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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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| Hal Leonard Acquires Backbeat Books
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| Addition of Prestigious Music Trade Line Expands Trade
Book Division of World's Largest Print Music Publisher
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| MILWAUKEE - Hal Leonard Corporation is pleased to announce
that it has acquired CMP Technology LLC's San Francisco-based
Backbeat Books Division, the leading publisher of music reference
books. Since 1991, Hal Leonard has exclusively distributed Backbeat
Books to the music trade. Under the terms of the new agreement,
Hal Leonard has purchased the existing Backbeat Books catalog and
will continue to create new titles under the Backbeat name. Hal Leonard
will manage sales, marketing and distribution for all trades, worldwide.
During the transition of ownership, Hal Leonard will continue to work with
Backbeat's existing distributors in various markets around the world.
Backbeat Books publishes highly regarded titles for readers who are
passionate about all styles of music, whether as performers or fans. The
catalog contains nearly 200 publications, including: the revered All Music
Guide reference series; in-depth instructional books for musicians (e.g. The
Guitar Player's Repair Guide); band biographies and memoirs (e.g. Skydog: The
Duane Allman Story); and books on equipment (e.g. Beatles Gear), the music business,
music software, recording techniques and more. The catalog also includes a number of
titles associated with the magazines Guitar Player, Bass Player and Keyboard. CMP
Technology recently sold the business that publishes these magazines to Newbay Media LLC.
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| Nigel Osborne of London-based Outline Press has long developed content
for Backbeat Books. He will continue in that capacity, liaising with both
established and new authors for forthcoming titles, which will remain branded
under the Backbeat Books imprint. Hal Leonard President Larry Morton comments,
"We have always had the utmost respect for the prestigious Backbeat Books product line,
which is known and loved throughout the world. The Backbeat brand will become the anchor
line for our trade book publishing, and fit neatly with our long-term objective for growth
in this area." Steve Weitzner, CMP Technology's CEO, says, "CMP is confident that we have
placed the Backbeat catalog in the best possible hands. As Backbeat's long-time distributor
to the music trade, Hal Leonard can hit the ground running in this new and expanded capacity.
No one else has such a great working knowledge of the Backbeat catalog, and how best to make
it flourish moving forward. The sale of the Backbeat catalog completes CMP's transition
back to a pure-play technology media company." Celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2007,
Hal Leonard is primarily known as the foremost publisher of songbooks and sheet music.
During the last several years, however, the Milwaukee-based company has made many important
forays into trade book publishing. In 1999, Hal Leonard acquired Applause Theater & Cinema Books,
and at the beginning of this year, it purchased both Amadeus Press and Limelight Editions.
The company's Manhattan-based division is devoted to this purpose, headed by John Cerullo,
group publisher for Hal Leonard trade books. Cerullo remarks, "Backbeat Books is a high-quality,
versatile line of music trade and reference books. Its acquisition adds great depth to our already
robust performing arts trade publishing group. We already have many exciting ideas for new Backbeat titles."
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| About Hal Leonard Corporation
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| Founded in 1947, Hal Leonard Corporation (www.halleonard.com) is the leader in the
music print industry, producing songbooks, sheet music, educational publications,
reference books, DVDs, CD-ROMs, children's music products and more. In its more than
97,000 available publications, the company represents in print some of the world's best
known and most respected publishers, artists, writers and arrangers. Hal Leonard is
headquartered in Milwaukee, WI and also has offices in: Winona, MN; New York; Nashville;
Melbourne; Hong Kong; and London.
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| About CMP Media LLC
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| CMP Media LLC is a business-to-business multimedia company that provides
information and integrated marketing services to technology and healthcare
professionals worldwide. CMP Media offers marketers and advertisers comprehensive
media solutions. Its products and services include newspapers, magazines, Internet
products, research, education and training, trade shows and conferences, direct
marketing services and custom publishing. Headquartered in Manhasset, NY, CMP Media
is part of United Business Media, an information group in the markets of
professional media and news distribution.
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