PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 6, 2006--RMD Entertainment Group (Pink Sheets:RMDG) today issued the following Shareholder update:
Dear RMDG Shareholders,
RMDG is currently in transition from a development company to a fully functional corporation bringing various products to market. We have achieved this in a short time frame of about ten months. A remarkable achievement considering we had to first do a massive restructuring of the company and change the business focus from defense contracting to multi media conglomerate with a focus on Hip Hop content. Currently, we are fully funded and have no short-term plans to issue additional stock.
We have built a global enterprise with a world wide marketplace for all of our product lines. It is my sincere belief that we can and will become the number one urban media production and distribution company in the world. My goal for the company is to be recognized as the number one corporation in Hip Hop while helping similar companies to ours succeed and find new and improved ways of giving back to the urban community. I feel we have exceeded my highest expectations to date and are well on our way to achieving our corporate destiny.
Here is a brief introduction to and progress update on our many initiatives.
1. Block Star DVD Magazine
The Company's long-awaited and highly-anticipated DVD magazine project, Block Star DVD Magazine, will be released in Europe at the end of July, 2006. The US release date will follow on August 15th. Our executive team has chosen to initialize distribution efforts on the retailing complex, focusing on such household names as Best Buy Co., Inc., Circuit City Stores, Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores as opposed to utilizing RMD's existing relationships with nearly 60 global digital distributors. U.S. Distribution will be handled along side longtime distribution pioneers, Bungalo Records and Universal Music Group, a subsidiary of Vivendi Universal and Video Distribution, while The Pickwick Group Ltd. of London will handle retail placement abroad. Beyond instant 'off the shelf' profitability, RMD executives are working with the creative forces behind The Block Star DVD Magazine to explore non-traditional ways for a project this unique to reach the ideal consumer - like making it available on Sony's PSP(TM) gaming and media platform or as a bonus feature accompanying other RMD products. On the more traditional side, RMD executives are quick to point out the extremely profitable advertising that can be earned from the broadcast of the product on all formats.
2. Roc Monee
Our rising star Roc Monee recently delivered with his performance at Zanzibar in Washington DC; he was also showing his overall ability to generate revenue for RMD. In spite of the intimate venue, Roc Monee's live performance was able to generate over $25,000.00 in net revenue for the RMD Entertainment family.
The intended purpose for the evening was for Roc to tape his first of many appearances on the Real Hip Hop Network (RHN); however, his performance obviously had a significant impact on the live crowd at Zanzibar as well by turning the evening into an unforgettable live event. We are heavily promoting him at the national radio level - preparing his fans for an amazing album. Roc Monee is loved by his fans and the media - we expect huge numbers from him.
His single "Overdrive" will be serviced to all major hip-hop radio stations around the country with a heavy emphasis on traditional terrestrial giants like Clear Channel and satellite pioneers like Sirius Radio and XM Radio. A promotional campaign like this is used to create demand for Roc Monee's album by large retail outlets like Target and Best Buy. Bungalo Records (exclusively distributed by Universal Music and Video Distribution) will service the U.S. retailers directly on behalf of RMD. The precise in-store date for the album's release is determined with the retail outlets' input based on predicted sales - it is expected to hit shelves in the U.S. on August 22nd and in Europe on August 29th. RMDG will also release the album in digital and ringtone formats through their 60 digital distributor list including familiar names such as iTunes, Sony Connect, Jamster, and more. RMD Entertainment has Roc Monee under contract for three albums.
3. Kuntree Album Project
Working tirelessly on his current album (2006 release), those in the know say that his highly intelligent rhymes are going to take the rap game in a whole new direction. While the dirty south continues to elevate hip-hop to new heights, Kuntree has refined his southern skills and added a healthy dose of east coast flavor to deliver a "melting pot" experience that we knew people would love. Since the RMD philosophy is bringing all streets to Wall Street, it looks like Kuntree added a brand new neighborhood to our corporate map. His recording is almost complete and our management expects release dates in early September for both the US and Europe. Spot test with national radio promoters have yielded glowing returns thus far. RMD Entertainment has Kuntree under contract for three albums.
