Sonopress Debuts DualDisc Sampler at South by Southwest; Festival Attendees Receive New Media That Contains CD and DVD on One Disc.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Sonopress LLC, a world leader in media services and turnkey production operations, will introduce a sampler contained on the new media product, DualDisc, to approximately 9,600 South by Southwest festival attendees in Austin, Texas, March 11 - 20. The DualDisc sampler, entitled Independents(ce) '05, includes music from a variety of independent artists on a CD-audio side and a series of music videos and information about DualDisc on a DVD side. Sonopress produced the sampler as a demonstration of the new product's potential and to serve as an example of the company's DualDisc manufacturing capabilities.

"South by Southwest has a long standing reputation of showcasing brilliant musical talent and Sonopress is privileged to manufacture a product that will showcase some of the most successful independent artists of 2004," said Andrew DaPuzzo, director of sales - audio, Sonopress. "We are pleased to extend Sonopress' position as a leader in the production of new multimedia products by releasing the Independents (ce) '05 DualDisc sampler to the attendees of South by Southwest. We are very excited about the possibilities of this product and look forward to the continued success of DualDisc in the years to come."

TVT Records, Koch Records, Victory Records and World's Fair Label Group have all provided audio and video content from the independent artists that are showcased on Independents (ce) '05's CD player side including Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz, Hacienda Brothers, Dallas Wayne, Maia Sharp, Hawthorne Heights, Ambulance LTD, The Vacation, Comback Kid, The Blue Van, The Black Maria, I am Kloot, The Stands, Giant Drag, and The Cribs. The DualDisc's DVD side includes videos from Blackfield, Hawthorne Heights, Ambulance LTD, Beth Hart, The Blue Van, Straylight Run, Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz, along with information about DualDisc technology, Sonopress and M1 DVD. M1 DVD provided their authoring and design expertise for the DualDisc DVD side. The discs will be included in the South by Southwest 2005 Conferences Big Bag Tote that will be given to each attendee.

About DualDisc

A DualDisc is a branded product that is a standard DVD 5 on one side while the opposite side contains music that can be played in nearly all CD players. Along with specific packaging requirements, DualDisc will require that the same music found on the CD player side must also be available on the DVD side. The music on the DVD side can be as simple as standard LPCM or as rich as 5.1 DVD-Audio. The audio on the CD player side must be less than 60 minutes 17 seconds including any additional ROM data and buffers. In order to be considered a DualDisc, some video content must be included, the extent to which has not yet been established by the RIAA.

About Sonopress

Sonopress LLC, part of arvato, a Bertelsmann company, is a global leader in media replication and turnkey services. Sonopress possesses the technological expertise to produce the widest variety of analog and digital media formats currently on the market (cassettes, CD, DVD, DVD Hybrid). The company's services include pre-mastering, optical mastering and replication, graphics sourcing, packaging, assembling, warehousing and distribution. The Sonopress global network, with more than 3,900 employees, places customer service and product quality as its top priorities. For further information visit: www.sonopress.com.

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