Rob Thomas, Bruce Springsteen, Nine Inch Nails and Dave Matthews Propel DualDisc to Number One for Four Consecutive Weeks

Rob Thomas, Bruce Springsteen, Nine Inch Nails and Dave Matthews Propel DualDisc to Number One for Four Consecutive Weeks

Retailers Nationwide Report Strong Consumer Interest in Double-Sided Music Product

NEW YORK, May 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Consumer enthusiasm for DualDisc, the new double-sided music product that combines audio and video content on a single disc, has helped propel recent releases from Rob Thomas, Bruce Springsteen, Nine Inch Nails and Dave Matthews to the top of the Billboard charts. For four consecutive weeks, the Number One album in the country on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart has been available on DualDisc.

Rob Thomas' " ... Something to Be" (Atlantic Records/Warner Music Group), Bruce Springsteen's "Devils & Dust" (Columbia Records/SONY BMG), Nine Inch Nails' "With Teeth" (Interscope Records/ Universal Music Group) and Dave Matthews Band's "Stand Up" (RCA Records/SONY BMG) are among the first major artists to release new material on DualDisc. Other highly anticipated DualDiscs hitting the market include Lauren Ellis' "Feels Like Family" (Silverline Records/5.1 Entertainment Group), Ben Folds' "Songs for Silverman" (Epic Records/SONY BMG), and Beck's "Guero" (Interscope Records/Universal Music Group).

The new products, which can be played in both CD and DVD players, have gained support from consumers who recognize the value of combining a music product with a DVD. DualDiscs began appearing in stores late last year and more than 2 million discs have been sold to date. The music industry expects to have more than 200 individual DualDisc titles on the market by the fourth quarter of 2005.

"DualDisc really seems to be electrifying the marketplace," says Fred Fox, Executive Vice President of Merchandising and Marketing for Trans World Entertainment Corporation, one of the largest specialty music and video retailers in the United States. "It's outperforming anything the labels have attempted in the last few years."

By combining CD and DVD on a single two-sided disc, DualDisc capitalizes on the overwhelming popularity of DVD music videos, which have grown exponentially over the course of the past three years. Moreover, DualDisc meets consumer demand for greater versatility and value in entertainment products while providing artists with an innovative avenue for creative expression.

DualDisc is the first entertainment product to combine music, film and video on a single, two-sided disc. One side of every DualDisc contains a full-length audio album while the DVD side features a wide range of exclusive content such as the same album in enhanced sound (such as 5.1 Surround Sound or enhanced LPCM stereo), as well as music videos, interviews, photo galleries, web links, concert footage, lyrics and more. DualDiscs play on existing CD and DVD hardware devices such as DVD players, car stereos, PCs, game consoles and CD players.

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 for music consumers.

5.1 Entertainment/Silverline Records

Source: SONY BMG; Universal Music Group; Warner Music Group; EMI;

CONTACT: Bennett Kleinberg of Goodman Media International,
+1-212-576-2700 ext. 234, bkleinberg@goodmanmedia.com

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