4. Heavy D Joint Venture with Bungalo Records
Heavy D has been attracting international acclaim on several levels; however, this project is particularly hot. The media attention Heavy is getting this early on is indicative of how excited the public is to support his work. He is in the final stages of recording the album now and a release date is expected later this year (2006).
5. MoTV Inc.
MoTV, formerly a privately owned entity, has been working alongside an RMD development team for the last two years to bring a brand new mobile experience to the marketplace in 2006. The finished product can best be explained as a real-time broadcast similar to the original MTV platform - coupled with an interactive retail element reminiscent of the Home Shopping Network. This new hybrid mobile network not only delivers a totally new experience for the viewer, it also introduces three distinct revenue streams for network supporters: advertising, subscription, and retail. With deals being structured around the globe for our overwhelming content, MoTV is our own delivery vehicle designed to capitalize on the content we've worked so hard to amass. This technology by itself provides an unparalleled experience to the end user by delivering entertainment and retail interactivity to any mobile phone or device. This goes far beyond the current goal in the industry, which puts such a heavy emphasis on content; we are delivering real-time interactive content, which empowers the audience with the tools necessary to be entertained and shop simultaneously. Utilizing RMD's massive global hip-hop influence, we structured MoTV technology in such a way that there doesn't need to be one central hub for global content delivery, which means that we aren't limited by traditional bandwidth issues and our network is ready for implementation on a global scale as we speak. Last week we completed our beta testing of MOTV (trademark) and are presenting the programming lineup to our key advertising agencies Friday afternoon in Philadelphia so they can immediately begin selling commercial time in our platform to drive immediate revenue to RMDG. We will essentially have two channels worth of content to roll out on both the mobile and internet broadcast formats. They are MOTV1 and the RHN Network.
6. RHN (Real Hip Hop Network)
Not too long ago, RMD entered into a strategic partnership with the Real Hip Hop Network (http://www.rhn.tv), arguably the largest multimedia hip-hop content resource in existence with over fifteen thousand (15,000) hours of original programming in the can. According to the parameters of the agreement, RMD will have complete discretion with respect to the global distribution of all RHN content and are entitled to 50% of any revenue generated as a result of RMD involvement. By utilizing our longtime relationships with Bungalo Records (exclusively distributed by Universal Music & Video Distribution), The Pickwick Group Ltd. and over sixty digital music distributors, RMD Entertainment will instantly convert content to capital through both traditional and alternative distribution channels.
The Real Hip Hop Network is the first ever cable television network geared specifically toward the dynamic lifestyle and culture that defines hip-hop. By the end of 2006, RHN will reach over 17 million homes nationwide via cable and satellite, which gives this deal with RMD that much more impact. Not only will RMD now have a massive cross-section of their ideal demographic to introduce their artists, products and alternative content distribution to, but they will also be able to capitalize on the staggering advertising possibilities that come with that level of market penetration.
Along with our other RHN projects, we will co-produce five of the biggest hip-hop concerts to hit the stage this year. While details are still being ironed out with respect to performers and venue dates, hip-hop legends LL Cool J and Jadakiss were the first two headliners to announce their participation in the RMD/RHN production. RMD's own Roc Monee recently performed in Washington DC with LL Cool J...the show was taped for later broadcast on RHN; however, the crowd was blown away by Roc's performance and showed their support at the door.
Beyond that, we recently announced our deal with the Real Hip Hop Network to be a primary content provider for the highly anticipated MoTV platform by co-developing a mobile network devoted strictly to RHN programming. The Real Hip Hop Network will be the primary provider of applicable hip-hop content for MoTV over the next five years and the two companies will equally split all revenue generated as a result of the new mobile network. Tentatively called "MoRHN", this new network can utilize the proprietary MoTV technology to bypass traditional cable barriers and deliver RHN programming directly to the consumer via any IP (Internet Protocol) enabled mobile device. To compliment this effort we recently entered into a joint venture with RHN for satellite transmission.
Our ad agency remains excited about the prospects of selling ad space on the content of the network in all broadcast formats in all world territories. Ad sales are expected to begin this month (July).
