New Entity to Feature a Marquee Brand From the Past and a New Paradigm for
Music's Future - Utilizing CBS's Television and Media Platforms to Market
and Distribute Music
CBS Records Announces its Songs, Music Videos and More Will Be Available on
iTunes
NEW YORK, Dec. 15 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CBS Corporation is
launching a new music label that will draw upon one of the great names in
music history -- CBS Records -- and the considerable mass media assets
across its Company to market and distribute new music, it was announced
today by Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer, CBS
Corporation. An emphasis of the new label will be to build awareness for
CBS Records' artists and songs by integrating music into CBS television
series.
In unveiling the new entity, CBS also announced plans to make songs,
music videos and other music-related content from CBS Records available for
purchase and download at the iTunes Store (http://www.itunes.com ).
Offering an alternative approach to introducing music into the
marketplace, CBS Records will build a select roster of artists from the
limitless ranks of independent musicians who write and perform their own
songs with an initial focus on digital distribution of their content. In
addition to the iTunes Store, the music will be offered through
http://www.cbsrecords.com , as well as other agreements with online and
wireless providers that will be announced at a later date. CBS Records will
also offer physical distribution through partnerships with outside companies.
"CBS is one of the most powerful entertainment brands in the world, and
music represents a natural and complementary extension of our content
assets," said Moonves. "With more consumers choosing the online download
model as the preferred way to purchase their favorite songs, we have an
opportunity to use our unique and broad collection of media platforms to
create a new music label paradigm for a small price of admission."
"The marriage of television and music with CBS Records offers
tremendous creative and commercial potential for everyone," said Nancy
Tellem, President, CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group.
"Our artists will have access to an incredibly powerful medium (television)
to drive music sales; our television producers will have greater
flexibility to use music as a creative enhancement in their shows; and our
Company will be able to reduce the Network and studio's music licensing
cost center while transforming it into a new revenue stream."
CBS Records will harness the powerful marketing reach of the
Corporation's diverse portfolio of mass media platforms to promote its
music and talent directly to millions of consumers.
* Music from CBS Records will be included in primetime entertainment
series on the CBS Television Network's top-rated schedule,as well as on
shows broadcast across all day parts.
* Artists and songs will be incorporated into programs produced by CBS
Paramount Television, which supplies programming to the broadcast,basic
and pay cable television networks. CBS Paramount's slate of shows
includes "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS),"Everybody HatesChris"
(The CW), "Medium" (NBC) and "The 4400" (USA Network), to name just a
few.
* Artists and their music will be available to programs on CBS's sister
network The CW, which features some of television's most popular shows
with young viewers, including "America's Next Top Model"; and on
CBS-owned Showtime, a leading premium cable network with cutting-edge
programming such as "Weeds" and "Dexter."
* Music videos and other music-related content will be streamed on CBS's
broadband channel "innertube," which offers a wide range of free
content
to Internet users.
* Music videos, artist performances and music from CBS Records that is
integrated into television programming will also be showcased as part
of
CBS's content and marketing partnerships with YouTube, and other
digital
outlets, as well as on wireless carriers.
* CBS Records will draw upon the Company's extensive reach to college
students through the CSTV Networks, which includes websites for 240
colleges across the country and 100 broadband channels.
"We will continue to work closely with our friends and colleagues at
the other labels to put their music and artists in our television shows in
all day parts," said Jack Sussman, Executive Vice President, Specials,
Music and Live Events, CBS Entertainment. "With CBS Records, we also have
the ability to discover and develop new musical talent, deliver their
content to the consumer, and provide them exposure on all of our various
media platforms, including the biggest stage of all -- network television."
As part of its launch, CBS Records has signed several artists to its
initial talent roster, including:
* Will Dailey, who was recently named Best Male Singer/Songwriter at the
2006 Boston Music Awards. CBS Records will release Dailey's debut
album, Back Flipping Forward. Featured on that album is the song "Grand
Opening," which was heard in the Nov. 29th episode of "Jericho," on the
CBS Television Network.
* P.J. Olsson, a 2007 Grammy Award nominee. Olsson's Words For Living
album was a critical favorite, and his music has been featured
prominently in commercials, on several network series and in films.
Olsson has appeared on the "Late Show with David Letterman" and other
national broadcasts. He's currently working on his CBS Records debut
album.
* Indie rock band Senor Happy, whose music has been featured on several
series on MTV and VH1. Their album, I'm Sorry, will be released by CBS
Records in January 2007. Their song, "Love If You're Real," will be
featured on the Dec. 15th episode of "Ghost Whisperer," on CBS.
CBS Records will be launched primarily utilizing the existing
infrastructure of CBS Entertainment and CBS Interactive. It will operate as
a newly created unit within the Entertainment division based in Los
Angeles, reporting to Tellem.
Larry Jenkins, a 23-year music industry veteran with vast experience at
major labels and currently head of his own management company, L J
Entertainment, has been brought onboard to consult for CBS Records during
the primary launch phase. Jenkins will work closely with Sussman, as well
as Amy Osler, Vice President, Music, CBS Entertainment and CBS Paramount
Network Television, and Jeff Sellinger from CBS Interactive to sign new
talent, hire key music industry executives for the new venture and work
with the various divisions to promote and distribute CBS Records music.
CBS Records has a long and storied history dating back to 1938. Over
the next 50 years, the company's labels were home to some of the greatest
artists in the history of recorded music, including Aerosmith, Tony
Bennett, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Earth, Wind & Fire, Billie Holiday, Billy
Joel, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, Barbra Streisand, and many more. In
1988, CBS Records was acquired by Sony, and a few years later, its assets
were integrated into Sony Music Entertainment.
CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS.A and CBS) is a mass media company with
constituent parts that reach back to the beginnings of the broadcast
industry, as well as newer businesses that operate on the leading edge of
the media industry. The Company, through its many and varied operations,
combines broad reach with well-positioned local businesses, all of which
provide it with an extensive distribution network by which it serves
audiences and advertisers in all 50 states and key international markets.
It has operations in virtually every field of media and entertainment,
including broadcast television (CBS and The CW -- a joint venture between
CBS Corporation and Warner Bros. Entertainment), cable television (Showtime
and CSTV Networks), local television (CBS Television Stations), television
production and syndication (CBS Paramount Network Television and CBS
Television Distribution Group), radio (CBS Radio), advertising on
out-of-home media (CBS Outdoor), publishing (Simon & Schuster), digital
media (CBS Interactive and CSTV Networks) and consumer products (CBS
Consumer Products). For more information, log on to
http://www.cbscorporation.com.
Related links:
http://www.cbsrecords.com
http://www.cbscorporation.com
