Compass Records Acquires Physical Sales Rights to Green Linnet Records From Digital Music Group

05/17/2006 06:36AM

Nashville (Tennessee), USA - /PRNewswire/ -- Compass Records announces that it has purchased the physical distribution rights to the Green Linnet Records catalog and its affiliated world music label, Xenophile, from Digital Music Group, Inc. In a creative arrangement with a distinctly 21st century twist, DMGI purchased the assets of Green Linnet and simultaneously closed on a deal with Compass Records for the exclusive rights to the physical sales of the Green Linnet catalogs, including the retail, website and mail order business.

Compass Records co-founder Garry West is excited by the opportunities that the synergy between the Green Linnet brand and Compass Record's burgeoning roster of Celtic artists will create. "Green Linnet is the best known brand in Celtic music and over its 30 year history the label has cultivated and educated several generations of Celtic music fans. We look forward to carrying that torch into the future and, with our 2 catalogs, becoming the go- to point for Celtic music CDs."

DMGI is equally pleased by the arrangement with Compass Records. "As a company focused on the digital music market, this makes perfect sense for our business model," said Mitchell Koulouris, Chief Executive Officer of Digital Music Group. "We are pleased that Compass Records, an internationally recognized expert in Celtic music, has contracted with us to handle the physical CD sales of this rich catalog. We believe this provides the best of both worlds for the artists and the consumers."

Compass Records, co-founded in 1994 by musicians Alison Brown and Garry West, is a new breed of roots-music label: eclectic, sophisticated, and artist-friendly. With a catalog of over 200 releases, Compass Records has been described by Billboard Magazine as "one of the greatest independent labels to emerge in the last decade." In a relatively short time, Compass Records has developed a stellar roster of Celtic artists including Solas, Paul Brady, Lúnasa, Kate Rusby, Liz Carroll, Sharon Shannon and Mick Moloney. Other notable Compass releases include projects from Colin Hay, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Victor Wooten, Glenn Tilbrook, The Waifs and Alison Brown. For more information, visit www.compassrecords.com.

Founded over 30 years ago, the Green Linnet catalog includes over 2,400 tracks and has been the home of leading Celtic artists such as Niamh Parsons, Old Blind Dogs, Lúnasa, Patrick Street, and Tannahill Weavers.

Founded in 2005, Digital Music Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DMGI) is focused on helping consumers worldwide to experience more music, in more ways. Digital Music Group, Inc. acquires the digital rights to music recordings and processes these recordings into digital format for distribution to online music stores such as the iTunes Music Store, MSN Music, RealNetworks, Napster, Wal-Mart Music and Yahoo! Music, where they are available for purchase by consumers. For more information, please visit www.digitalmusicgroupinc.com.

[Photo: Alison Brown, co-owner of Compass Records].

World Music Central
http://www.worldmusiccentral.org/article.php/20060517063602826