7. Google.
We recently signed an agreement with Clayton Entertainment (http://www.claytonentertainment.com), which enables them to feature our entire content library on Google Video. This step marks a profound evolutionary step for RMD and our original video distribution model. According to the deal, Google Video will now be the premier distribution platform for all RMD multimedia content including, but not limited to, artist videos, live concert events and the bulk of the 15,000 hours of urban media programming acquired from their recent deal with the Real Hip Hop Network (RHN). Through our relationship with Clayton Entertainment, RMD will now be able to utilize Google's proprietary technology to stream content to the masses while using the platform to generate revenue from billable content downloads, merchandising and the multitude of advertising opportunities. As I addressed the earlier projects in our current cache I did not hit upon the fact that this deal may be the most powerful revenue driver in our corporate toolbox. The reason is simple, numbers. Each day, over 350 million people visit Google. If only 1% of the visitors viewed or downloaded RMDG content that would be over 3.5 million viewers a day. In the scenarios of selling our product or enticing advertisers to spend on placement within our content, a powerful and convincing argument can be made, thus creating a virtually limitless opportunity for earnings. We have placed a limited amount of content on Google Video and some of the RHN programming quickly shot to a top ten position on Google's Most Wanted. I have a major meeting with Clayton Entertainment Thursday in Manhattan to discuss the layout of content on the Google site as well as commerce parameters and promotional opportunities. I feel confident we should have a substantial amount of commerce up by the end of this month leading to almost immediate earnings from this platform.
8. All In. Hip Hop Soundtrack CD
RMD and "All In" the movie (http://www.themovieallin.com), have aligned to put together an opportunity for fans to 'cash in' on what is shaping up to be one of the most generous promotional packages of 2006. As the film "All In" continues to be touted by poker and entertainment insiders as one of the most authentic poker-related films to date, RMD was handpicked early on by the film's executives to produce a powerful hip-hop driven soundtrack that would effectively parallel the film's full throttle pace. Partypoker.net has agreed to team up with the "All In" creative marketing team on a promotional package that is nothing short of revolutionary. As a sign of support for the film, Partypoker.net has agreed to offer all new members a generous gift if they sign up using a special code created just for fans of "All In" the movie. If fans visit http://www.themovieallin.com or http://www.partypoker.net and upon request, enter special code "ALLINCD", they will be rewarded with a special "All In" debit card loaded with fifty dollars and the film's hip-hop driven soundtrack produced entirely by RMD Entertainment and prominently featuring Roc Monee. The tracks for this CD are currently being compiled for release and once completed, a release date for the CD will be determined by movie executives. Release is expected this calendar year (2006).
In conclusion, I say this to shareholders of RMDG. We have taken bold and sometimes uncharted steps in creating substantial opportunities for revenue for 2006 and beyond. I am confident my staff is up to any current or future challenge we may face. The near future looks very bright to me for RMDG. We set out on a specific game plan 10 months ago and have followed it effectively and to the "t". Each decision was made with the best long term shareholder value in mind. As we now begin to reap the rewards of our efforts in the form of revenues and additional earning opportunities, you can expect a lot of the same approach from me. Thank You for your support, we have officially "turned the corner" in a big way today.
About RMD Entertainment Group
RMD Entertainment (RMD) is a cutting-edge entertainment company that is primarily focused on the development and international marketing of 'hip-hop' music, including compact discs, digital downloads, and personal 'ring tones' for mobile phone customers, as well as other 'hip-hop' lifestyle products. The Company has also created MOTV, the ability to stream video content to mobile devices, including cell phones and PDAs. RMD has significant successes internationally and its staff producers have collaborated with some of the most influential names in the music today including Sting, David Byrne of the Talking Heads, George Kranz, Freedom Williams of C & C Music Factory, Stevie Winwood, Robin Scott, and jazz saxophone legend Bill Evans, among others. The Company current possesses an impressive hip-hop catalogue, which it distributes exclusively through Bungalo Records and Universal Music Group (a subsidiary of Vivendi Universal (NYSE:V)) in North America and in Europe through the Pickwick Group Ltd. of London.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements, which may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of RMD Entertainment Group, Inc., and members of its management as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.
Best Wishes and God Bless You All,
Giorgio C. Costonis, CEO
RMDG "Where Hip Hop Meets Wall Street"
Contacts
For RMD Entertainment Group, Philadelphia
Jed Wallace, 310-234-3200
jwallace@mphpr.com
