Music Industry Veterans Launch EverGreen Copyright Acquisitions with Purchase of Several Major Music Catalogs

Music Industry Veterans Launch EverGreen Copyright Acquisitions with Purchase of Several Major Music Catalogs

NEW YORK, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- EverGreen Copyright Acquisitions, LLC, a full-service global music publishing company, has been formed by music industry veterans Joel A. Katz, David K. Schulhof, and Richard W. Perna with financial backing from Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking (LEH).

The Company officially debuts with the announcement of five completed acquisitions, including the purchase of the Rykomusic assets and Warlock Music catalog (featuring the major works of Nick Drake), the Teddy Riley catalog, the Audigram catalog (including a number of works by J.J. Cale), the Bill Monroe Music catalog, and the Matt Slocum catalog.

"We are excited to announce the formation of EverGreen Copyrights, a full-service music publishing company," said Katz, one of the world's leading entertainment attorneys. "We have already acquired a great set of assets, and we look forward to continuing our growth. We feel we will be a value-added partner for writers, independent publishers and consumers of music alike."

Katz is a co-founder, investor and non-executive partner of EverGreen Copyrights and the global chair of the international entertainment practice at the law firm of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, as well as co-managing shareholder of the firm's Atlanta office. The firm's client list includes some of the world's most popular entertainers (including George Strait, B.B. King, Sheryl Crow, Jimmy Buffett, Josh Groban, India.Arie, Kenny Chesney, Willie Nelson, James Brown, Big & Rich and Alan Jackson), music producers, music publishers, concert promoters and Fortune 500 companies such as Nokia, Microsoft, Coca- Cola and Clear Channel. Katz also serves as general counsel for The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS), the Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (LARAS), and as special counsel to the Country Music Association (CMA).

EverGreen Copyrights will be based in Nashville, Tenn. with additional offices in New York. Perna and Schulhof will serve as co-CEOs of the Company. Perna will manage a creative team at EverGreen's Nashville office and will oversee copyright and royalty administration. Schulhof will manage EverGreen's New York office and oversee the company's global motion picture, TV and advertising department and creative affairs.

"Our administrative infrastructure is in place, and we have opened our offices in Nashville and New York," said Perna. "We have strong financial backing from our major equity investor, Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking, and are excited about this partnership."

Prior to co-founding EverGreen, Perna served as the COO of Hamstein Music Group for more than 15 years and built the company into one of the most successful independent music publishing companies in the world. He also currently serves as secretary/treasurer of the NARAS.

Prior to co-founding EverGreen, Schulhof was the vice president of Motion Picture Music for Miramax Films, overseeing motion picture music and soundtracks for Miramax and Dimension Films, where he served as executive producer on more than 100 soundtracks.

Schulhof said that EverGreen Copyrights now has a wide range of more than 15,000 copyrights spanning a diverse set of genres. "We believe we have assembled an extremely credible catalog of quality copyrights which are strong in synchronization and are favorites of film/TV music supervisors," said Schulhof. "We are actively pursuing additional acquisitions, joint ventures and partnerships."

The Company will be present at MIDEM this year.

Rykomusic Acquisition and Administration Deals

EverGreen's multi-faceted acquisition deal with Ryko Corp. includes the purchase of the assets of Rykomusic, Inc. and the companies Rykomusic, Ltd. and Warlock Music, Ltd. The stellar and eclectic Rykomusic and Warlock Music catalogs feature more than 10,000 songs by a broad range of artists including the complete major works of Nick Drake ("Mayfair," "Pink Moon," "River Man," "Northern Sky," "Black Eyed Dog," "Cello Song"), Cubanismo ("Mambo U.K."), Mark Sandman of Morphine ("Buena," "I'm Free Now," "All Wrong," "Candy"), Zero 7 ("Polaris," "Give It Away," "This World"), Supreme Beings of Leisure ("Get Away," "Truth From Fiction," "Under the Gun," "Sublime," "Never The Same"), Josh Rouse ("Directions," "Dressed Up Like Nebraska," "Late Night Conversation"), John Martyn ("May You Never"), folk legends Fairport Convention, Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson among others. Under the deal, EverGreen Copyrights assumes Rykomusic's joint venture partnership with Rough Trade Music, giving the Company rights to sign new bands plus 50 percent ownership of the Rough Trade catalog's 5,000 compositions, including works by the Violent Femmes, Rocket From The Crypt, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and The Animal Collective.

Teddy Riley Catalog Acquisition

EverGreen Copyrights has acquired the entire back catalog of Teddy Riley, a former member of Guy and Blackstreet, and a well-known Pop/R&B writer and producer. Riley's catalog, which consists of more than 500 titles, includes all of the songs he co-wrote and produced for Michael Jackson ("Remember the Time," "Jam," "Dangerous," "Blood On the Dance Floor"), and hundreds of other songs such as Blackstreet's "No Diggity," "Take Me There" and "Never Gonna Let You Go," Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative," Keith Sweat's "I Want Her" and "Make It Last Forever," Wreckx-N-Effect's "Rump Shaker" and "New Jack Swing," Guy's "Groove Me" and "Let's Chill," Al B' Sure's "If I'm Not Your Lover," Johnny Kemp's "Just Got Paid," Billy Ocean's "Tear Down These Walls," and Kool Mo Dee's "How Ya Like Me Now."

Audigram Acquisition

EverGreen Copyrights has concluded a deal with Bonnie Ashworth, widow of producer Audi Ashworth, to acquire the Audigram catalog. The Audigram catalog of approximately 120 songs features a number of J.J. Cale's works, including major hits recorded by Eric Clapton ("Cocaine," "Travelin' Light," "Sensitive Kind," "Long Way Home," "Cajun Moon," "Same Old Blues"), Santana, and many other legendary guitarists and blues artists.

Bill Monroe Music Catalog Acquisition

EverGreen Copyrights has purchased the assets of Bill Monroe Music publishing, which consists of approximately 300 songs written by the bluegrass legend and other writers. The catalog includes such perennial hits as "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" (performed by Bill Monroe, Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, and many others), "Uncle Pen," "Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms," "Bluegrass Breakdown," and "Walk Softly On My Heart."

Matt Slocum Catalog Acquisition

EverGreen Copyrights has acquired the catalog of writer and Sixpence None The Richer band member, Matt Slocum. This catalog includes such well-known songs as "Kiss Me," and "Breathe Your Name."

About Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking Group

Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking (LEH), part of the Private Equity business of Lehman Brothers, the global investment bank, manages funds that seek significant long-term capital appreciation through direct investments in established operating companies in partnership with management. The group invests in companies with sound business fundamentals, proven operating teams and a compelling business strategy or vision. Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking Partners III L.P. is the Merchant Banking group's current fund. The fund closed successfully in July 2005 with over $1.2 billion of capital commitments from institutions, high net worth individual investors, and Lehman Brothers, its affiliates and employees.

Source: EverGreen Copyright Acquisitions, LLC

CONTACT: Lisa Westerfield, +1-404-832-6357, or
lisa.westerfield@edelman.com, or Nicholas Wolaver, +1-404-262-3000, or
nicholas.wolaver@edelman.com, both of Edelman, for EverGreen Copyright
Acquisitions, LLC

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