Gold and Platinum Sales Awards for '68 Comeback and Aloha DVDs

8/15/2004, Source: EPE

“THE KING OF ROCK 'N' ROLL™” ADDS GOLD AND PLATINUM TO HIS COLLECTION AS “ELVIS: ‘68 COMEBACK SPECIAL - DELUXE EDITION DVD” AND “ELVIS, ALOHA FROM HAWAII- DELUXE EDITION DVD” RECEIVE DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL RIAA CERTIFICATIONS

50th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll Helps Drive Sales

Over 500 Elvis fans gathered early this morning on the front lawn of Graceland for a special award presentation, celebrating the continuing and growing success of Elvis’s career. With more than 300,000 DVDs sold, two special, deluxe edition Elvis Presley DVDs, “Elvis: ’68 Comeback Special – Deluxe Edition DVD” and “Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii- Deluxe Edition DVD” have been certified double Platinum and Platinum, respectively, by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Released by BMG Strategic Marketing Group and Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. to help commemorate the 50th Anniversary of rock 'n' roll, the DVDs have also reached Gold and Platinum status internationally. “Elvis: ’68 Comeback Special – Deluxe Edition DVD” was certified Platinum in Australia and Britain, and triple Platinum in Canada while the “Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii – Deluxe Edition DVD” was certified Gold in Britain, Platinum in Australia and double Platinum in Canada. BMG Strategic Marketing Group, working in conjunction with Elvis Presley Enterprises, released the special DVDs to commemorate the 50th anniversary of rock 'n' roll, which was officially celebrated around the world on July 5th, with most of the activities emanating from Elvis Presley’s hometown, Memphis, TN.

The anniversary commemorates Presley’s recording of “That’s All Right” which historians point to as the “big bang” of rock 'n' roll that ushered in a cultural revolution. BMG also released the original “That’s All Right” with an alternate version of the track as well as its original B-side “Blue Moon of Kentucky” that became the #1 selling single, 50 years after its initial release! “The Deluxe Edition Presley DVDs have helped us continue to build a renewed interest in all things Elvis, and provide a wonderful visual component to the anniversary.

They really show what a tremendous music talent and performer Elvis was and why people loved and continue to love him,” said Joe DiMuro, Executive Vice President, BMG Strategic Marketing Group. "Elvis Presley's incomparable magic shines brighter than ever in this comprehensive presentation of two of the greatest performance events of his career," said Todd Morgan of EPE, one of the producers of the '68 and Aloha DVDs.

"EPE, BMG and all who worked with us on the DVD sets felt a deep sense of privilege and historical responsibility in preparing this stunning material for release. We are proud of our work, but all the bows truly belong only to Elvis and to his original collaborators. We are all thrilled that fans, critics and new audiences have responded with what amounts to a global standing ovation."

The success of the ‘Elvis: 68 Comeback Special – Deluxe Edition DVD” and “Elvis, Aloha From Hawaii- Deluxe Edition DVD” is yet another milestone in Elvis’s record-setting music career. He is the only artist to be inducted into all three music Halls of Fame, including Rock 'N' Roll, Country and Gospel. He holds the record for most top 10 pop singles, the most gold and platinum awards and is the world’s best selling artist, eclipsing any other musician or group in history. His popularity remains intact to this day as there are more active Elvis Presley fan clubs around the world than for any other artist – dead or alive.

About BMG

BMG is the global music division of Bertelsmann AG, one of the world's leading media companies. BMG owns more than 200 record labels in 41 countries including Ariola, Arista Records, J Records, Jive Records, BMG Heritage, RCA Music Group and RCA Label Group - Nashville. BMG Strategic Marketing Group is a new fully integrated organization for the U.S. that brings together BMG Heritage, BMG Special Products, Strategic Marketing, Digital Licensing and Direct Response TV, as well as licensing activities on behalf of all the BMG U.S. labels.

This combined structure of the BMG Strategic Marketing Group offers tremendous benefit to BMG and its businesses by increasing coordination amongst various teams and business units responsible for all levels of exploitation, across product lines and across labels.