Alliance Entertainment’s AMPED Distribution Celebrates 10 Years of Business with Impressive 24 Grammy™ Nominations

PLANTATION, Fla., Dec. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alliance Entertainment Holding Corporation (Nasdaq: AENT) (“Alliance Entertainment”, “Company”), a distributor and wholesaler of the world’s largest in stock selection of music, movies, video games, electronics, arcades, toys and collectibles, today announced a momentous year for its independent music distribution arm, AMPED Distribution, a leading force in Independent Music distribution with an exceptional roster of artists and labels. In its 10th year of operation, AMPED has achieved a record-breaking 24 Grammy nominations for 19 artists, highlighting the company's commitment to championing independent music and empowering artists to succeed.“We are incredibly proud of our artists and their nominations for the 2024 Grammy Awards,” said Jeff Walker, CEO and CFO of Alliance Entertainment. “This is a testament to their hard work, talent, and dedication, as well as the support of our team at AMPED. The AMPED roster boasts exceptional talent across diverse genres, reflected in the wide range of Grammy categories in which they received nominations. We are especially excited to see Big Loud artist HARDY nominated for Songwriter of the Year and Fred again.. nominated for Best New Artist, and to have three artists nominated in the Best Bluegrass Album category.”

Dean Tabaac, Head of AMPED, added, “This milestone year also marks a decade of AMPED's commitment to supporting independent music and artists. The array of label partners we have persists in crafting music that not only garners accolades but also shapes and characterizes the musical landscape across a wide spectrum of musical categories. This year these categories included those with historical and cultural American traditions such as Americana, Roots Gospel, Folk, Bluegrass, American Roots, Jazz and Traditional R&B. International nominees included Global, African, Latin and Tropical Music. We would like to express our ongoing gratitude to our label partners and musicians for allowing us the privilege of participating in their successes over the last ten years. We look forward to continuing to play our part in extending the global reach of their incredible and award-winning music.”

For the complete list of AMPED Grammy Nominees, see below.

*Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical*· HARDY – screen

*Best New Artist*· Fred again..

*Best Alternative Music Performance*· Alvvays – Belinda Says

*Best Americana Performance*· Blind Boys Of Alabama – Friendship

*Best African Music Performance*· ASAKE & Olamide – Amapiano

*Best Jazz Performance*· Adam Blackstone Featuring The Baylor Project & Russell Ferranté - Vulnerable (Live)

*Best Roots Gospel Album*· Blind Boys Of Alabama – Echoes Of The South

*Best Jazz Vocal Album*· Nicole Zuraitis – How Love Begins

*Best Jazz Instrumental Album*· Adam Blackston – Legacy: The Instrumental Jawn
· Kenny Barron – The Source

*Best Folk Album*· Dom Flemons – Traveling Wildfire

*Best Global Music Album*· Bokanté – History
· Shakti – This Moment

*Best Latin Jazz Album*· Luciana Souza & Trio Corrente – Cometa

*Best Classical Solo Vocal Album*· Lawrence Brownlee, soloist; Kevin J. Miller – Rising

*Best Contemporary Instrumental Album*· Bob James – Jazz Hands

*Best Gospel Album*

· Jonathan McReynolds – My Truth

*Best Album Notes*· Jeff Place & John Troutman – Playing For The Man At The Door: Field Recordings From The Collection Of Mack McCormick, 1958–1971

*Best Tropical Latin Album*· Rubén Blades, Con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta - Siembra: 45º Aniversario

*Best Bluegrass Album*· Michael Cleveland – Lovin' Of The Game
· Mighty Poplar – Mighty Poplar
· Sam Bush – Radio John: Songs of John Hartford

*Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical*· Bokanté - History

*Best Boxed or Special Limited-Edition Package*· Lou Reed – Words & Music, May 1965 - Deluxe Edition
· Neutral Milk Hotel – The Collected Works Of Neutral Milk Hotel

*Best American Roots Performance*:· Blind Boys Of Alabama – Heaven Help Us All

*Best Traditional R&B Performance*· PJ Morton Featuring Susan Carol – Good Morning

*Best Historical Album*· Lou Reed – Words & Music, May 1965 - Deluxe Edition
· Jeff Place & John Troutman – Playing For The Man At The Door: Field Recordings From The Collection Of Mack McCormick, 1958–1971

