Grammy Surround Music Alliance Premieres in Nashville.

Entertainment Editors/Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

GRAMMY Surround Music Alliance

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 2004

Recording Academy(R) and Surround Sound's Leading Manufacturers to

Demonstrate the Exciting Audio Breakthrough of 5.1 Surround Sound for

Professionals, Students, and Consumers at Debut Event on May 19

The Recording Academy(R)'s Producers & Engineers (P&E) Wing has chosen Nashville to kick off its GRAMMY(R) Surround Music Alliance Premiere on May 19, 2004. The GRAMMY Surround Music Alliance is an unprecedented summit of Surround Sound's major manufacturers in conjunction with the Recording Academy, whose goal is to help increase awareness and promote the musical experience of 5.1 Surround Sound.

Legendary nine-time GRAMMY award-winning producer Phil Ramone will host an exciting two-hour presentation filled with music and entertainment. Special guests will include some of today's leading artists, producers and engineers who are on the cutting-edge of the Surround Sound music explosion, including: Chuck Ainlay, Tony Brown, BT, Ed Cherney, Mick Jones of Foreigner, Ken Jordan of The Crystal Method, Bob Ludwig, George Massenburg, Elliot Scheiner, and Eric Schilling.

The event will be held at Nashville's prestigious Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in the Symphony Ballroom in two sessions. The day's festivities begin at noon with a tradeshow exposition where manufacturers will demonstrate the latest technology in Surround Sound, followed by Presentation I from 2-4 p.m., and then a reception/tradeshow from 4-5:30 p.m. Beginning at 6 p.m., Presentation II will be held, followed by a reception/tradeshow from 8-9 p.m.

"This debut presentation by the GRAMMY Surround Music Alliance is an extraordinary opportunity for Academy members, music professionals, students, and consumers to have a direct dialog with many of Surround Sound's leading manufacturers, artists, and music makers, and to experience firsthand the future of entertainment," said Recording Academy President Neil Portnow. "This is exactly the kind of cutting-edge outreach that keeps the Academy's P&E Wing at the forefront of the evolving digital frontier."

In an effort to clarify and promote Surround Sound, the Recording Academy's P&E Wing brought together 11 music manufacturers and organizations that are the most active proponents of this format and created the GRAMMY Surround Music Alliance. These manufacturers and organizations include: Audio-Technica, CEA, Guitar Center Professional, Dolby, DTS Entertainment, Genelec, JBL Professional, Lexicon, Microsoft, Panasonic/ELS Surround, and UMG/SONY/Philips.

"It was important to bring together these Surround Sound leaders as audio-visual technology evolves towards complete and total immersion into sound and picture," said Academy P&E Wing Director Leslie Lewis. "We're grateful to all of our Alliance partners for their commitment and support, and we're excited to give the public a chance to participate and engage in this groundbreaking experience."

On February 23, 2003, the Emmy(R) Award-winning 45th GRAMMY Awards telecast became the first awards show to be broadcast in high definition television and 5.1 Surround Sound. The Recording Academy (home to the GRAMMY Awards) and Surround Sound's leading manufacturers will showcase their unprecedented alliance with a comprehensive and entertaining presentation of this groundbreaking audio technology. Additionally, all attendees will receive a copy of the Producers & Engineers Wing's "Recommendations For Surround Sound Production" paper, which provides all of the supplemental and in-depth technical information about 5.1 Surround Sound.

The Producers & Engineers Wing (P&E Wing) is a national membership division of the Recording Academy established for producers, engineers, remixers, manufacturers, technologists, and other related creative and technical professionals in the recording community. The P&E Wing provides the Academy with a vehicle to reach a specific constituency, to craft advocacy positions, and to better address the daily concerns of these professionals.

More than 5,500 professionals comprise the P&E Wing. This organized voice for the creative and technical recording community addresses issues that affect the craft of recorded music, while ensuring its role in the development of new technologies, recording and mastering recommendations, and archiving and preservation initiatives. The Wing builds on the existing regional professional development activities of the Academy, which include workshops, forums and panel discussions, all occur locally and nationally throughout the year. For more information, please visit www.grammy.com/pe_wing.