Press Release

Annual Membership Meeting: Distribution Exceeds $400 Million; Hal David Received President's Award.
New York, New York -- The National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA)/Harry Fox Agency (HFA) recently held its annual membership meeting at the Park Lane Hotel.

Among those speaking were Irwin Z. Robinson, Chairman of the NMPA/HFA and Chairman & CEO of Famous Music Corp., who gave an update on the La Cienega legislative initiative; Edward P. Murphy, President & CEO, NMPA/HFA, who reported on the state of the NMPA/HFA and the music industry itself; and Peter Felcher, Esq., NMPA/HFA General Counsel, who discussed the recent Ahlert Music v. Warner/Chappell ruling.

Further, Murphy formally announced that the HFA has distributed an unprecedented $414.5 million in 1996 to its members. "We are delighted to have achieved the financial milestone of $400 million in distributions," stated Murphy. "Our continued fiscal growth is a result of our efforts at expanding the scope of our licensing of U.S. repertoire around the globe, especially in those key areas afflicted with rampant piracy."

Jean-Loup Tournier, President of BIEM and President & Chief Executive Officer of the French Society SACEM, provided the keynote address at the meeting.

Further, award-winning lyricist Hal David received the NMPA President's Award in recognition of his profound contributions as a songwriter, as well as the exemplary leadership he has bestowed upon the music community during his tenure as President of the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) from 1980 to 1986. During that time, David was instrumental in defeating the proposed source licensing legislation, and was a key figure in the resolution of both the CBS and Buffalo broadcasting lawsuits, as well as the passage of jukebox legislation. David's songwriting credits include "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", "Alfie", "Promises, Promises" and "There's Always Something There To Remind Me".

Further, Murphy announced:

* Internet service provider America Online (AOL) has entered into a licensing agreement with HFA for the downloading and uploading of songs to and from AOL sites. The agreement is expected to be signed later this week.

* Settling a lawsuit with the multi-level marketer AMWAY. Under the agreement AMWAY, which uses hundreds of songs in their motivational tapes, will compensate publishers for past uses, and obtain licenses for future use.

* A new agreement on mechanical rates with the Recording Industry Association of America. The current rates expire 12/31/97, and the new agreement covers the next ten years (1990-2008). A written agreement reflecting the parties' understanding is now being prepared and will be submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office for review.

* Increasing the protection and enforcement of musical copyright in digital deliveries and increasing HFA's "clearinghouse" effectiveness by maximizing collections and distributions, while also minimizing turnaround time.

* How the rights of U.S. music publishers will be protected globally under the recently adapted WIPO Treaties.

* New efforts at increasing efficiency for NMPA/HFA clients utilizing technologies such as the SIR-Plus and POLI-Plus systems.

* The current NMPA Board of Directors was re-elected for another two-year term.

The National Music Publishers' Association, founded in 1917, works to protect and advance the interests of the music publishing community. With over 600 members, the NMPA represents the most important and influential music publishing firms throughout the United States. The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (HFA), a licensing subsidiary of NMPA, provides an information source, clearing house, and monitoring service for licensing musical copyrights, and represents 17,000 music publishers.