Oaks, Pennsylvania – June 12, 2006 – After 19 years of specializing solely in music video and DVD product, Music Video Distributors has expanded into CD distribution with the formation of MVD Audio. The conglomerate will now be known as the MVD Entertainment Group, and will consist of three major divisions: MVD Visual, MVD Audio, and MVD Distribution. Previous to this formation, CD distribution was not part of the MVD business model.

"2007 will mark the 20th Anniversary of MVD; during this time we have developed a reputation for excellent sales, marketing, reporting & payment, " said Ed Seaman, COO of MVD Entertainment Group. "Over the years, artists, managers, labels, and studios have asked us to handle their audio distribution. We are finally making the leap. The infrastructure is 100% in place for MVD to handle the new category, and the new division will be a powerful player in audio distribution."

Read on for the complete story!


MVD Audio
The newest division, MVD Audio, handles exclusive distribution for audio content on CD. For its launch, MVD Audio has content agreements with several record labels including Inakustik (Germany), Secret Records Ltd. (UK), and Metal Mind Productions (Poland) as well as some independent artists.

The Inakustik catalog includes hundreds of rock, folk, jazz, world, and blues titles with initial offerings to include Bernard Allison "Mo Mercy", America "Struttin' Our Stuff", Billy Cobham "Live: Flight Time", Soft Machine Legacy "Live at the New Morning", and Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings "Struttin' Our Stuff.

Secret Records Ltd. produces live performance recordings from multiple genres including rock, jazz, reggae, punk, ska and more. Initial releases will include The Selector, Lee Scratch Perry and Dillinger.

"Ed Seaman and his team at MVD have represented our DVD range in the USA since 2005; we have been impressed with the degree of enthusiasm and professionalism that has gone into the release of each and every one of our titles released thus far," said Stephen Mandy of Secret Records Ltd. "MVD's decision to enter the Audio market can only be good news for us and we are looking forward to being able to cross merchandise our CD live soundtrack albums alongside our DVD range as well as seeing our range of other audio titles out in the racks."

The Metal Mind Productions catalog focuses on heavy metal, hard rock, and progressive music with initial titles including Vader "Sothis" (remastered), Behemoth "And the Firest Dream Eternally", Artrosis "In the Flower's Shade", Collage "Changes" (remastered), Darzamat "Transkarpatia", Decapitated "The First Damned", Dies Irie "Sculpture of Stone", Immolation "Dawn of Possession" (remastered + bonus tracks), Pendragon "History: 1984 - 2000", and Yattering "Live Extermination".

"After nearly 5 years of co-operation between us this is one of the best pieces of news for me," said Tomasz Dziubinski, Managing Director of Metal Mind Productions. "They are doing a really excellent job with promoting and selling our DVD releases in the US market. Finally, our wide catalogue of metal/rock/progressive rock and jazz CD releases can be available also on American market through the best possible company. It's a big step in the right direction. I wish MVD all the best with the Audio launch - their success will be also a success of Metal Mind Productions. And as we all know, there is no other option for them but to succeed, as they truly deserve it. MVD rules!"

MVD Audio's other early releases will include Blag Dahlia's (Dwarves) spoken word masterpiece "Nina". Dahlia says, "I was glad to hear that the best DVD label was branching out into the realm of pure audio. These guys know great stuff when they see it and when they hear it, all across the musical spectrum. I'm expecting great things."

A release from alt-indie rockers Snakes & Music "Isabelle" is also slated for August. MVD Audio expects to release approximately 100 CDs in 2006.

MVD Visual
MVD's exclusively represented Music DVD division has been re-branded as MVD Visual. Since 1999, this division has released over 500 titles, and is currently one of the largest producers of Music DVD in 2006. Recent months saw important DVD releases such as Sublime Tribute "Look At All the Love We Found Live", New York Dolls "All Dolled Up", Andrew W.K. "Who Knows: Live 2000 to 2004", Poison "Seven Days Live", and Robin Trower "Living Out of Time Live". Later this year MVD Visual will bow music DVDs from Blackalicious, the Bad Brains, the Queers, Desmond Dekker, Camper Van Beethoven/Cracker, just to name a few. Also, MVD has recently celebrated the four-year anniversary of the launch of their subdivision entitled Eclectic DVD Distribution, which releases independent, rare and unusual films on DVD. Some of these titles include Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, Jim Breuer "Heavy Metal Comedy", and Black Christmas.

MVD Distribution
The wholesale operation of MVD is now called MVD Distribution. This division is a one-stop for Music DVD, carrying the best selection of the format in the world, and further offers a very large selection of non-music DVD. MVD Distribution executes the physical fulfillment of its products (including MVD Audio and MVD Visual), servicing major chains, distributors, one-stops, online retail, and independent retail. MVD Distribution runs its 20,000 square foot warehouse in Oaks, PA.

Appointments
In response to MVD Entertainment Group's growth in the first fiscal quarter of 2006, and anticipated growth for the future, there are new appointments of key executives. These include Michael DeMonte to Vice President of Sales, Dave Hall to Vice President of Operations, and Zach Fischel to Vice President of Marketing. Ed Seaman becomes Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Eve Edwards becomes Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Tom Seaman remains as CEO and President.

"As we foresaw many years ago, music video is alive and well as a major component of the music industry, as much as it is a component of the video industry, " said Tom Seaman. "This move into the audio area is a natural consequence in MVD's development. There will be more exciting moves in the future for MVD."

Sea of Tranquility spoke to Michael DeMonte, VP of Sales, regarding the news:

SoT: Congratulations on the new venture! Our readers here at Sea of Tranquility will be most interested to hear about what artists MVD will be releasing in the genres of metal, progressive rock, and jazz fusion. What can they expect in the months to come?

Michael: Lot's of great metal coming out: Acid Drinkers,Anathema; Immolation, Vader, Yattering and Behemoth to name a few.

SoT: What made you decide to branch out from being strictly involved in DVD to now include audio?

Michael: The audio we are releasing primarily is coming from the labels we have been releasing DVD's for. They really like working with us and felt we can do an excellent job getting out their CD's.

SoT: Metal Mind Productions have long needed some exposure here in the US-I'm sure you have big plans for them here now with this new venture?

Michael: Yes -we are aggressively getting their back catlog out and are looking forward to their new releases.

SoT: 2006 is already about half over, but what types of numbers are you looking to release this year, as far as DVD's and CD's go?

Michael: We are up to around 250 or so releases out or announced already. By year end I would expect we will have released close to 400 titles on DVD or CD for 2005.

SoT: Where do you see the most potential for sales-rock, metal, prog, jazz, etc?

Michael: That's a pretty wide open demographic. There are always new fans discovering this music and plenty of old heads out there that are continuing to add to their collections. These fans are pretty dedicated and will continue to buy CD's and DVD's by their favorite artists and seek out related artists.

www.mvdb2b.com