*Best Spoken Word Poetry Album*

· Aja Monet – When The Poems Do What They Do
 

*About AMPED Distribution *AMPED is one of the fastest growing, top-tier independent distributors committed to developing and growing independent artists and labels worldwide. A part of Alliance Entertainment, AMPED gives the indie community access to a global distribution system with the largest sales force, a seasoned and skilled staff that provides a suite of services and data second to none. AMPED’s customer base is the largest in the industry directly servicing brick and click retailers large and small along with (DTC) direct consumers. AMPED’s growing roster of labels include labels such as Believe Digital, Better Noise, Big Loud, By Norse, Cleopatra Records, Compass Records, Compound Interest, Earache, Empire, Epitaph Records, Firebird Records, Flatiron, Fuga, GoodToGo, Herp Alpert Presents, Hopeless Records, Iconic Artist Group, IDLA, Integral (PIAS, Harmonia Mundi), Kai Media, Kartel, Lex Records, Mascot, Merge Records, MNRK (eOne, Dualtone), Nettwerk Music Group, Nuclear Blast, Polyvinyl, Proper Music Group, Rebel Records, Reservoir Media (Chrysalis, Tommy Boy), Ruf Records, Secretly Music Group, Shanachie, Smithsonian Folkways, Sub Pop, Vydia, Warner Classics and more. For more information, visit www.ampeddistribution.com.

*About Alliance Entertainment*

Alliance Entertainment (NASDAQ: AENT) is a premier distributor of music, movies, toys, collectibles, and consumer electronics. We offer over 375,000 unique in stock SKU’s, including over 57,300 exclusive compact discs, vinyl LP records, DVDs, Blu-rays, and video games. Complementing our vast media catalog, we also stock a full array of related accessories, toys and collectibles. With more than thirty-five years of distribution experience, Alliance Entertainment serves customers of every size, providing a robust suite of services to resellers and retailers worldwide. Our efficient processing and essential seller tools noticeably reduce the costs associated with administrating multiple vendor relationships, while helping omni-channel retailers expand their product selection and fulfillment goals. For more information, visit www.aent.com.

*Forward Looking Statements*

Certain statements included in this Press Release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding estimates and forecasts of other financial and performance metrics and projections of market opportunity. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether identified in this Press Release, and on the current expectations of Alliance’s management and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as and must not be relied on by an investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Alliance. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including risks relating to the anticipated growth rates and market opportunities; changes in applicable laws or regulations; the ability of Alliance to execute its business model, including market acceptance of its systems and related services; Alliance’s reliance on a concentration of suppliers for its products and services; increases in Alliance’s costs, disruption of supply, or shortage of products and materials; Alliance’s dependence on a concentration of customers, and failure to add new customers or expand sales to Alliance’s existing customers; increased Alliance inventory and risk of obsolescence; Alliance’s significant amount of indebtedness; our ability to refinance our existing indebtedness; our ability to continue as a going concern absent access to sources of liquidity; risks and failure by Alliance to meet the covenant requirements of its revolving credit facility, including a fixed charge coverage ratio; risks that a breach of the revolving credit facility, including Alliance’s recent breach of the covenant requirements, could result in the lender declaring a default and that the full outstanding amount under the revolving credit facility could be immediately due in full, which would have severe adverse consequences for the Company; known or future litigation and regulatory enforcement risks, including the diversion of time and attention and the additional costs and demands on Alliance’s resources; Alliance’s business being adversely affected by increased inflation, higher interest rates and other adverse economic, business, and/or competitive factors; geopolitical risk and changes in applicable laws or regulations; risk that the COVID-19 pandemic, and local, state, and federal responses to addressing the pandemic may have an adverse effect on our business operations, as well as our financial condition and results of operations; substantial regulations, which are evolving, and unfavorable changes or failure by Alliance to comply with these regulations; product liability claims, which could harm Alliance’s financial condition and liquidity if Alliance is not able to successfully defend or insure against such claims; availability of additional capital to support business growth; and the inability of Alliance to develop and maintain effective internal controls.

*For investor inquiries, please contact:*
*MZ Group*
Chris Tyson/Larry Holub
(949) 491-8235
AENT@mzgroup.us

*AMPED Press Contact:*
Jocelynn Pryor
Marketing@AMPEDDistribution.com