GREENSLEEVES SELECTS THE ORCHARD FOR GLOBAL DIGITAL MARKETING AND DISTRIBUTION

Deal Brings The Orchard Three Decades of Jamaican Music Heritage Including Seminal Tracks from Yellowman, Shabba Ranks, Tippa Irie, Gregory Isaacs and Beenie Man

New York, NY and London, UK – 12th March 2007 - The Orchard, the world’s leading digital distributor and marketer of independent music, today announced a marketing and digital distribution agreement with the acclaimed U.K. label Greensleeves, international home to many of Jamaica’s major reggae, ragga and dancehall artists.

Under the deal, the entire Greensleeves catalogue is now available at all leading digital music stores worldwide through The Orchard. The landmark label - which this year celebrates its 30th anniversary - joins The Orchard's other distributed imprints including Shanachie, Ariwa and Reggae Sunsplash, to make the industry’s largest and most comprehensive reggae offering for digital retail, mobile and synchronization licensing.

Greensleeves has built a formidable catalogue featuring recordings from many of Jamaica’s most renowned artists including Dr. Alimantado, Shaggy, Shabba Ranks, Gregory Isaacs, Tippa Irie, Pato Banton, Yellowman, Beenie Man, Eek-A-Mouse, Freddy MacGregor, Barrington Levy, Wailing Souls, Sizzla, Scientist and U-Roy. Along with an extensive program at iTunes, The Orchard has worked with eMusic to launch the “eMusic Dozen” on Greensleeves’ peerless catalogue. The eMusic Dozen, one of the site’s most popular features, includes a brief overview of a genre, era, label, place or artist, followed by concise, insightful reviews of the twelve best eMusic albums fitting the topic by the site’s expert editorial staff.

eMusic’s Greensleeves Dozen includes:
http://www.emusic.com/lists/showlist.html?lid=20046565

Commenting on the deal, Steve Weltman, chief executive of Greensleeves’ parent company The Zest Group Plc, said: “The Orchard has proven its leadership as a distribution and marketing company that puts the music first and understands how to market it. That’s why we chose The Orchard, and we believe that they’re better suited than any other company to help us maximize our catalogue. This is a big year for both Greensleeves and The Orchard, and we’re looking forward to working together vto turn new and old fans on to some of the best reggae sounds on the planet.”

“Few regions have had as much impact on the music industry as Jamaica, and Greensleeves has played a seminal role in exposing the world to that country’s music, be it roots reggae to dub to dancehall,” said Greg Scholl, chief executive of The Orchard. “It’s time that this great music is made available to its many global fans through new digital and mobile retail channels everywhere.”

About Greensleeves
Greensleeves has pioneered the international rise of Jamaican music over the past 30 years. Launched in 1977 as an adjunct to a small specialist record store in West London, Greensleeves has built one of the world’s most formidable catalogues of reggae music. The label, with offices in both London and New York, has an established presence in a number of markets, particularly the UK, the USA, Japan, France, Germany, Benelux, Canada and Scandinavia. Greensleeves was acquired by the Zest Group plc in 2006.

About The Orchard
The Orchard is the world’s leading digital distributor and marketer of independent music, with a catalogue of more than one million tracks representing 73 countries, thousands of labels, and every music genre. This catalogue includes titles from multi-platinum acts such as Green Day, Coldplay, Ray Charles, and Ice T, as well as from breaking bands like The Hold Steady, Bedouin Soundclash, and Immortal Technique. The Orchard supplies all the leading legal digital music stores and mobile operators throughout the world and markets its labels’ catalogues for sync song placements in films, commercials, and television shows. The company is owned by Dimensional Associates, the private equity arm of JDS Capital Management, Inc. whose portfolio companies also include eMusic and Dimensional Music Publishing. The Orchard is headquartered in New York and London, with offices in 27 countries and six continents.