Tower Records Opens New Store in Memphis

Tower Records, the world's largest independent retailer of packaged entertainment today announced the official grand opening of its first location in Memphis, TN, a flagship store in the newly developed, Peabody Place located one block from historic Beale Street.

(Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010712/SFTH039 ) With the opening of the immense Peabody Place Entertainment and Retail Center located in the heart of Downtown Memphis, Tower Records opens the doors to its first Memphis location, which will occupy 20,000 square feet of retail space. The store offers customers a myriad of entertainment experiences, including a distinct mix of CDs, vinyl and cassettes, videos and DVDs, a comprehensive Newsstand, Trends and Lifestyle items, and wide-ranging selection of electronics and personal stereo equipment.

Customers can find departments and items, easily, via a tailor-made floor plan. A long walkway stretching from the main entrance to the back escalator, which leads customers to the adjoining Peabody Place retail center, divides the store into two large sections, one side dedicated to music, magazines and books, with the other side focused on videos, DVDs, electronics and personal stereo equipment. The store carries more than 100,000 CDs encompassing many musical styles. Sections devoted specifically to local artists and Urban music co-exist alongside Towers' famous selection of deep catalog and newly released titles, including Rock, Pop, Jazz, Bluegrass, Country, Blues, Gospel, World, Reggae, Dance, New Age, Opera, and Folk.

For optimal listening enjoyment and to introduce customers to new and intriguing sounds, Tower provides 44 listening stations highlighting 200 diverse musical selections, with added seating for customer comfort and convenience.

Included within the new Tower Records location is the DVD viewing station complete with surround sound technology, which is positioned alongside the video and DVD departments. The two departments combined, house nearly 20,000 videos and DVDs, spanning all genres including, Action, Anime, Best Pictures, Children's, Comedy, Drama, Family, Film Classics, Foreign Films, Horror, Musicals, Music Videos, Special Interest, Suspense/Noir and more.

With the installation of a permanent performance space, Tower offers the opportunity for both well known artists and developing local artists to showcase their talents for the Memphis community and its' numerous visitors.

To commemorate the Grand Opening celebration, Tower Records is hosting an Enter To Win contest. The winner of the contest and their guest will be awarded an evening of food, fun, and music, Memphis style, featuring private limousine service to dinner and a show at the Memphis Hard Rock Cafe, with performances by Tantric and 7 Mary; along with the opportunity to hang out with WBZs' The BUZZ morning show host, Kramer.

With great excitement about the new Memphis location, President and CEO of Tower Records Michael Solomon said, "Memphis is ripe for Tower Records with the development of Peabody Place, a project that should jump start the revitalization of downtown Memphis." He continued, "Facing Handy Park, the new Tower Records will be located in the heart of Beale Street's many Jazz and Blues clubs. Not only is Memphis home to so many great musicians, it is a music and tourist town, which we feel is surprisingly under-catered by exceptional record stores. We are delighted to finally bring Tower Records to Memphis and to showcase our amazing depth of catalog, distinctive merchandising, customer service and unique retail philosophy, all honed to cater to the avid music lover."

Towers' Memphis location is set to compliment the personality and history of the city, with a focus on local artists and Memphis' significant musical legacy. Memphis is said to be the womb, the essence, and the root of modern music, and can literally lay claim to be the birthplace of Blues, Jazz, Rock 'n' Roll, or simply put American music. It is a story of a blending of people, and the music they created together. In the early 1960s into the 1970s, Stax Recording Studio and Sun Records created and defined the essence of Soul music, introducing middle American audiences to Southern Soul music through the enormous talent of so many artists, namely W.C. Handy, B.B. King, Booker T, Wilson Pickett, Billy Lee Riley and the Little Green Men, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Tina Tuner, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Al Green and the King himself, Elvis Presley.

More than twenty years after his death, over one million people continue to make the annual pilgrimage to Memphis, Tennessee, to visit the home of Elvis Presley, the undisputed King of Rock 'n' Roll. Elvis came to Memphis at age nineteen. The rich Memphis sound aided Elvis in forming his personal style, inspiring him to share his personal discoveries with the world. Consequently, he became one of the most-recognized and favorite personalities in the history of music. Tower pays homage to the great Memphis music tradition by celebrating its rich history and the amazing artists that call Memphis home.

About Tower Records
Since 1960 Tower Records has been recognized throughout the world for its
unique brand of retailing and sense of music community. Founded in Sacramento, CA, the company's growth over four decades has made Tower Records a household name across the globe. Tower Records owns and operates 179 stores worldwide with 50 franchise operations in 5 countries. The organization opened one of the first Internet music stores on America Online in June 1995 and followed a year later with the launch of TowerRecords.com. Relaunched late last summer with an emphasis on search, selection, simplicity and service, the site was named "Best Music Commerce Site" by Forrester Research in Fall 2000. Tower Records and TowerRecords.com partnerships include Muze, AOL, Yahoo, Liquid Audio and Student Advantage. Tower Records maintains it commitment to providing the deepest selection of packaged entertainment in the world.

Forward looking statements in this release, if any, are made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Certain important factors cause results to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward looking statements, including the impact of changing economic or business conditions, other risk factors inherent in the entertainment industry, and other factors discussed from time to time in reports filed by the company with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
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SOURCE Tower Records
-0- 07/12/2001
/CONTACT: Sara Hanson of Tower Records, Public Relations, 916-373-2988,
or fax, 916-373-2535, or sarhan@towerrecords.com/
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/Web site: http://www.towerrecords.com/