Sony/ATV Music Publishing Completes Acquisition of Famous Music LLC from Viacom

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Completes Acquisition of Famous Music LLC from Viacom

NEW YORK, Aug. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony/ATV Music Publishing today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Famous Music LLC from Viacom (NYSE: VIA) (NYSE:and) (NYSE:VIA.B) , which was originally announced on May 30, 2007.

Founded in 1928, the Famous Music catalogue includes 125,000 songs and sound cues, including such hits and classics as "Footloose," "Moon River," "Take My Breath Away," "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," "Satin Doll," "Silver Bells," and "That's Amore." The catalogue, founded originally to publish music from "talking pictures," also includes the widely recognizable movie themes from Braveheart, The Godfather, Forrest Gump, Mission Impossible and the "Axel F" theme from Beverly Hills Cop. The catalogue includes contemporary hits such as "Bad Day" (Daniel Powter), "Hips Don't Lie" (Shakira), "The Real Slim Shady" (Eminem), and "Beautiful" (written by Linda Perry - performed by Christina Aguilera). The company also owns the Bjork, Duke Ellington, Dave Grusin, Bush and Boyz II Men catalogues, and songs from smash Broadway shows such as A Chorus Line and The Producers.

Famous Music's roster of songwriters includes Shakira, Akon, Linda Perry (who has written for Pink, Gwen Stefani, and Christina Aguilera), 7Aurelius (who has written for LL Cool J and Mariah Carey), Fred Jerkins III (who has written for Destiny's Child and Whitney Houston), Dave Tozer (who has written for John Legend), Mike Mangini (who has written for Joss Stone and Baha Men), Charlie Midnight (who has written for Hilary Duff and James Brown), Darrell Scott (who has written for Dixie Chicks and Faith Hill), Modest Mouse, Jet and Ozomatli.

Through its Extreme division, Famous Music is also is a major supplier of high quality recordings and musical compositions for use in television and radio advertisements, film and television productions, trailers, and major network and cable broadcast promotional announcements throughout the world.

About Sony/ATV Music Publishing:

Sony/ATV Music Publishing was established in 1995 as a joint venture between Sony and trusts formed by Michael Jackson. Sony/ATV Music Publishing owns or administers over 500,000 copyrights by such artists as The Beatles, Beck, Brooks & Dunn, Leonard Cohen, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, The Everly Brothers, Fall Out Boy, Jimi Hendrix, Billy Mann, Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash, Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, Richie Sambora, Stephen Stills, KT Tunstall and Hank Williams, among others. Sony/ATV recently acquired the Leiber Stoller catalogue. Sony/ATV is not part of the Sony BMG Music Entertainment venture. On the web: http://www.sonyatv.com/.

About Viacom:

Viacom, consisting of BET Networks, MTV Networks and Paramount Pictures Corporation, is the world's leading entertainment content company. It engages audiences on television, motion picture and digital platforms through many of the world's best known entertainment brands, including MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Noggin, Nick at Nite, AddictingGames, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV, TV Land, Gametrailers, BET, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks and Paramount Vantage. Viacom's global reach includes more than 130 channels and over 280 online properties in 160 countries and territories. For more information about Viacom and its businesses, visit http://www.viacom.com/.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Sony/ATV Music Publishing

CONTACT: Lisa Gephardt, for Sony/ATV Music Publishing, +1-212-833-6826,
Lisa_gephardt@sonyusa.com; or Kelly McAndrew, for Viacom, +1-212-846-7455,
kelly.mcandrew@viacom.com

Web site: http://www.viacom.com/
http://www.sonyatv.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment