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A New West Coast-Based Independent Label, Your Music America, Launched As Industry Vet Larry Lee and Former Producer of the Year, Richie Zito Helm With Backing From $12 Billion WMC Mortgage President and CEO Amy Brandt

A newly formed west coast-based label, Your Music America has opened its doors for business with Industry veteran Larry Lee and former Producer of the Year and man with 40 chart hits on his resume, Richie Zito at the helm. YMA will seek out and sign fresh, new talent and develop a rock oriented roster backed with the extensive marketing promotion, production resources enjoyed by major labels. For funding, Lee and Zito have partnered with the President and CEO of a $12 Billion company, WMC Mortgage topper, Amy Brandt, one of the top female execs in the business world. In 2004, after building WMC into a $12 Billion Mortgage Originator, Brandt, along with her partners, a well-known New York based investment fund, sold WMC to affiliates of General Electric. Under her leadership WMC's monthly production volume soared from $12 million to over $1 billion a month in 2004 and to $3 billion a month in 2006.

Burbank, CA (Billboard Publicity Wire) November 1, 2006 -- A newly formed west coast-based label, Your Music America has opened its doors for business with Industry veteran Larry Lee and former Producer of the Year and man with 40 chart hits on his resume, Richie Zito at the helm. YMA will seek out and sign fresh, new talent and develop a rock oriented roster backed with the extensive marketing promotion, production resources enjoyed by major labels.

For funding, Lee and Zito have partnered with the President and CEO of a $12 Billion company, WMC Mortgage topper, Amy Brandt, one of the top female execs in the business world. In 2004, after building WMC into a $12 Billion Mortgage Originator, Brandt, along with her partners, a well-known New York based investment fund, sold WMC to affiliates of General Electric. Under her leadership WMC's monthly production volume soared from $12 million to over $1 billion a month in 2004 and to $3 billion a month in 2006.

The company simultaneously announced its distribution duties will be handled by ADA via Adrenaline (Kevin Day, Fred Croshal and Bob Divney).

In other news, a joint venture with Andrew McMahon has also been inked. Lee and Zito are pleased to announce the formation of Airport Tapes and Records ("ATR"). Headed by Andrew McMahon (Something Corporate, Jacks Mannequin) and Your Music America, the joint venture will serve as an outlet for the talented artists that Andrew encounters on the road and at home.

Legal matters for Your Music America will be handled by Scott Bradford, who represents a variety of music clients such as Panic! At the Disco, The Shins, and Plain White T's.

Your Music America's first artist signing is the band Kessler, a diverse, upbeat group who have already taken Dallas by storm with the hit track, "Outside Your Window." Selling out clubs from Texas to Louisiana, YMA's Kessler will be produced by Jim Wirt whose credits include Incubus, Hoobastank, Fiona Apple, Live, Something Corporate, and many more. The Kessler album is slated for a February of 2007 release.

President/Head of A&R at YMA, Larry Lee began his musical career at age 16, landing a record deal with RCA Records. In the 70's Larry toured with Badfinger. As a musician and producer, Lee has worked with such artists as Meatloaf, Roger Daltry of The Who and numerous projects with composer and three-time Oscar-winner Giorgio Moroder.

VP of A&R Richie Zito's career began at the age of 15 when he signed his first record deal with Atlantic Records. Throughout the 70's and into the 80's, Zito recorded and toured with Elton John, Neil Sedaka and The Beach Boys among others. As an arranger he has contributed to such soundtracks as Flashdance, Top Gun and Scarface. Zito has produced more than 40 chart hits and was named Billboard Magazine's "Producer of The Year" in 1990.

Larry Lee notes, "YMA is a part of the rise of the Indies, a trend revolutionizing the label space where Majors once dominated. Positioning itself somewhere in the middle between the Independents and Majors, Your Music America is a highly capitalized, fully functional boutique label driven by musical expertise and business savvy investors."

Zito adds, "We are an artist centric company, focusing on the development and enrichment of the artists we sign."

More on Amy Brandt and WMC: Amy Brandt is President and CEO of WMC Mortgage, one of the largest mortgage originators in the country. It was Brandt's enthusiasm for business and passion for music led her to noted music industry vet, Larry Lee, who wrote and produced a benefit song for a national charity on behalf of Brandt while at WMC.

Amy Brandt noted, "Like all strong businesses, I believe the music industry needs new energy and new creative forces to stay ahead of the curve. With Mr. Lee and Mr. Zito at the helm, I am confident that we can make our new Your Music America label a tremendous success." Before she became president and COO of WMC in June 2003, Brandt was Executive VP-Production, responsible for sales and marketing. Prior to that, she was the company's top producer, a feat she accomplished in only her third month with WMC. As her production topped $101 million, she has trained and managed several other staffers to achieve the same record results.

As CEO of WMC, Brandt is no stranger to breaking barriers. In 2004 Amy became one of the mortgage lending industry's few women senior-level executives and the youngest and first female leader in the company's history. In April of that year, she announced GE Consumer Finance was buying WMC. WMC Mortgage is one of the largest nonprime mortgage lenders in the country, with nine regional processing centers in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Texas and Washington and a correspondent-lending center in Costa Mesa, Calif.

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