V2 North America and Sheridan Square Entertainment Form New Company

    NEW YORK, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- V2 North America and Sheridan Square
 Entertainment today announced the formation of a new company.  In a deal that
 has the full backing of the existing Management team at V2 North America and
 V2 globally, Sheridan Square Entertainment has not only acquired the assets
 of V2 North America (which will continue to trade under the V2 brand name)
 for a substantial consideration, but have formed a unique global partnership
 with V2 Group.
     The new company will continue to have rights to market V2's global
 repertoire which goes from strength to strength in a similar link, in which
 V2 Group will become the international licensee for V2 North America's titles
 and other product from Sheridan Square. This will not only ensure that V2
 North America can flourish as a stand alone North American company but will
 retain enviable international links and a global platform unique amongst
 independent record companies.
     Andy Gershon, CEO V2 North America:  "The Management team of V2 North
 America believes that by becoming a stand alone entity in North America
 through the formation of a new company with Sheridan Square and retaining all
 the advantages of strong international ties with V2 Group, a best of both
 worlds scenario is realized.  We will not only continue to develop a
 fantastic range of artists but have the key benefits of strong backing and an
 international infrastructure and release schedule. Releases from The White
 Stripes and Moby have helped make 2005 successful and 2006 is looking to be a
 fantastic year for us with new releases ranging from the sick, cutting edge
 comedy of The Aristocrats to the legendary Ray Davies and the incredibly
 talented Josh Ritter.  In addition, new records from the Mooney Suzuki, The
 Greenhornes, The Adored, Gosling, and Every Move a Picture (amongst others)
 should make for a very exciting year."
     Sheridan Square Entertainment Inc. is a full service independent music
 company based in New York. Its label group includes Artemis Records, Artemis
 Classics, Vanguard Classics, Triloka Records, Tone-Cool Records, Ropeadope
 and Compendia. Its artists include Grammy award winners Steve Earle and
 Warren Zevon, Sugarcult, Better Than Ezra, and The Rosewood Thieves amongst
 many others. Additionally, Sheridan owns the distribution company Musicrama,
 and represents substantial publishing catalogues.
     SSE's Co-CEO Anil Narang commented, "We are incredibly excited about the
 acquisition and global partnership with Virgin's V2 Group.  Sheridan Square
 gains access to a strong catalog and artist roster, as well as a talented
 management team.  The ability to tap into V2 Group's global repertoire and
 infrastructure will enable Sheridan Square to build scale internationally,
 yet focus on its core strategy of rights acquisitions in North America.  The
 deal is highly complementary, as both sides value the importance of strategic
 relationships in a market as difficult and dynamic as this one."
     V2 Group (International) will continue to have a presence in the North
 American market through its Miami based E-Musica venture, which owns the
 legendary Fania music catalogue and is pursuing a number of other catalogue
 opportunities, to exploit the rapidly growing interest in Latin music.
     Sir Richard Branson comments:  "This is one of those rare win-win
 situations in today's difficult market for the record industry as a whole.
 This deal with Sheridan Square and V2 North America, and our continued
 presence in North America with deals such as Emusica under V2 International,
 will allow both companies to flourish and develop in a way that is true to
 their core strategies.   This new relationship will allow V2 Group to
 concentrate on core markets of UK/Europe and the rest of the world, and
 continue our aggressive catalogue acquisition strategy in the US -- whilst
 remaining involved in a close partnership in North America.  Both businesses
 will be free to move forward and maximize their development potential."
 
     Editors Notes :
     Artists -- V2 North America
     Ane Brun, Blanche, Blood Brothers, Buck 65, Carla Bruni, Charlie Mars,
 Danny Federici, Dogs Die In Hot Cars, Elbow, Every Move A Picture, Gang of
 Four, Grandaddy, I Am Sam soundtrack, Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan, Jim
 White, Josh Ritter, Katy Rose, Los Amigos Invisibles, Madness, Mercury Rev,
 Moby, Nouvelle Vague, Paul Weller, Ray Davies, Rickie Lee Jones, Roman
 Candle, Stereophonics, Stina Nordenstam, Syd Matters, The Adored, The Crystal
 Method, The Datsuns, The Greenhornes, The Icarus Line, The White Stripes,
 Toots and the Maytals, Underworld, Voodoo Child, Whirlwind Heat
 
 

SOURCE  V2 North America