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Kent Earls Upped to Senior Vice President, Creative Services for Universal Music Publishing Group, Nashville

Nashville, TN (September 10, 2008) - Kent Earls has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Creative Services for Universal Music Publishing Group, Nashville as announced today by Pat Higdon, the company's EVP/General Manager. Most recently, Earls served as Vice President, Creative Services for UMPG Nashville.

In this new role, Earls will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of the creative department, reporting to Higdon. In addition, Earls will serve as the liaison with the UMPG creative teams in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami and will also handle the distribution of all UMPG Nashville material to UMPG affiliates world-wide.

"Kent has proven to be a tremendous asset to UMPG and has earned the respect of producers and A & R teams worldwide with his songplugging skills," commented Higdon. "He is a team player and has contributed greatly to UMPG Nashville's success over the past few years."

A native Nashvillian, Kent Earls graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a BS in Recording Industry Management. While in college he worked as an intern for a few independent publishing companies in Nashville. His last internship at Milsap-Galbraith Music Publishing led to his first position as a catalog manager at Affiliated Publishers, Inc. Within three months at API, he moved into a Professional Manager position and a year later landed the Creative Director position. He stayed with API for four years before being courted by MCA Music Publishing. In October of 1997, MCA offered Kent an Associate Director of Creative Services position. He remained at this position until March of 1999 when he was upped to Creative Director. In April of 2001 he was promoted to Senior Director of Creative Services. In 2002 Kent was promoted to Vice-President of Creative Services at Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville.

Key signings, developing, and re-negotiations of songwriters and artists during Earls's career include: Rivers Rutherford, Katrina Elam, Danny Orton, Billy Currington, and many more.

With an active and aggressive staff of current songwriters, UMPG Nashville continually delivers material that becomes hits for country music's most elite artists including Reba McEntire, Brad Paisley, Gretchen Wilson, Trace Adkins, Lee Ann Womack, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Brooks and Dunn and many more. In his new position with Universal Music Publishing Group, Earls will help manage one of Nashville's most successful music catalogs that spans the breadth of the musical landscape, from the 1940's Folk/Blues of the Delmore Brothers, the 1950's and 1960's classics of Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Buddy Holly, country classics from Webb Pierce, Brenda Lee, Mel Tillis, and the works of Bob McDill, Rivers Rutherford, Pat Alger, Dickey Lee, Kostas, Mel Tillis, Marijohn Wilkin, Matraca Berg, Gary Burr, Troy Verges, Ed Hill, Hugh Prestwood, Marcus Hummon, Craig Wiseman, Emmylou Harris, and many more.

About Universal Music Publishing Group
Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is the industry's leading global music publishing operation and is part of Universal Music Group. UMPG represents music in every genre from many of the world's top songwriters and catalogs including U2, Elton John, Bernie Taupin, 50 Cent, Mariah Carey, R. Kelly, Coldplay, Nelly, Juan Gabriel, Ciara, Dave Grohl, Prince, Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5, Britney Spears, Beastie Boys, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Paul Simon, Henry Mancini, Christina Aguilera and Linkin Park, among many others. For more information, visit: www.umusicpub.com.
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Contact:
Heather Brown, Vice President of Marketing and Communications
Ph: (310) 235-4870/ E-mail: heather.brown@umusic.com