Spirit Catalogue Holdings and Spirit Music Group Aquire Threesome Music

Spirit Catalogue Holdings ("SCH"), in conjunction with Spirit Music Group ("SMG") announced today the acquisition of Threesome Music, the song catalog of acclaimed multiple Grammy, Oscar and Emmy-winning songwriters Alan and Marilyn Bergman - two of the most respected names in the Great American Songbook.

Through the agreement, Spirit will acquire rights to more than 300 songs recorded by such classic artists as Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughan, Celine Dion and Luciano Pavarotti. The catalog includes such timeless standards as Sinatra's "Nice N Easy", Fred Astaire's "That Face", chart-topping Neil Diamond/Barbra Streisand duet "You Don't Bring Me Flowers", Michael Jackson's "Someone In The Dark", Sergio Mendes' samba hit "Like A Lover", calypso evergreen "Yellow Bird" and holiday perennial "A Christmas Love Song".

The deal also includes rights to title songs from such major motion pictures as Tootsie ("It Might Be You"), A Star Is Born ("I Believe In Love"), Sabrina ("Moonlight"), Shirley Valentine ("The Girl Who Used To Be Me"), Major League ("Most Of All You") and Yes Giorgio ("If We Were In Love") as well as all of the songs from Yentl (including "Papa Can You Hear Me", "The Way He Makes Me Feel") and the themes from such popular television shows as Good Times and Maude.

Additionally, Spirit and the Bergmans have signed an exclusive, long term worldwide publishing administration agreement covering new and future works. The go-forward deal with the Bergman's Alamar Music includes songs written for a new Broadway-bound version of Ballroom (based on the couple's Emmy winning made-for-tv dramatic musical Queen Of The

Stardust Ballroom), a collaboration with the late Cy Coleman on the Kennedy Center-commissioned song cycle titled Up Close And Musical and "Trust Me", the end title to Warner Brothers Pictures' recent feature The Informant.

Mark Fried, President & CEO, Spirit Music Group, said, "Alan and Marilyn Bergman's legacy of work represents some of the most beloved and enduring songs of the last five decades. Their gift for crafting the perfect lyric, working alongside such famed composers as Michel Legrand, Marvin Hamlisch, Johnny Mandel and Dave Grusin, has given the world a collection of classy, evocative, life-affirming songs which continue to charm generations of fans and serve as a master class in song craft. We are thrilled to be working closely with Alan and Marilyn in promoting their standards and the new classics they are creating."

The Bergmans said, "We are delighted to join this forward-thinking and energetic company. Songs need a loving and nurturing home and we feel Spirit is such a place."

Alan and Marilyn Bergman, born and raised in Brooklyn, began their historic collaboration in the early 60's, working with the late composer (and Spirit songwriter) Lew Spence penning a series of hits for Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sarah Vaughan and Peggy Lee. A long association with Barbra Streisand from the 70's onward yielded such classics as "The Way We Were", "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life", "On My Way To You" and "Ordinary Miracles", including two songs on the singer's recent global chart topping CD Love Is The Answer, "Where Do You Start" and "You Must Believe In Spring". The Bergman's work with Quincy Jones for the 1967 Oscar-winning In The Heat Of The Night, marked the start of a lifetime of work in feature film, including key contributions to such acclaimed movies as The Thomas Crown Affair, Summer Of '42, The Way We Were, Same Time Next Year and Yentl. Their long list of television credits include the theme songs for Good Times, Maude, and Brooklyn Bridge as well as the score for the acclaimed television drama Sybil.

Among numerous accolades, the Bergmans have won three Academy Awards, three Emmy Awards and two Grammys. They were inducted into

the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 1980 and received honorary doctorates from the Berklee College of Music and a lifetime achievement award from the National Academy of Songwriters in 1995. In 1997, they were awarded the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame and, in 2000, the National Music Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award.

Further, the Bergmans were honored in 2002 by the National Association of Recording, Arts & Sciences (NARAS) with the Governor's Award and received the first ever Johnny Mercer Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. 

In addition to her success as a lyricist, Marilyn Bergman has a long and distinguished record of service to songwriters. After being the first woman elected to the Board of Directors of ASCAP, she was elevated to President and Chairman in 1994. During her 15-year tenure, she presided over the largest expansion of ASCAP membership in its history, led the performing rights organization to several major legislative victories and was instrumental in the launch of A Bill Of Rights for Songwriters and Composers, an advocacy and awareness-building initiative designed to remind the music industry and the public at large of the rights of those who create music. Alan Bergman serves as a member of the Library of Congress National Film Preservation Board, the Johnny Mercer Foundation Board and the Artists' Rights Foundation Board.

Spirit Music Group, founded in 1995, is the fastest growing independent music publisher of the last decade, owning and/or managing more than 15,000 songs spanning 7 decades and every musical genre. The company's repertoire reflects some of the most beloved songs and songwriters including hits and gems by Frank Sinatra, Billie Holliday, Elmore James, Elvis Presley, Charles Mingus, Dion, The Beach Boys, Alice Cooper, Pure Prairie League, Chaka Khan, The Go-Go's, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Rickey Martin, Dido and Mary J. Blige, the complete catalogs of such iconic writer/artists as Lou Reed, The Grateful Dead, T. Rex, The Marshall Tucker Band, Billy Squier, A Taste Of Honey, Andrea Bocelli, Angela Winbush and C&C Music Factory and the breakthrough work of such newer artists as MGMT, the Scissor Sisters and 311. The company has earned a strong reputation as an aggressive royalty administrator and a peerless promoter of its songs into film, television and advertising productions as well as a wide range of new media. Spirit Music Group is based in New York with affiliate offices all over the world. For further information about Spirit Music Group, go to www.spiritmusicgroup.com

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