2nd Annual Surround Music Awards Announce Nominees; Honors Led Zeppelin as Surround Artist of the Year, Frank Zappa as 2003 Surround Pioneer; Ceremonies to Include Special Tribute Performance by Dweezil Zappa.

NEW YORK, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- The Second Annual Surround Music Awards (SMAs) have announced the nominees for this year's awards, naming Led Zeppelin as Surround Artist of the Year for the band's self-titled breakthrough DVD box set, and honoring legendary late rocker Frank Zappa as 2003 Surround Pioneer. The award ceremony, which will recognize outstanding achievement in the arts and sciences of surround recordings, is scheduled to take place on Thursday, December 11, 2003 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel during the first day of Surround 2003: the 5th Annual International Surround Conference and Showcase.

The SMA ceremony will once again be hosted by Grammy Award winners Ed Cherney and Al Schmitt. This year's ceremony will feature a special live on-stage tribute performance to Pioneer Winner Frank Zappa by his son Dweezil Zappa. Last year, special surprise guests included David Crosby, who joined his musical partner Graham Nash on stage for performances of their classics following Nash's win as 2002 Surround Artist of the Year.

A limited number of tickets are available for $85 each or a table of ten for $750 by registering online at http://www.surroundpro.com/. Admission to the SMA ceremony is free with a full-paid $199 registration to the 5th Annual Surround Conference.

"The Surround Music Awards celebrates those innovators who are creating the next wave of musical entertainment," said Martin Porter, senior vice president of United Entertainment Media, producer of Surround 2003. "The annual SMA ceremony recognizes the best work of the year and pays tribute to the pioneering individuals responsible for pushing the creative envelope beyond stereo recording. But most of all, we sit together as a small but rapidly growing community of musicians, engineers, producers and record labels that understand that surround is truly the future of musical entertainment."

  The nominees for the 2nd Annual Surround Music Awards are:

   BEST ADDITIONAL FEATURES
   Uncivilized Love; Gus Black [5.1 Entertainment/Immergent Records]
   Start Here: DVD-A Sampler; Various [AIX Records]
   Halloween; Frank Zappa [DTS Entertainment]
   Wake: Sheila Nicholls [DTS Entertainment]
   Dark Side of the Moon: Classic Album; Pink Floyd [Eagle Rock
    Entertainment]

   BEST CONCERT VIDEO
   Deacon John's Jump Blues: Concert of Music from the Film; Deacon John
    Moore [AIX Records w/Vetter Communications]
   Broozed, Boozed, and Broken Boned; Black Label Society [Eagle Rock
    Entertainment]
   Live in Hawaii; Janet Jackson [Eagle Rock Entertainment]
   An Evening with the Dixie Chicks; Dixie Chicks [Sony/Columbia]
   Led Zeppelin; Led Zeppelin [Warner Bros. (Atlantic)]

   BEST MADE-FOR-SURROUND TITLE
   Surrounded; Tipper [5.1 Entertainment/Myutopia Records]
   Halloween; Frank Zappa [DTS Entertainment]
   Sacred Love; Sting [Universal/A&M Records]
   Everything Must Go; Steely Dan [Warner Bros.]
   Producers Cut<; Emmylou Harris [Warner Bros.]

   BEST MENU DESIGN
   Surrounded; Tipper [5.1 Entertainment/Myutopia Records]
   Etterna; Emma Shapplin [DTS Entertainment]
   Trilogy-Live in Berlin; The Cure [Eagle Rock Entertainment]
   The Globe Sessions; Sheryl Crow [Universal/A&M Records]
   Kamakiriad; Donald Fagan [Warner Bros. (Reprise)]

   BEST MIX: NON-ORCHESTRAL
   The Game; Queen [DTS Entertainment]
   Alison Krauss+Union Station Live; Alison Kraus [Rounder]
   Blonde on Blonde; Bob Dylan [Sony/Columbia]
   Heavier Things; John Mayer [Sony/Columbia]
   Rendezvous in New York; Chick Corea [Stretch]

   BEST MIX: ORCHESTRAL
   Firebird Suite/Bolero; Stravinsky/Ravel [AIX Records]
   Deacon John's Jump Blues: Music from the Film; Deacon John Moore [AIX
    Records w/Vetter Communications]
   With The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra; Michael Feinstein [Concord
    Records]
   Alan Houhaness: Mysterious Mountains; Gerard Schwarz/Royal Liverpool
    Philharmonic Orchestra [Telarc]
   Shostakovich Symphony #7; Vealery Gergiev [Universal/Decca]

   BEST MULTICHANNEL REISSUE
   Ace of Spades; Motorhead [5.1 Entertainment/Silverline Records]
   Dark Side of the Moon; Pink Floyd [Capitol Records]
   Ravel/Bolero; Minnesota Orchestra [Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab]
   Chicago II; Chicago [Warner Bros. (Rhino)]
   Fragile; Yes [Warner Bros. (Rhino/Elektra)]

   BEST STANDARD RESOLUTION TITLE
   Guitar Noir; Laurence Juber [AIX Records]
   SNL: 25 Years of Music; Various [Broadway Video]
   Brazilian Romance; Various Artists [DTS Entertainment]
   Sound Stgae Performances; The Doors [Eagle Rock Entertainment]
   An Evening with the Dixie Chicks; Dixie Chicks [Sony/Columbia]

   MOST ADVENTUROUS MIX
   KAJE; KAJE [3Bone Audio]
   Surrounded; Tipper [5.1 Entertainment/Myutopia Records]
   Dark Side of the Moon; Pink Floyd [Capitol Records]
   The Wraith: Shangri-La; Insane Clown Posse [DTS Entertainment]
   Sea Change; Beck [Universal/Interscope]

   HORIZON AWARD
   Another Mind, Hiromi [Telarc]
   KAJE, KAJE [3 Bone Audio]
   The Window, David Elias [David Elias]
   Un Segundo Una Vida, Romero [333 Entertainment]
   So Glad You Made It, Kane [BMG-Netherlands]
   Off Space, Christian Halten [Skylife]
   Heavier Things, John Mayer [Sony/Columbia]
   Wake, Sheila Nichols [DTS Entertainment]

To register online for the Surround Music Awards Ceremony and the Surround 2003 conference program, please visit http://www.surroundpro.com/.

Presented by United Entertainment Media (UEM), a CMP Information company, the annual Surround Conference is the premier, international networking and education opportunity for engineers and producers on the leading edge of the surround sound revolution. Professionals attend Surround 2003 to share ideas and techniques, and to immerse themselves in the latest technologies presented by showcase exhibitors.

CONTACT: Anthony P. Montesano of United Entertainment Media, [phone], [e-mail]

Web site: http://www.uemedia.com/ http://www.surroundpro.com/