Ed. Note: On behalf of myself and the entire Element 9 team, I would like to congratulate our friend, partner and mentor, Mr. Ron Spaulding, on his recent promotion to President of Fontana Distribution. During these tumultuous times in the music industry, it brings me a renewed sense of confidence to see Ron at the helm of one of music’s biggest and most valuable entities. We look forward to continuing to build on Ron’s unrivaled history of success through Element 9’s partnership with Fontana and are honored to be a part of his team.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ — Universal Music Group Distribution (UMGD), the award-winning sales, marketing and distribution subsidiary of Universal Music Group, the world’s leading music company, has promoted Ron Spaulding to President of Fontana, UMGD’s independent distribution arm. The announcement was made today by Jim Urie, President and Chief Executive Officer of UMGD, to whom Spaulding reports. Formerly, Mr. Spaulding served as Executive Vice President & General Manager of Fontana.

“Since joining us, Ron has brought extensive retail contacts and a wealth of credibility within the artistic community which the Fontana Team has translated into a great success story,” stated Mr. Urie. “In the past year alone, Fontana has had enormous accomplishments on both the indie and the Top 200 charts and has up-streamed numerous artists to our labels. Moreover, over the last year, Ron has overseen the restructuring of Fontana into a digital player second to none in the world of music distribution. His sense of humor and infectious enthusiasm has energized all of us that have the pleasure to work with him every day. We are delighted to expand the playing field even more with this well-deserved promotion.”

“Being a part of Fontana has been one of the most personally rewarding and professionally fulfilling experiences of my career,” added Mr. Spaulding. “I cannot thank Jim enough for his generous support and confidence; and working closely with the entire Fontana team continues to be a constant source of inspiration since they are second to none. We have built a vibrant and musically diverse company, with a spirited and competitive staff. I am looking forward to building further upon that winning energy; we are only just beginning to realize the possibilities of what we can accomplish.”

Prior to joining Fontana, Mr. Spaulding served as Executive Vice President/General Manager of Asylum and EastWest Records, overseeing the day-to-day operations of both labels. He also served as the Senior Vice President of Sales at WEA, Warner Music Group’s distribution arm. His background also includes serving as Senior Vice President of Sales at Elektra Entertainment Group and in a number of senior positions at Priority Records.

About Fontana

Fontana Distribution, the independent arm of Universal Music Group Distribution (UMGD), provides unparalleled sales and marketing support, as well as back office and label services, for a diverse roster of labels and their artists. Fontana distributes more than 100 labels including Downtown Music, Savoy, Vagrant Records, Eagle Rock, VP Records, American Gramaphone, Six Degrees, Last Gang Records, SMC, Delicious Vinyl, ESL, Kedar Entertainment, Ministry of Sound, Ipecac, Strange Music, Music World, VH1 Classic Records, MySpace Records and many others. In addition, Fontana distributes select projects from Universal Music Group labels worldwide.

SOURCE Universal Music Group

LOS ANGELES and CLEVELAND, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ — Fontana Distribution, the independent distribution arm of Universal Music Group, the world’s leading music company has partnered with Cleveland-based Element 9 Muzik LLC to release upcoming titles from the label. The announcement was made today by Ron Spaulding, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Fontana, and Element 9 President Tony “X” Franklin. The label’s release schedule is currently being finalized with plans to make the label’s first release through the new partnership available during the second quarter of 2010.

Franklin brings close to 20 years of experience working in the music industry. He previously served as the President of NuBlud Management, a Cleveland based Management Company specializing in the promotion and marketing of various urban acts. Franklin also served as the Head of Street and Lifestyle/ Midwest Radio Promotion for Asylum Records/ Warner Bros. Records and previously helped broker the Swisha House major distribution deal with Asylum Records

Joining Franklin will be Stu “DJ Xplosive” Pflaum, who founded the Element 9 Company in 2005 and has partnered with Franklin in the past on various music ventures. Pflaum will act as the label’s Vice President, bringing his expertise in internet marketing and new media strategies and will manage the label’s digital presence.

Also joining the team will be Douglas “Fresh” Jones, who previously worked with Franklin’s NuBlud Management team and will oversee Lifestyle Promotion of the label’s acts. Marlowe “Mauly T” Taylor will serve as the studio engineer for all the label’s projects, including the mixing and mastering of all recordings. Mauly T has mastered several Fontana projects (Capone & Noreage, Killer Mike, Beeda Weeda etc). Doc Taylor looks to continue in this capacity. Studio 76, is a renowned studio that has hosted the likes of Bone Thugs N Harmony, Snoop Dogg, Young Joc, Killer Mike, Ice Cube, Trae & Public Enemy to name a few.

“We are excited to welcome Element 9 Muzik to the Fontana family of labels,” stated Spaulding. “Tony and his team are true entrepreneurs and innovators, and we look forward to working with them to maximize opportunities on all fronts for their artists.”

Franklin commented that he was “proud to bring together a group of talented individuals from the Cleveland area to form a team capable of delivering professional results for our artists” and looks forward to using the Element 9 label to demonstrate the ability of a record label to prosper during this new era in the music industry without having to be based in big cities like New York or Los Angeles.

About Fontana

Fontana Distribution, the independent arm of Universal Music Group Distribution (UMGD), provides unparalleled sales and marketing support, as well as back office services, for a diverse roster of labels and their artists. Fontana distributes more than 100 labels including Vagrant Records, Telarc, Eagle Rock, VP Records, American Gramaphone, Downtown, Six Degrees, Nitro, SMC, Trustkill, Delicious Vinyl, ESL, Modular, Ministry of Sound, Ipecac, Strange Music, Music World, VH1 Classic Records, MySpace Records and many others. In addition, Fontana distributes select projects from Universal Music Group labels worldwide.

SOURCE Universal Music Group

My good friend and the godfather of Gangsta Rap, Ron Spaulding, was twittering from this show on Tuesday night and I could tell by his excitement in his posts that something remarkable was going on.

This is just something that’s great to see. Jeff Beck, an amazing guitar player, and Rod Stewart, an amazing vocalist, hadn’t shared the stage together in 25 years after a long history of collaboration and playing in the same group. They couldn’t have executed this reunion in a more surprising fashion.

Watch Beck’s reaction when Stewart starts belting out the vocals to “People Get Ready”. It’s priceless. You can tell he had no clue Stewart was even in the house and stares in disbelief for a few moments. They go on without missing a beat and pulled off a great impromptu set by following up with “I Ain’t Superstitious”, which was recorded 41 years ago! How’s that for longevity?

This is what I love about music. When there are no gimmicks, no theatrics–just undeniable talent. Hip-Hop can learn a lot from these guys.