Entertainment One Regulatory News (ETO)

10 Jul 2007 17:50

Some of today's biggest recording artists, including UNK, JimJones, DJ Khaled and more, are coming to cell phones around the nationthis summer. KOCH Entertainment, the fastest growing independent musiclabel, and mobile industry leader Moderati Inc. have joined forces inan exclusive deal to bring music lovers the most sought-afterringtones of KOCH artists to all major carriers in the United States.The exclusive deal further solidifies Moderati's position as the topprovider of wireless content to the decks of the largest U.S.carriers. £ For the sixth year in a row, KOCH Entertainment has secured morecharted titles than any other independent label. Recently, KOCH hadfour songs on Billboard's Top 100 Digital songs chart, and fiveringtones in Nielsen Ringscan's Top 100 realtones chart. Jim Jones'"We Fly High" was the first realtone from an independent label toreach Number One on Billboard's Hot Ringmasters chart. £ The agreement will also bring Moderati access to hit mobilecontent from KOCH Entertainment's industry-leading roster ofindependent distributed labels--including Midas Records act EmersonDrive, whose hit single "Moments" recently debuted at number one onthe Billboard country charts. £ Jonas Gerber, senior vice president of business development forModerati, states, "KOCH Entertainment is a hip-hop powerhouse,recently earning platinum ringtone awards for UNK and Jim Jones,resulting in a cumulative 7.5 percent share of Nielsen Top 200Mastertone sales since the chart debuted last December. Moderati isproud to have been chosen as the exclusive representative to the majorcarriers of this outstanding catalog." £ "Over the past year, Moderati's aggressive efforts on behalf ofour artists has been crucial to KOCH's breakaway success in mobilemusic," said Bill Crowley, KOCH vice president of special markets."Most recently, Moderati has orchestrated the major wireless carriercampaigns that last week took UNK's second single, `2 Step' past theGold Mastertone mark. KOCH is pleased to broaden our closerelationship with Moderati, and we view this exclusive mobile deal asa key element in our drive to build the smartest and best 21st centurymusic company." £ Since the beginning of 2007, UNK's "Walk it Out" and Jim Jones'"We Fly High" have both achieved Platinum status as both Realtones andDigital Downloads for sales of over 1 million each. Over the comingmonths, KOCH will deliver new music from Keith Murray, Kafani,Montana, The Diplomats' Hell Rell, separate solo releases fromD-Block's Sheek Louch, Styles P and J-Hood, as well as Dead Prez, TheAlchemist, and several planned Wu Tang Clan projects. £ About KOCH Entertainment £ KOCH Entertainment, founded in 1987 and now in its twentieth year,is the leading and fastest-growing independent music company in theU.S. KOCH's operations encompass record and video labels as well asdistribution companies in the U.S. and Canada. KOCH Entertainment isthe market leader among independent labels and distributors in boththe U.S. and Canada and its record label KOCH Records had the largestnumber of Billboard charting albums among independents for six yearsin a row (2001 - 2006). KOCH Entertainment is owned by EntertainmentOne Ltd. which has been recently listed on the London Stock Exchange'sAIM market (ticker symbol "ETO"). £ About Moderati, A Bellrock Media Company £ Moderati is one of the top mobile media companies in NorthAmerica, with unparalleled distribution through the decks of 14 U.S.carriers. The company delivers content under carrier brands andpartner brands, as well as under its own brands, which includeModtones (ringtones and wallpaper) and Mobile Faker, an entertainmentproduct that turns mobile phones into social weapons. Founded in 2001,Moderati was acquired by Bellrock Media in 2007. Bellrock Mediacreates original platform-conscious content that features organicintegrations of branding and marketing messages. The company'sinvestors include Yoshimoto Kogyo, Intel Corporation and Faith Inc.The firm is uniquely positioned to address strategic opportunities inboth the U.S. and Japan, focusing on the mobile and broadband markets.Bellrock Media, founded in 2005, is headquartered in Los Angeles andTokyo. Copyright Business Wire 2007