Universal Motown Republic Group (UMRG) Joins With TuneCore to Provide Digital Opportunities for Unsigned Artists

Universal Motown Republic Group (UMRG) Joins With TuneCore to Provide Digital Opportunities for Unsigned Artists

- Label to Launch New Web Portals & Services for Unsigned Artists Hosted by TuneCore

NEW YORK, Nov. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Motown Republic Group, a division of Universal Music Group, the world's leading music company, today launches two new web portals designed specifically to help unsigned artists get heard. The portals, powered by TuneCore, a leading digital music distribution company, are branded under the Republic and Motown banners:

   http://www.unimodigitaldistribution.com/   http://www.republicdd.com/   

Following UMG's recent agreement with TuneCore, UMRG's new portals will make use of TuneCore's leading distribution platform to provide unsigned artists worldwide distribution into the iTunes Store, eMusic, Nokia and other digital download stores. In addition, artists may have the chance to be involved in label showcases, creating and producing proper studio demos, or receiving professional reviews of their music by an artist or member of the company's A&R team. And as the careers of unsigned artists grow, they may benefit from having a number of artist-discovery, marketing and upstreaming opportunities within UMRG.

"Now, more than ever, the Web has opened up countless opportunities for unsigned artists to distribute their music directly to their audiences and we want to collaborate with them throughout that process," stated Cameo Carlson, Senior Vice President of Digital Business Development for UMRG. "And thanks to TuneCore, we can create a portal that provides them access to digital distribution and the expertise of a major label."

Jeff Price, CEO and founder of TuneCore.com, said, "It's our job to serve and connect artists with opportunities they choose and want. If an artist's goal is to be part of one of the most recognizable names in music, this relationship will potentially provide them a direct in to help them get heard and discovered by the people they want to reach, all while having complete control."

About Universal Motown Republic Group

Universal Motown Republic Group is a division of Universal Music Group, the world's leading music company with wholly owned record operations or licensees in 77 countries. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, the industry's leading global music publishing operation.

Universal Music Group's record labels include Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Disa, Emarcy, Fonovisa, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Lost Highway Records, Machete Music, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Philips, Polydor Records, Universal Motown Republic Group, Universal Music Latino, Universal Records South, and Verve Music Group as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world. The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalog of music in the industry, which includes the last 100 years of the world's most popular artists and their recordings. UMG's catalog is marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and Universal Strategic Marketing (outside the U.S.). Universal Music Group also includes eLabs, its new media and technologies division; Bravado, its merchandising company; Twenty-First Artists, its full service management division; and Helter Skelter, its live music agency.

Universal Music Group is a unit of Vivendi, a global media and communications company.

About TuneCore

TuneCore is a low, flat fee service that distributes music to iTunes, eMusic, Rhapsody and many other major download and streaming sites while taking no rights and no revenue from the sale of the music. Artists are building careers, selling significant volumes of music and generating revenue through TuneCore. Since its launch in 2006, TuneCore has distributed tens of thousands of albums and millions of songs to iTunes and other digital stores by Grammy winners and unsigned artists alike. TuneCore artists include Drake, Beck, Jay-Z, Aretha Franklin, Keith Richards, Public Enemy, Nine Inch Nails, Ricky Skaggs, Paul Westerberg, MGM Studios, Warren G, Bjork, Moby, High School Musical cast members, Ali Lohan, Cirque Du Soleil, Starbucks and tens of thousands more. More music is released in one day via TuneCore than any major record label over a year and the site recently expanded its offerings to distribute full-length films, TV shows, concert films, and documentaries to iTunes.

www.tunecore.com

For more information on TuneCore, please contact Nick Loss-Eaton [nlosseaton@shorefire.com], Miya Hannan [mhannan@shorefire.com] or Matt Hanks [mhanks@shorefire.com] at Shore Fire Media, 718.522.7171. For more info on Universal Music Group, please contact Maria Ho-Burge [maria.ho-burge@umusic.com], 212.331.2569.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Universal Music Group

CONTACT: Nick Loss-Eaton, nlosseaton@shorefire.com, or Miya Hannan,
mhannan@shorefire.com, or Matt Hanks, mhanks@shorefire.com, all of Shore Fire
Media, +1-718-522-7171, for Universal Music Group; or Maria Ho-Burge of
Universal Music Group, +1-212-331-2569, maria.ho-burge@umusic.com

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Profile: International Entertainment