WMI - MPO Online and The Orchard Form Alliance to Distribute French Independent Labels Globally

MIDEM 2006 - Cannes January 22, 2006 - The Orchard has chosen WMI - MPO Online to encode and deliver French catalogues to digital music stores worldwide. As an important additional element of the relationship, The Orchard will receive more timely sales data and delivery statistics from WMI - MPO online's unique technology called POD (Platform On Demand). By adopting this innovative POD distribution platform, The Orchard will offer the same level of service and tracking to French independent labels that they already have in France with Fnacmusic or Virginmega.

Because their catalogues are already encoded with WMI - MPO Online, labels can immediately plug into The Orchard's global distribution network of digital music retailers including Virginmega.fr, iTunes (France and global), Napster, MSN, Yahoo!/MusicMatch, Real/Rhapsody, and eMusic, as well as hundreds of mobile music stores, both for full track download and ringtones. Of course, all other independent labels in France can also take advantage of this new partnership to distribute their catalogues through this alliance, as well.

"It's a unique opportunity for 130 French labels to reach new retailers all over the world by using the POD back office" said Philippe Thorel WMI - MPO Online CEO.

"WMI's unique technology delivery platform enables us to take full advantage of our marketing and promotion capabilities. WMI's real-time reporting will enable us to more effectively build audiences for our labels' priority artists, and drive catalogue sales to fuel growth, benefiting both French artists globally, and the aficionados who appreciate their unique musical contributions," said Greg Scholl, chief executive of The Orchard and managing director of Dimensional Associates, Inc, the private equity fund that owns The Orchard, eMusic and Dimensional Music Publishing.

The Orchard manages a growing catalogue of more than 700,000 tracks, which it markets and distributes to all of the world's leading digital music stores, including eMusic, iTunes, Napster, MSN, Yahoo!/MusicMatch, and Real/Rhapsody and many others. The Orchard also distributes over 10,000 ringtones to the leading global mobile companies, maintaining the largest mobile network of any music distributor.

Jérôme Roger, director of SPPF said of the new global alliance, "The SPPF is pleased with this agreement. This technical agreement will help to renforce the transparency of the sales statistics and contribute to develop the digital distribution of French independent labels."

"This alliance will be the best tool for the French independent labels to promote their catalogue online around the world," added Sophie Mathieu, Executive Manager, French Bureau Export office.

About WMI - MPO Online
WMI - MPO Online is a digital service provider (DSP) since 2001, managing a B2B marketplace known as POD (Platform On Demand) where content supply and demand meet. Because of its download traceability technical measure, WMI - MPO On-Line is optimally positioned as the "trusted third party", an indispensable link between those who hold the content (POD suppliers) and those who want to exploit it (POD resellers).
POD platform has been selected by the French Indies labels organization (SPPF) in 2004 to setup its download data base for internet and mobile stores.

About The Orchard
The Orchard is the leading distributor and marketer of independent music in the world, representing thousands of labels spanning 73 countries and every music genre. The Orchard supplies its catalogue of more than 700,000 tracks to all of the leading legal digital music retailers and mobile operators throughout the world. The company is headquartered in New York and London, with operations in Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Tel Aviv, Hong Kong, Toronto, Kolkata, Johannesburg, Moscow and Melbourne, and local representatives in Paris, Milan, Berlin, Barcelona, Lausanne, Ramallah and Nairobi.