Fontana Expands Client Services

INDEPENDENT DISTRIBUTION COMPANY SELECTS ROYALTY REVIEW COUNCIL FOR LABEL ROYALTY ACCOUNTING SERVICES

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Apr 14, 2010, 06:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Fontana, the independent distribution arm of Universal Music Group, the world's leading music company, has expanded its client services further through a new strategic partnership with Royalty Review Council. The announcement was made today by Ron Spaulding, President of Fontana, and Keith Bernstein, CEO of Royalty Review Council.

Under the arrangement, Royalty Review Council will become a preferred outsource provider of record and mechanical royalty accounting for Fontana's distributed labels. Royalty Review Council provides a complete turnkey alternative to traditional in-house royalty departments, eliminating the staffing overhead and technical complexities of managing their royalty accounting. Royalty Review Council's staff has processed over 1,000,000 royalty statements calculated for artists, producers, third party licenses, publishers, and songwriters.

"As we continue to expand the services we provide our clients, we are laser-focused on selecting the best companies in their respective fields," stated Mr. Spaulding. "And there is none better than Royalty Review Council. Keith has assembled an A-list team that possesses in-depth knowledge and extensive experience in music royalties, copyrights, contracts, licenses and distribution – true professionals who understand the business from the inside. Their proven track record of success will be an incredible resource and benefit to our partner labels."

"We look forward to working with Fontana and their labels," added Mr. Bernstein. "I know royalty accounting is not the first thing labels are thinking about when they are focused on selling their music, but it is a function that must be handled properly. This arrangement provides each label with a cost-effective alternative. They can allocate resources to other areas of their business while we manage the complexities of preparing artist and mechanical royalty statements for both physical and digital sales."

About Fontana

Fontana Distribution, the independent arm of UMGD, provides unparalleled sales and marketing support, as well as back office services, for a diverse roster of labels and their artists. Fontana distributes more than 80 labels including Eagle Rock, Downtown, Vagrant Records, American Gramophone, Kedar Entertainment, Last Gang, Savoy Label Group, ESL, Music World, Delicious Vinyl, Ipecac, Six Degrees, SMC, Upstairs Records, VP Records, and many others. In addition, Fontana distributes select projects from UMG labels worldwide. For more information, please visit www.fontanadistribution.com.

About Royalty Review Council

www.royaltycouncil.com

Founded in 1999 by specialists in music royalty accounting, Royalty Review Council has become the preeminent team of professionals that provide financial consulting services for media and entertainment companies. Royalty Review Council provides digital service provider audits, outsource royalty accounting, song catalog due diligence and specialized financial consulting services. The firm is recognized as one of the first independent companies to build new infrastructures for managing, processing and reporting royalties from traditional and new digital business, including downloads, subscriptions, webcasts, streaming and pay-per-play businesses through worldwide channels of distribution such as kiosks, computers, TV set top boxes and wireless devices. Royalty Review Council is located in Los Angeles with affiliate offices in New York & London.

SOURCE Universal Music Group