"
  • Utah Symphony Orchestra/Abravanel conducting, "Brahms - Symphony No. 1"
  • Utah Symphony Orchestra/Abravanel conducting, "Rachmaninov - Symphony No. 3"
  • Utah Symphony Orchestra, "Jean Sibelius: Symph 1& 4"
  • Utopia, "KSAN 95 FM Live Ś79"
  • Various Artists, "The British Are Coming"
  • Various Artists Reggae Tribute to Bob Dylan, "Is It Rolling Bob?"
  • Velvet Revolver, "Contraband"
  • Vienna State Opera Orchestra Peter and the Wolf by Boris Karloff, "Serge Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and Lt. Kije Symphonic Suite"
  • Wishbone Ash, "Bare Bones"
  • Yo-Yo Ma, "Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone"

More than 50 titles were part of the initial rollout of DualDisc in November, 2004 including:

  • Simple Plan's newest album "Still Not Getting Any..." featuring 20 minutes of exclusive behind the scenes "making of the album" footage
  • Nine Inch Nails' "The Downward Spiral" featuring exclusive photos and videos in surround sound and a complete discography
  • Blondie's "The Curse of Blondie" featuring stunning 5.1 surround sound and music video of club hit "Good Boys."

"This past holiday season proved to be an excellent time to introduce music fans to this new, exciting music product," said Jim Urie, President, Universal Music and Video Distribution. "DualDisc provides the budget conscious consumer with the best value in music entertainment without compromising quality."

DualDisc has already received an impressive response from consumers in test markets conducted in 2004.  Music consumers who purchased a DualDisc said it met or exceeded their expectations. In addition, 90 percent of consumers who experienced DualDisc said they would recommend DualDisc to a friend and 82 percent said they are satisfied or extremely satisfied with DualDisc.

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Press Contact:

Bennett Kleinberg                                           Liane Ramirez

Goodman Media International                        Goodman Media International

(212) 576-2700 ext. 234                                 (212) 576-2700 ext. 249

bkleinberg@goodmanmedia.com                     lramirez@goodmanmedia.com