• United Entertainment Media Merges Web and Print Initiatives - Company Completes Process of Integrating Music Player Network -
• Donnie McClurkin Goes Gold With Powerful Solo Album 'Live in London and More'
• Motown's India.Arie Debuts no.10 Pop Tour With MaxWell Starts in May
• New Blink 182 album is out in June

United Entertainment Media Merges Web and Print Initiatives - Company Completes Process of Integrating Music Player Network -

United Entertainment Media (UEM) has now fully integrated MusicPlayer.com, the leading music internet portal, into the Music Player Network (MPN). MusicPlayer.com joins core print properties such as Guitar Player, Keyboard, Bass Player, MC2, GIG, EQ, and their companion Web sites. These industry-leading publications and Web destinations continue to define the standard of excellence in publications for serious and professional musicians along with new titles such as Rumble, an edgier alternative for younger guitarists and bass players, and Extreme Groove, a magazine, radio show, and Web site dedicated to professional DJs and remixers.

"The Internet has a unique role for musicians, but truly fulfills its maximum potential as part of a group of related properties," states UEM CEO Paul Gallo. "While MusicPlayer.com will continue to retain its own voice, we want to develop the collaborative editorial and commercial possibilities implicit in a fully integrated network of offline and online properties."

Allen Wald, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Music Player Network adds, "MusicPlayer.com extends the long-standing editorial integrity of our magazine group beyond the pages of our magazines, providing broader reach and deeper penetration into all the markets we serve. We believe this provides a distinct selling advantage for all our advertisers and a richer experience for our readers."

The MusicPlayer.com editorial team remains in place, and expands into additional areas. As MusicPlayer.com Online Publisher Jon Chappell notes, "We are already doing this with great success. Guitar Channel editor Andy Ellis works with both Guitar Player and MusicPlayer.com; Russ Reign is the editor for Extreme Groove and is a contributor to the DJ Channel, while Creative Director Craig Anderton also writes columns for many of the magazines. These alliances reinforce all aspects of the network."

Changes in the site will be few but significant. More emphasis will be placed on the highly popular Expert Forums (including such luminaries as Grammy-Award-winning engineer Roger Nichols), and the underlying technology will be changed to more easily accommodate audio and video media. Other popular features, such as the News Updates and Classifieds, will be retained.

Gallo concludes, "We are proud of what we've accomplished so far with MusicPlayer.com; in the months to come, MPN will re-focus its entire Internet initiative on core markets, further strengthening the Music Player Network's position as the number one brand in information, entertainment, and education for the music industry."

For more information, contact Allen Wald, General Manager of the Music Player Network at awald@musicplayer.com or Jon Chappell, Online Publisher of MusicPlayer.com at jchappell@musicplayer.com.

United Entertainment Media, Inc. produces magazines, books, web sites, and tradeshows for musicians and the professional audio, video, and installation industries. The Music Player Network includes MusicPlayer.com, Guitar Player, Bass Player, Keyboard, Gig, MC2, Extreme Groove, Rumble, MusicGearOnline, Backbeat Books, and The Music Yellow Pages. The Entertainment Technology Network includes EQ, Pro Sound News, Surround Professional, Systems Contractor News, Medialine, Residential Systems, Videography, Government Video, Digital TV (Television Broadcast), Digital Cinema, AutoMedia, Car Sound & Performance, Tuner Shop, Government Video Technology Expo, Studio Business, and Surround 2001. United Entertainment Media, Inc. is an operating division of United Business Media Intl a wholly owned subsidiary of United Business Media, plc. (Nasdaq: UNEWY)

Donnie McClurkin Goes Gold With Powerful Solo Album 'Live in London and More'

NEW YORK- Outstanding male vocalist Donnie McClurkin, has been officially awarded Gold sales certification by the Recording Industry Association of America for his Verity Records debut album "Live In London and More."

"Live In London and More" debuted at the top of the charts, peaking at #1 on the Current Gospel Chart and at #22 on the Current R&B/Hip Hop Chart. Present success with the hit single "We Fall Down" has spurred sales in recent weeks, as has the addition of the song's video on BET.

The powerful lyrics of "We Fall Down" have touched a chord with people from all denominations and backgrounds. Several popular R&B radio stations in major markets such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, Houston and others, have all added the record.

McClurkin, a Grammy-nominated singer, can also be seen on recent television appearances such as BET's "Celebration of Gospel;" and on the upcoming 2001 Dove Awards and Essence Awards telecasts.

"Live In London and More" which was recorded at the historic Fairfield Hall in Croyden, England is McClurkin's second Gold album (his first was a self-titled album released on Warner Bros.) and is available in stores everywhere.

Contact:for Donnie McClurkin: Erma Byrd, 818/953-3515 Verity Records, Jojo Pada, 212/824-1233 Jive Records, Sonia Muckle, 212/824-1370

Motown's India.Arie Debuts no.10 Pop Tour With MaxWell Starts in May

First Week Sales Proves India.Arie is "Not the Average Girl From the Video"

India.Arie makes her debut this week at the top of the Billboard Charts! Her new CD, ACOUSTIC SOUL enters at no.10 on the Top 200 Albums Chart and at no.3 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart, with Soundscan unit sales at 76,275. Quite an impressive first week for a debut artist! In addition, Maxwell's camp has confirmed that India.Arie will be the opening act on his upcoming U.S. tour kicking off in May.

ACOUSTIC SOUL's first single, "Video," continues to grow at radio with BDS detecting a weekly audience over 25 million and growing on the R&B/Hip-Hop, Crossover, Adult, Mainstream, and Pop charts.

Executive produced by Motown President & CEO, Kedar Massenburg (whose credits include D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, and Joe, among others), Time Out New York calls ACOUSTIC SOUL "an impressive debut from one of the great new voices of contemporary soul."

According to Massenburg, "a significant reason for such a high debut is credited to the early support India.Arie has found at MTV, BET and VH-1." MTV put "Video" in high rotation for the past four weeks as a "Buzzworthy" clip; MTV News was on board in January with a "You Hear It First" feature; MTV2 tapped India.Arie to co-host their "Soul Show" this past March; and BET most recently included India.Arie in a taping of their "Spring Bling," which airs later this month.

People Magazine says India.Arie is "a breathe of fresh air" while USA Today praises her "evocative playing and singing." Contact: Serena Gallagher, 212/841-8201 TMA, Inc., Tracey Miller, 201/531-0484, ext.11

New Blink 182 album is out in June

Blink 182's new album is due for release on June 11.It's the band's fourth full-length album and is called Take Off Your Pants And Jacket. The trio's singer and guitarist Tom DeLonge describes it as the hardest, fastest record they've done.

"It's way more punk rock than our previous records, and we're excited about it," he said. The LP follows 1999's multi-platinum Enema Of The State album.

Meanwhile, the book about the band's early days, written by bassist Mark Hoppus's younger sister Anne, now has a title. It's called Tales From Beneath Your Mom. According to the band's management company, it will be out in the US in mid-September.

The full tracklisting for Take Off Your Pants And Jacket is: Happy Holidays, You Bastard, Story Of A Lonely Guy, Give Me One Good Reason, Please Take Me Home, Time To Break Up, Online Song, Anthem Pt 2, Shut Up, Reckless Abandon, Roller Coaster, Don't Tell Me It's Over, First Date, The Rock Show, Everytime I Look For You and Stay Together For The Kids.

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