VAN MORRISON RETURNS TO EMI

THE LIVE RECORDING OF 'ASTRAL WEEKS' FROM THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL TO BE RELEASED WORLDWIDE BY EMI MUSIC IN EARLY 2009 ON MORRISON'S OWN LISTEN TO THE LION RECORDS

December 18, 2008, New York - Multi-award-winning legendary soul singer and songwriter Van Morrison has returned to EMI Music, with a live recording slated for release in early 2009. The album marks the first record to be issued on Morrison's own label, Listen To The Lion Records, which will be distributed worldwide by EMI. The album captures the widely-acclaimed live performance Morrison gave at the venerable Hollywood Bowl in November, which featured a breathtaking recreation of the "Astral Weeks" album.

"I brought these records to EMI because they seem to have people with vision, who have 'ears' and who understand the significance of the complex arrangements and the classic essence of recordings like 'Astral Weeks,'" said Van Morrison. "They're committed to maintaining the integrity of the records I make. That is what it's all about to me."

"Van Morrison is a true living legend, and he continues to inspire artists and fans that span generations and genres," said Nick Gatfield. "We are delighted he is bringing his label to EMI and are very excited to bring his first release to the world."

In his remarkable career, Morrison has become one of the most influential artists in the modern age. His album "Astral Weeks," originally released 40 years ago, was heralded as a groundbreaking work and today is universally regarded as one of the most important albums in popular music history. Timeless music from the soul, "Astral Weeks" is ranked one of the greatest albums of all time by Mojo, Rolling Stone and Britain's The Times.

"EMI has had the good fortune to work with Van over the years, but I am personally excited about this release because I worked with Van back in 1968 on the release of the original 'Astral Weeks' recording" said Ian Ralfini, Senior Vice President, EMI Music. "This particular show at the Bowl was electrifying. For some of us it was a little bit of nostalgia and for others it was a brand new experience. But for everyone it was a great concert and a piece of musical history. We are honored that Van has returned to EMI."

COMES WITH MUSIC

Nokia announced the debut of its pioneering Comes with Music digital entertainment service, which offers consumers a new way to discover and enjoy music. Customers who buy a Comes With Music device will be able to explore and enjoy a diverse catalog of music of international and local artists with unlimited access to millions of tracks for a year, keeping the music once the year is over and revolutionizing their digital music experience.

"Comes With Music sets a precedent for consumer value and convenience that the rest of the digital entertainment industry is already copying," said Tero Ojanperä, executive vice president and head of the Nokia entertainment and communities business. "Trying out a music recommendation is spontaneous as customers can download without worrying about the cost of an album or a track - the freedom and simplicity of the service is unparalleled. And Comes With Music gives you unlimited access to the millions of tracks in the Nokia Music Store and the music is all yours to keep - because it's not a revolution unless you get to keep your music."

Comes With Music offers one year of unlimited access to the entire Nokia Music Store catalogue and customers can keep all the music that they have downloaded at the end of the year to continue enjoying their music collection. Comes With Music will be available across a range of Nokia devices, including the new Nokia 5800 XpressMusic - also announced today and the Nokia N95 8GB and Nokia 5310 XpressMusic. With more than 10 million units sold globally since its introduction last year, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic is the best selling music phone in the world.

EMI Music has joined as the latest major label to support Comes With Music.

"With the launch of Nokia's Comes With Music, fans now have a new avenue to find and enjoy music from EMI's catalogue, and our artists have a powerful new way to reach their fans," said Douglas Merrill, president, digital business, for EMI Music. "By encouraging music discovery in an innovative and consumer-friendly environment, Comes With Music will continue to push experimentation in the digital music industry."

Comes With Music will also feature a tremendous selection of independent music, courtesy of deals with The Orchard (NASD: ORCD), Beggars Group, IODA, the Ministry of Sound, PIAS and Pinnacle. These companies join Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group in supporting Comes With Music. Nokia has also secured music publishing rights from CELAS on behalf of EMI Music Publishing, GEMA on behalf of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, SACEM on behalf of Universal Music Publishing, as well as the MCPS-PRS Alliance.

The United Kingdom will be the first market to offer Comes With Music with sales starting now and the United States sales are planned for 2009. The Nokia 5310 XpressMusic Comes With Music edition is expected to cost GBP 129.95 and people can pre-register their orders for Comes With Music devices from Carphone Warehouse at http://www.carphonewarehouse.com.

http://www.nokia.com/comeswithmusic

30 MILLION TO MARS

Virgin/EMI have slapped 30 Seconds to Mars with a $30 million suit for breaching their contract (says Virgin/EMI) or legally terminating their contract (says 30STM’s Jared Leto.) After news of the suit hit, Leto issued a lengthy statement arguing that the band signed its contract with the label nine years ago, but according to California law, “one cannot be bound to a contract for more than seven years.” So the band, looking to take advantage of that loophole despite owing Virgin three more albums, is opting out due to some significant disagreements:

“If you think the fact that we have sold in excess of 2 million records and have never been paid a penny is pretty unbelievable, well, so do we,” Leto writes. “And the fact that EMI informed us that not only aren’t they going to pay us AT ALL but that we are still 1.4 million dollars in debt to them is even crazier.” Plus, there’s more, “like the new regime at EMI firing most of the people we know and love, wanting to place advertisements on our Website, EMI owning 100 percent of the masters of our record… forever, and basically having a revolving door of regimes at the company made it easy to not want to continue as is.”

An EMI spokesperson responded by saying, despite their success with 30STM, “We have been forced to take procedural, legal steps in order to protect EMI’s investment and rights during contract renegotiations initiated by the band and management. We hope to resolve these matters amicably and put them behind us so we can continue working in partnership with the band to take them to even greater levels of success.”

BROKEN RECORD

When is it going to stop? The expected EMI layoffs have begun. Pink slips were given out at its Nashville office and at subsidiary labels Blue Note and Caroline, according to reports. The major label previously announced plans to let go 2,ooo of its employees.

I've been there peeps...NOT FUN! Enjoy your summer!