Plan A Media Launches in New York

NEW YORK, NY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- November 13, 2006 -- Plan A Media, a diversified publicity company specializing in music clients, has been established in New York by former Atlantic Records President Ron Shapiro and music industry publicity and media specialist Patti Conte.

The company has a special focus on addressing the publicity, media, and marketing and development needs of both emerging and established artists affected by the internal upheavals of recent years within the music industry. It also is dedicated to the strategic integration of traditional media and publicity outlets, on-line media, and non-traditional marketing strategies. Plan A Media is a joint venture between Ron Shapiro Management and Consulting LLC and Conte, a 30-year veteran of music industry publicity and artist/media relations. It exists alongside the other full-service units of Shapiro's company, which is approaching its third anniversary.

"Patti Conte and I have made our careers in embracing seismic changes in music, in music-related technology, and in the feedback loop between artists, the music industry, and successive generations of music fans," Ron Shapiro said. "Plan A Media's essential brief is to facilitate the connection of gifted artists with the world at large, in all the musical, emotional and spiritual dimensions that we associate with the cherished experience of music in our lives. Our work will encompass and integrate every aspect of communication, traditional and new."

Patti Conte added: "Ron Shapiro has been a rare combination in the music business: a hard-nosed realist, a true visionary and, at heart, a nurturer and fierce advocate for talent. Music is just as precious to the young and the not-so-young as it has ever been, and our partnership in Plan A Media will pursue every avenue of exposure as it arises -- while honoring and protecting our clients' creative and artistic integrity, first and foremost."

Plan A Media's client roster at launch includes Bob Seger, one of American rock's defining figures, whose first Capitol album in twelve years, "Face the Promise," debuted at a career-high No. 4; Matt Serletic, the Grammy-winning producer of Carlos Santana, Aerosmith, Rob Thomas, matchbox twenty, Celine Dion and many others; the critically acclaimed Billboard No. 1 Heatseeker band, Universal/Motown's The Rapture; and Lionsgate, the premier independent producer and distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment and video-on-demand content. Plan A Media clients also include Sasha & Shawna (EMI), Josh Kelley (Threshold Records), Nya Jade (Katako Records) and Jacob Miller (Dog Leg Music).

Ron Shapiro Management & Consulting, LLC was established in early 2004 on the principles of long-term artist development, and the foresighted implementation of new business models in music and marketing. The company's management clients include gold-certified country artist Julie Roberts (Universal Nashville), Billboard No. 1 Heatseeker and VH1 "You Oughta Know" artist Regina Spektor (Sire/Warner Bros.), Top 3 country album artist Chris Young (RCA Nashville), Sebastian (Columbia), Calaisa (Universal) and Hysterics (V2). His consulting clients since the establishment of the company have included Razor and Tie Records and Katako Records, as well as AOL Music, Clear Channel Entertainment, Rust Records and The Artists Den.

Named Co-President of Atlantic Records in 2002, Shapiro pioneered a succession of innovative cross-marketing initiatives with other high-profile brands including Cover Girl cosmetics, Schick, and the Wilhelmina modeling agency, which have become industry standards. In his 12-year Atlantic tenure, he worked with such worldwide superstars as Phil Collins, Led Zeppelin, Stevie Nicks and Bette Midler, while launching and guiding the careers of the multi-platinum artists Jewel, Kid Rock, Tori Amos, matchbox twenty, Rob Thomas, Brandy, P.O.D., Stone Temple Pilots, Hootie & the Blowfish, Duncan Sheik, Sugar Ray and others.

Patti Conte is among the most respected media specialists in the music industry. With more than 30 years of experience in entertainment publicity, 24 of them at Atlantic Records, where she was Senior Vice President, Media & Artist Relations, Conte played a central role not only in developing countless artists and music projects, but in raising the media profile of Atlantic Records, its executive team, and Atlantic's place in American cultural heritage.

In the past two years as Senior Vice President, Communications at EMI Music's Virgin Records, Conte directed label publicity and coordinated media campaigns for Virgin Chairman Matt Serletic, Virgin Urban Music President Jermaine Dupri, and artists including The Rolling Stones, Korn, KT Tunstall, Gorillaz, Lenny Kravitz, Ben Harper, 30 Seconds to Mars, and A Perfect Circle.

Contact Information: For more information, please contact: Amanda Charney Plan A Media, LLC 135 West 26th Street, Suite 4A New York City, NY 10001 212-337-3090 Email Contact