Four Leading Independent Labels Choose The Orchard for Digital Marketing and Distribution

Dim Mak, Norton, CornerstoneRAS/Park The Van, and Surfdog Expand The Orchard’s Indie Rock, Hip-Hop, Reggae, Surf, and Rockabilly Offerings

NEW YORK – September 13, 2006, – The Orchard, the world’s leading digital distributor and marketer of independent music, today announced that it has signed digital distribution and marketing agreements with four leading independent labels: Dim Mak Records, Norton Records, CornerstoneRAS/Park the Van, and Surfdog Records.

“These four labels are leaders in their respective genres, with landmark recordings from the likes of Pretty Girls Make Graves, Ben Lee, Public Enemy, Brian Setzer, Gary Hoey, Link Wray, Hasil Adkins, the Ramones, The Ziggens, AWOL One, Dr. Dog, and many more,” said Greg Scholl, chief executive of The Orchard. “We are committed to work with Dim Mak, Norton, Cornerstone, and Surfdog to market their music and get it heard.”

“Digital distribution allows for unique marketing approaches that just aren’t possible in the physical world, and The Orchard is ideally equipped to help us build audiences for our artists and sell our records in new and innovative ways,” said Ana Calderon, label manager for Dim Mak. “As we enter our 10th year in business, we are excited to partner with The Orchard to take our digital efforts to the next level.”

“Billy and I are excited about teaming up with The Orchard, finally getting the Norton sound out to the uninitiated with all the finesse and pizzazz that The Orchard is known for,” said Miriam Linna, co-founder of Norton Records with Billy Miller. “We're especially hopped up about getting our vinyl knockouts into the digital stratosphere, alongside our heavy bevy of rambunctious CD releases! Minus one – blast off!”

Surfdog general manager Niels Schroeter added, “Aligning ourselves with The Orchard will maximize our potential in the digital distribution space. With all they bring to the table, we view them as a strong marketing partner.”

Following is background on the labels:

DIM MAK
Dim Mak was founded in 1996 by Steve Aoki, a young DJ, musician, and entrepreneur with a vision of providing a community oriented label for indie rock, hip-hop, and underground musicians in Southern California and beyond. The label started with a 7-inch release by an obscure hardcore band and has since grown into one of the industry’s most acclaimed independents, with a wide-ranging roster that includes The Rakes, Bloc Party, The Icarus Line, Whitey, Scanners, Pony Up, Annie, Neon Blonde, The Kills, Von Bondies, Soledad Brothers, JR Ewing, The Gossip, Pretty Girls Make Graves, Envy, Dollhouse, Dance Disaster Movement, and more.

NORTON
Norton Records was launched in 1986 by New York musicians Miriam Linna and Billy Miller as an extension of their fanzine “Kicks.” The label’s diverse roster spans garage, wild rockabilly, punk, R&B, blues, and other genres, and includes landmark releases from Hasil Adkins, Link Wray, Esquerita, the Mighty Hannibal, Doug Sahm, the Real Kids, the New York Dolls, the Ramones, Andre Williams, Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las, and many other seminal artists. The agreement between Norton and The Orchard marks the label’s 20th anniversary and the first time in its history that it has distributed its catalogue in the digital marketplace. In addition, many of Norton’s prized archival recordings – including early demos by the Ramones – have never been issued on CD, so their digital release will mark their first appearance in the post-vinyl era.

CORNERSTONE RAS/PARK THE VAN
Cornerstone Recording Arts Society (RAS) began in 1996 as the team responsible for marketing the band Sublime and developed into one of the most eclectic and diverse labels of the past decade. The label’s roster includes surf-rock-punk-a-billy legends The Ziggens, Los Angeles hip-hop pioneers AWOL One and 2Mex, Aussie rockers The Beautiful Girls, and German funk-master Monsieur Leroc. CornerstoneRAS is also partners with Park The Van, a label that migrated from its former home in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to its current base in Philadelphia. Park The Van’s roster includes Dr. Dog, The Capitol Years, and the Teeth.

SURFDOG
Based in Encinitas, CA, Surfdog Records was founded in 1993 by Dave Kaplan, an artist manager. The label’s passion for music includes an eclectic array of genres spanning rock, big band swing, reggae, punk, Latin, folk, rockabilly, and hip-hop. Surfdog has released over 60 albums by artists such as Brian Setzer, Stray Cats, Butthole Surfers, Slightly Stoopid, Richard Cheese, Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks, Gary Hoey, Wylde Bunch, and many more.

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 Barenaked Ladies, 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 23 countries and six continents. For more information, please visit: www.theorchard.com