Nashville, Tenn. — Shout! Factory and the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum announced an exclusive partnership to executive produce a multi-part original series of specials on the history of country music for television broadcast and DVD distribution. This announcement was made by Shout! Factory’s founding partners Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos, and Kyle Young, director of the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum.

Under the terms of this co-production alliance, the partners will seek worldwide broadcast distribution, and Shout! Factory and the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum will retain exclusive worldwide home video and digital rights to this multi-part series of specials on the history of country music.

“Through our passion for the rich history behind the legacy of country music, this venture is a terrific opportunity for us to produce compelling original programming with venerable partners,” states the Shout! Factory founding partners. “This new multi-part original series will further our partnership with the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum and add to the marketing of our new line of DVDs and digital content.”

“The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum functions as a Museum without walls, and we are always looking for new ways to reach and expand our audience and tell them the story of this uniquely American genre. We anticipate that this series will both allow fans to revisit some of country music’s greatest moments and characters, as well as shine a spotlight on lesser known but instrumental forces that made the music what it is today, all within the larger context of 19th and 20th century America.” Kyle Young - Director of Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum

Joining forces with Shout! Factory and the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum are two award-winning documentarians, David Leaf (David Leaf Productions) and Morgan Neville (Tremolo Productions). Separately and together, in their films on such music legends as John Lennon, Frank Sinatra, Hank Williams, Brian Wilson, Johnny Cash, James Brown, and The Bee Gees, filmmakers Neville and Leaf used their storytelling skills to bring these icons to life on screen.

Under Leaf and Neville’s supervision, a team of filmmakers will tackle a diverse series of themes including - The Roots of Country and Bluegrass, The Honky Tonk Tradition, Outlaw Country, The Nashville Sound, The Politics of Country, Country Songs and Songwriters, California Country, and No Depression, which is a detailed look at the alternative country music movement.

In addition to every important song and artist from country’s celebrated history, this original production will engage today’s greatest country stars to provide their personal window to the past, using “guitar pulls” and individual trips in search of the music’s heart and soul. The production will differ from the more traditional music documentaries by bringing the music alive not just with archival performances but contemporary ones, too.

Filmmakers Leaf and Neville explain that “Rather than recount the story in a chronological way, this multi-part, multi-hour series will look at country music thematically. Each self-contained original film will examine a crucial aspect of the heritage and the history of country in a way that presents this American music in a contextual framework that shows how what was once called ‘hillbilly music’ remains a dominant form of expression in American popular music.”

It’s anticipated that the production will take at least two years. Each installment from this original series will take viewers - country fans and non-country fans alike - on a compelling journey that is uniquely American.

Over the years, Shout! Factory has cultivated a strong relationship with the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum and the country music community. Last summer, Shout! Factory announced a strategic partnership with the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum to create DVD collections on both original programs and single artist titles culled from the Museum archive for home entertainment releases.

About the Country Music Hall of Fame^® and Museum
Accredited by the American Association of Museums, the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is operated by the Country Music Foundation, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964. The Museum’s mission is the preservation of the history of country and related vernacular music rooted in southern culture. With the same educational mission, the Foundation also operates CMF Records, the Museum’s Frist Library and Archive, CMF Press, Historic RCA Studio B, and Hatch Show Print. More information about the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum is available at www.countrymusichalloffame.com.

About Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is a diversified entertainment company devoted to producing, uncovering and revitalizing the very best of pop culture. Founders Richard Foos, Bob Emmer and Garson Foos have spent their careers sharing their music, television and film faves with discerning consumers the world over. Shout! Factory’s DVD offerings serve up classic, contemporary and cult TV series, riveting sports programs, live music, animation and documentaries in lavish packages crammed with extras. The company’s audio catalogue boasts GRAMMY®-nominated boxed sets, new releases from storied artists, lovingly assembled album reissues and indispensable “best of” compilations. These riches are the result of a creative acquisitions mandate that has established the company as a hotbed of cultural preservation and commercial reinvention. For more on Shout! Factory, visit www.shoutfactory.com.

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