BMG SONGS PROMOTES DERRICK THOMPSON TO SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, URBAN MUSIC

LOS ANGELES (By Jennifer/ BMG Press/ Top 40 Charts) - Derrick Thompson has been promoted to the position of Senior Vice President, Urban Music at BMG Songs effective immediately. The announcement was made by the company's President Scott Francis.

In his new position, Thompson will be based in the company's New York City office. He reports directly to Francis, who is based in BMG's Beverly Hills office.

Thompson will continue to oversee all urban creative activities for BMG Songs including signing and developing writer/producers and artists.

Since joining BMG Songs in 1994, Thompson has been the driving force behind BMG's leading presence in the urban music market. His artist signings include Nelly, Keyshia Cole, Erykah Badu, Mobb Deep, Chingy, Lil' Flip and rising star Lupe Fiasco. Thompson has also brought an impressive list of writer/producers to BMG such as 2006 Grammy winner Manuel Seal (Mariah Carey, Usher), Chad Hugo of The Neptunes (Mariah Carey, No Doubt, Snoop Dogg, N.E.R.D.), Buckwild (Shyne, Ludacris) and Ron Lawrence (Puff Daddy, Faith Evans, Notorious B.I.G.).

Thompson's most recent position at BMG Songs was Vice President, Urban Music based in the Los Angeles office.

BMG Songs is the North American division of BMG Music Publishing Worldwide. With 34 offices in 24 countries around the world, BMG Music Publishing (www.bmgmusicsearch.com) is the world's largest independent Music Publisher and the third largest among all Music Publishers. With over one million copyrights in its diverse catalogue, BMG Music Publishing represents music in every genre from some of the world's hottest songwriters including Justin Timberlake, Maroon5, Nelly, Limp Bizkit, R. Kelly, Robbie Williams, Linkin Park, Christina Aguilera, Coldplay, Britney Spears, Shania Twain, Chingy, Korn, Joss Stone and Keane. BMG Music Publishing is a unit of Bertelsmann AG, one of the world's leading media companies.