BORCHETTA'S LETTER TO THE TROOPS

In the wake of his Big Machine Label Group’s merger/acquisition deal with Scooter Braun/Ithaca Holdings, Scott Borchetta issued the following letter to his team.

Dear friend,

Back in 2004, when the insane desires I had to start my own record company took hold and I made the decision to jump out of the Universal Music Group, the goal was always to become much more than a record company, it was to become an entertainment company. As we built the label group up and up and up, we achieved some monumental accomplishments:

• In its nearly 14 year history, the Big Machine Label Group has:
• Released nearly 200 albums that have achieved over 65 million in global sales
• Taken 118 songs to the top of the charts, arguably changing the sound of Country Music in the 21st Century
• Seen our artists win every award imaginable, highlighted by two all-genre Album of the Year Grammy awards, and dozens more Grammy, CMA, AMA, ACM and CMT awards
• Launched and built the careers of heavy metal-certified superstars Taylor Swift, Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Brantley Gilbert, Justin Moore, Brett Young and more
• Helped iconic artists reimagine their careers and find new levels of success and artistic achievement, including Reba McEntire, Tim McGraw, Steven Tyler, Sheryl Crow, Lady Antebellum
• Stood for Artist-First key principles of artist compensation, including being the first-ever American label to align with terrestrial radio for performance rights, believing not only that Music Has Value, but what artists create—and how we help support them throughout the process—matters.

When we started with three artists, 13 employees and a dream, it was about how do we create a new way to rock the music. Now, over 100 employees strong across the globe, international TV and film endeavors, various collaborative alliances and another crop of groundbreaking young acts about to launch, we have never been stronger or more integrated as a team or more able to fly.

Today, I am proud to announce that I have entered into a merger and acquisition agreement with Ithaca Holdings, whose main stakeholders are Scooter Braun and The Carlyle Group.

I will continue as President & CEO of the Big Machine Label Group… and I’m more fired up than ever!

I am now a Board Member for Ithaca Holdings and I am a significant, but minority, shareholder in the company.

We are now part of the same company that manages Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato and J Balvin, just to name a few. We have more TV, film, branding and tech opportunities than I ever thought possible.

The Big Machine Label Group will continue to operate at full power in our current image and completely autonomous in my agreement with the new entity. There will not be any staff changes.

Are we still an independent record company? You better believe it!

We remain one of the world’s largest independent record companies… and, now, we’re only going to get bigger as we target more and more global opportunities.

For all of you who have been involved in any way with the building of this Big Machine, I sincerely thank you and I invite all of you to celebrate this day.

A new era begins….

NOW!

Scott