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| Digital Music Group And Tuff City Music Catalog Digital Music Group, Inc., a content owner and leading distributor of digital music and video recordings, today announced the signing of a digital distribution agreement with TufAmerica, Inc., also known as the Tuff City Music Group. Under the terms of the agreement, DMGI has acquired the perpetual right to distribute through digital and mobile channels worldwide the Tuff City catalog of music recordings, consisting of up to 20, 000 tracks. Tuff City retains the right to distribute the catalog in compact disc and other physical formats. "We're pleased and excited to announce this new acquisition, " said Mitchell Koulouris, Chief Executive Officer of DMGI. "This is a high-quality catalog that includes an exciting blend of R&B, jazz, funk and hip-hop. It's one of the largest and most prestigious independent catalogs of its kind." Tuff City Music Group comprises several labels including Tuff City Records, Night Train International, Swingtime Records, Funky Delicacies, Soul- Tay-Shus, and Ol' Skool Flava. Together these labels include titles from important R&B and blues legends such as Ray Charles, Lowell Fulson, Jimmy Witherspoon, Charles Brown, Ike Turner, Trouble Funk, and Johnny Otis. The New Orleans catalog includes rare and unreleased music from Professor Longhair, James Booker, Earl King and George Porter of the Meters, among others. Finally, the Tuff City catalog also includes old school Hip Hop releases from the 1980's and 1990's from legendary artists such as Spoonie Gee, Marley Marl, The Ultramagnetic MCs and DJ Hollywood, among others. The Tuff City Music catalog is to be delivered in tranches starting with 3, 000 tracks to be delivered next week. Up to an additional 8, 000 tracks are to be delivered during the following nine months and then Tuff City has the option to deliver to DMGI up to 9, 000 additional tracks by December 2007. Due to the size and complexity of the Tuff City Music catalog, DMGI has retained the right to an inspection period of up to 75 days during which time DMGI may cancel the contract and pay a termination fee. DMGI has agreed not to make the tracks available for sale to consumers during this inspection period. For additional information, refer to DMGI's Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission today. Mr. Koulouris added, "The Tuff City Music catalog is a major acquisition for DMGI in terms of both the number of new tracks it brings and the exciting nature of the recordings. The catalog, which has not previously been available in the digital channel, includes an eclectic combination of historically important vintage recordings as well as more contemporary urban music. We expect that these tracks will be popular with consumers in the digital download channels. We also intend to release portions of this catalog through our mobile sales channels for ringtones, mastertones, and over-the-air downloads, which were recently added as a result of our acquisition of Digital Rights Agency." "We're very pleased with our relationship with Digital Music Group, " said Aaron Fuchs, President of Tuff City Music Group. "DMGI clearly appreciates the value of 'deep catalog' and the 'Long Tail.' This, coupled with their strong music distribution network and platform, makes us excellent and complementary partners." write your comments about the article :: © 2006 Jazz News :: home page |