THE ORCHARD EXTENDS LEAD IN EUROPE WITH NEW OFFICES IN GREECE, BULGARIA, AND ROMANIA

Partnerships Yield Digital Distribution and Marketing Agreements with Top Labels in Each Territory, Including Lyra, Vitality Music, Gega New, Stefkos Music, IF, Cat Music, Roton, and Intercont

SEVILLE – October 28, 2006, – The Orchard, the world’s leading digital distributor and marketer of independent music, today announced the opening of offices in Greece, Bulgaria/Macedonia, and Romania/Moldavia, along with important new digital distribution and marketing agreements with many of the most important labels in those regions, including Lyra, Vitality Music, Gega New, Stefkos Music, IF, Cat Music, Roton, and Intercont Music. The announcement was made at the World Music Expo (WOMEX) Conference in Seville.

The Orchard’s offices in Athens, Greece; Sofia, Bulgaria; and Bucharest, Romania are overseen, respectively, by music industry veterans Lia Mansola, Bobby Ivanchev, and Alina Mihaela Nemes. All three executives report to Miki Tunis, The Orchard’s general manager for Europe.

“The Orchard’s Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania offices will contribute greatly to our expanding presence in Europe,” said Greg Scholl, chief executive of The Orchard. “Lia, Bobby, and Alina bring a wealth of experience to their roles, and working with Miki they are helping The Orchard cement leadership positions in Europe. We are seeing major results from these partnerships with important label signings that give us a substantial presence in all three countries. We look forward to continuing our business in these territories through worldwide sales of local repertoire, local digital retail and mobile sales, and other income opportunities like local synchronization licensing.”

GREECE
The first signing from The Orchard’s Athens office is Lyra General Publishing Company S.A., largest and most important music label in Greece, with a rich catalogue of music dating back to the 1960s Greek singer/songwriter movement. Prior to joining The Orchard, Mansola headed up BMG Greece and worked with such established European brands as Buongiorno-Vitaminic, Fame Studio, and Heaven Music (the latter two part of the Antenna group). Her extensive experience also encompasses general management, marketing, special products, advertising, and book publishing.

BULGARIA
As The Orchard’s representative in Sofia, Ivanchev has signed digital distribution and marketing agreements with four of the top 10 labels in Bulgaria: Vitality Music, Gega New, Stefkos Music, and IF. Prior to joining The Orchard, Ivanchev was the BMG representative for Bulgaria and Romania from 1992-1997 before leaving to co-found AveNew productions, a Bulgaria-based label he still runs. He then co-founded Vitality Music Publishing, the sub-publisher of both BMG Music Publishing and Sony/ATV Publishing, and Vitality Music, the licensee of Sony BMG, among other labels. Ivanchev is a member of the Board of PROPHON (Neighboring Rights Collecting Society in Bulgaria) and a member of the Board of BAMP, Bulgaria’s IFPI affiliate.

ROMANIA
In Romania, Nemes has signed digital distribution and marketing deals with top local labels Cat Music, Roton, and Intercont Music, which together make up approximately 60% of the post-Communist Romanian music market. In addition to managing The Orchard’s Romanian operations, Nemes is managing partner of ROL.ro, a leading Romanian Internet portal. Nemes is also a partner of independent label Colibri Music. Prior to taking on these roles, Nemes was executive director at PCNET, one of Romania’s leading Internet service providers.

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 Daniela Mercury, 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