CHATSWORTH, Calif. (Top40 Charts/ Honig Company) - Image Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: DISK), a leading independent licensee and distributor of entertainment programming in North America, announced today that it has signed a five-year agreement with Universal
Music Group, the world's leading music company, to distribute music and music-related urban programming in Europe, Africa, South
America and the Middle East.
The agreement, which includes the entire Image Entertainment catalog of music and music-related urban titles as well as upcoming titles in both genres, covers DVD, Blu-ray, digital and television broadcast rights.
'Universal Music Group has incredible muscle in these regions, and we are confident our programming will get proper marketing and sales exposure through all forms of distribution,' said Barbara Gomperz-McCarney, Executive Director of International Sales & Operations for Image Entertainment. 'In addition, UMG has an infrastructure to sell directly to television networks which will be of great benefit to us.'
Olivier Robert-Murphy, Vice President International, USM at Universal Music Group International, said: 'Image Entertainment's company strategy and repertoire are closely aligned with our vision of bringing premium audiovisual content � especially live concerts � to fans around the world through traditional and innovative exploitation channels. Over the years, Image has created an incredible line-up of live performances from artists such as Elvis Presley, The Bee Gees, Cher, The Who, James Brown and Ray Charles. Image was one of the first companies to bring experiences of concerts, events and comedians to people's living rooms.'
About Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is the world's leading music company with wholly owned record operations or licensees in 77 countries. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, the industry's leading global music publishing operation. Universal Music Group's record labels include A&M/Octone, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Disa, Emarcy, Fonovisa, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Lost Highway Records, Machete Music, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Philips, Polydor Records, Universal Motown Republic Group, Universal Music Latino, Universal Records South, and Verve Music Group as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world. The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalog of music in the industry, which includes the last 100 years of the world's most popular artists and their recordings. UMG's catalog is marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and Universal Strategic Marketing (outside the U.S.). Universal Music Group also includes eLabs, its new media and technologies division; Bravado, its merchandising company; Twenty�First Artists, its full service management division; and Helter Skelter, its live music agency. Universal Music Group is a unit of Vivendi, a global media and communications company.
About Image Entertainment
Image Entertainment, Inc. is a leading independent licensee and distributor of entertainment programming in North America, with approximately 3,500 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 370 exclusive CD titles in domestic release and approximately 600 programs internationally via sublicense agreements. For many of its titles, the Company has exclusive audio and broadcast rights and, through its subsidiary Egami Media, Inc., has digital download rights to approximately 2,000 video programs and over 300 audio programs containing more than 4,500 tracks. The Company is headquartered in Chatsworth, California. For more information about Image Entertainment, Inc., please go to www.image-entertainment.com.
