Hip-O Select Launches Volume Four of The Complete Motown Singles Project

Los Angeles (California), USA – (BUSINESS WIRE)- On February
24th, Hip-O Select.com, a division of Universal Music Enterprises, will release
the fourth volume of The Complete Motown Singles. The new installment,
entitled “The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 4: 1964,” showcases the early
history of the classic soul label on a 6-CD, 163-track set. It will feature the
A-side and B-side of every single released by Motown (and its subsidiaries)
during the label’s sixth year of existence; this volume is highlighted by hits
— from The Temptations, The Marvelettes, Martha & The Vandellas, Brenda
Holloway, Marvin Gaye and more, plus a few fascinating obscurities. This
collection will not be available at traditional retail; it will be sold
exclusively online at www.hip-oselect.com and via Apple’s iTunes site for electronic download.The release is the latest phase of a plan that extends through 2009, with Hip-O
Select issuing further volumes covering all of Motown’s single releases during
its tenure in Detroit. The label moved to Los Angeles in 1972.

“We’ve had a tremendous response to the first three volumes of the series
from critics and fans alike,” says Bruce Resnikoff, President, UMe. “Motown
encompasses a rich musical legacy, and we’re giving it the care and attention it
deserves.”

“In 1964, Motown becomes an international phenomenon,” says Pat Lawrence,
Senior Vice-President, UMe. “The Supremes, the Temptations, Martha & The
Vandellas, Brenda Holloway and Marvin Gaye are everywhere… the
Holland-Dozier-Holland writing and production team define ‘The Motown Sound.'”

Packaging for the set resembles a scaled-down 78-rpm-era “album,” with cardboard
sleeves to hold each of the discs, and 132 pages of rare photos and notes. Each
box will feature an actual reproduction 45 rpm single of The Supremes’ smash,
“Where Did Our Love Go” b/w “He Means The World To Me.” The new volume includes
a historical overview by Dr. Todd Boyd, a Detroit native and today the Katherine
and Frank Price Endowed Chair for the Study of Race and Popular Culture at the
USC School of Cinema-Television, as well as a personal chronicle from Janie
Bradford, a Motown songwriter who was the company’s front desk receptionist that
year. Track-by-track annotations have been written by noted soul authors Bill
Dahl and Keith Hughes, with assistance by UMe VP Harry Weinger, who has overseen
the project.

“This year at Motown begins with the Temptations busting open with ‘The Way
You Do The Things You Do’ and ends with the release of their iconic ‘My Girl,’
and in between is triumph after triumph,” says Weinger. “The Supremes have
three No. 1 hits in a row, becoming the company’s symbol of success; the Four
Tops break through; the Beatles cover Motown songs; Motown is heard and seen
around the world. Yet as this volume shows, the company was still wading into
several different music styles, including country with the Mel-O-Dy label and
pure pop with JoAnne & The Triangles. It’s fascinating, musically exciting, and
a thrill to listen to and read along.”

Only 8000 copies of this limited-edition box set will ever be manufactured. It
is available exclusively on the web at
www.HipOSelect.com.

Hip-O Select is Universal Music Group’s newest imprint, launched on April 1,
2004. Selling directly to consumers exclusively through its website, the label
has released over ninety projects featuring artists ranging from Johnny Ace to
Stomu Yamashta. Hip-O Select received special recognition from the Mojo Honours
in 2005 for its reissue program, as well as the Mojo magazine Reggae Reissue Of
The Year award in 2004. KCRW’s Music Newsletter says, “Hip-O Select have
quickly made a name for themselves as the premier reissue label.”