Hip-O Select Launches Volume Four of ``The Complete Motown Singles Project''

Business Wire)
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 2006--On February 24th, Hip-O
Select.com, a division of Universal Music Enterprises, will release
the fourth volume of "The Complete Motown Singles." The new
installment, entitled "The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 4: 1964,"
showcases the early history of the classic soul label on a 6-CD,
163-track set. It will feature the A-side and B-side of every single
released by Motown (and its subsidiaries) during the label's sixth
year of existence; this volume is highlighted by hits -- from The
Temptations, The Marvelettes, Martha & The Vandellas, Brenda Holloway,
Marvin Gaye and more, plus a few fascinating obscurities. This
collection will not be available at traditional retail; it will be
sold exclusively online at www.hip-oselect.com and via Apple's iTunes
site for electronic download.


The release is the latest phase of a plan that extends through 2009,
with Hip-O Select issuing further volumes covering all of Motown's
single releases during its tenure in Detroit. The label moved to Los
Angeles in 1972.

"We've had a tremendous response to the first three volumes of the
series from critics and fans alike," says Bruce Resnikoff, President,
UMe. "Motown encompasses a rich musical legacy, and we're giving it
the care and attention it deserves."

"In 1964, Motown becomes an international phenomenon," says Pat
Lawrence, Senior Vice-President, UMe. "The Supremes, the Temptations,
Martha & The Vandellas, Brenda Holloway and Marvin Gaye are
everywhere... the Holland-Dozier-Holland writing and production team
define 'The Motown Sound.'"

Packaging for the set resembles a scaled-down 78-rpm-era "album," with
cardboard sleeves to hold each of the discs, and 132 pages of rare
photos and notes. Each box will feature an actual reproduction 45 rpm
single of The Supremes' smash, "Where Did Our Love Go" b/w "He Means
The World To Me." The new volume includes a historical overview by Dr.
Todd Boyd, a Detroit native and today the Katherine and Frank Price
Endowed Chair for the Study of Race and Popular Culture at the USC
School of Cinema-Television, as well as a personal chronicle from
Janie Bradford, a Motown songwriter who was the company's front desk
receptionist that year. Track-by-track annotations have been written
by noted soul authors Bill Dahl and Keith Hughes, with assistance by
UMe VP Harry Weinger, who has overseen the project.

"This year at Motown begins with the Temptations busting open with
'The Way You Do The Things You Do' and ends with the release of their
iconic 'My Girl,' and in between is triumph after triumph," says
Weinger. "The Supremes have three No. 1 hits in a row, becoming the
company's symbol of success; the Four Tops break through; the Beatles
cover Motown songs; Motown is heard and seen around the world. Yet as
this volume shows, the company was still wading into several different
music styles, including country with the Mel-O-Dy label and pure pop
with JoAnne & The Triangles. It's fascinating, musically exciting, and
a thrill to listen to and read along."

Only 8000 copies of this limited-edition box set will ever be
manufactured. It is available exclusively on the web at
www.HipOSelect.com.

Hip-O Select is Universal Music Group's newest imprint, launched on
April 1, 2004. Selling directly to consumers exclusively through its
website, the label has released over ninety projects featuring artists
ranging from Johnny Ace to Stomu Yamashta. Hip-O Select received
special recognition from the Mojo Honours in 2005 for its reissue
program, as well as the Mojo magazine Reggae Reissue Of The Year award
in 2004. KCRW's Music Newsletter says, "Hip-O Select have quickly made
a name for themselves as the premier reissue label."