Dove Award Performers Announced for Live Show on April 23

Gospel Music Channel to Telecast Dove Awards Live Nationwide 8 – 10 p.m. ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – April 9, 2009 – Steven Curtis Chapman, Natalie Grant, Mary Mary, MercyMe, Third Day, Chris Tomlin and other performers to be announced in a special Dottie Rambo tribute segment are the first performers announced for the 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards telecast, according to the Gospel Music Association (GMA) and Gospel Music Channel (GMC).

The Dove Awards (www.DoveAwards.com), Christian and gospel music’s biggest night of the year will take place live on Thursday, April 23, 2009 in Nashville at the Grand Ole Opry House and will be broadcast live nationwide on the awards’ exclusive television home, the Gospel Music Channel television network from 8 – 10 p.m. (ET).

The performers confirmed for the show are also nominees for Dove Awards:

Francesca Battistelli

Steven Curtis Chapman

Natalie Grant with special guest Group 1 Crew

Brandon Heath

Mary Mary

MercyMe

Jonathan Nelson

Remedy Drive

Chris Sligh

Tenth Avenue North

Third Day

Chris Tomlin

Dottie Rambo Tribute with surprise guests

Additional performers, presenters and special segments will be announced soon. Tickets for the 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards are currently available at TicketMaster.com. The American Bible Society (www.AmericanBible.org) is the official charity for the 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards.

While the awards are the purpose of the show, music performances will definitely share center stage at the Dove Awards, showcasing some of gospel music’s hottest and most diverse artists. In addition to the exclusive live broadcast, Gospel Music Channel will present back-to-back encore broadcasts that night and additional re-airings following. Gospel Music Channel’s rapid growth has made it the fastest growing network in television for the past two years and GMC is now available in 45 million homes in all major markets on the major cable systems as well as on DIRECTV on Channel 338.

Dove Awards will be handed out in 43 categories. For the first time, fans have become stakeholders in the Dove Awards with an opportunity to vote for the winner of two of the night’s biggest awards – Artist of the Year along with New Artist of the Year. Fan voting is open at the Gospel Music Channel website (www.gospelmusicchannel.com) and at www.doveawards.com. The cumulative fan vote, which will continue through the live Dove Awards broadcast, will account for one-third of the total vote in those two categories.

WoW and Belmont University Volunteers Package more than 400,000 meals for Feed My Starving Children

Community Event Draws More than 1,500 Volunteers from EMI Christian Music Group, Provident Music Group, Word Entertainment and Belmont University and Set Record for Number of Meals Packaged in One Day

Lunchtime Performances by Brandon Heath, Francesca Battistelli and Josh Wilson

(Nashville, Tenn.) December 11, 2008 – EMI Christian Music Group, Provident Music Group and Word Entertainment have long collaborated in the marketing and distribution of WOW compilation projects. This Wednesday, the collective staff of the three companies, along with students from Belmont University, banded together to package a record number 427,000 meals for the non-profit hunger-relief organization, Feed My Starving Children (FMSC). The number of meals packaged at this event is enough to feed 1,169 children for one year.

The more than 1,500 volunteers worked in shifts that started at 10:00 AM and ran through 8:00 PM, packaging specially formulated meals in assembly-line fashion. Each FMSC meal provides the key nutrients a child needs to survive and thrive.

Laura Nielsen, Offsite Operations Manager for Feed My Starving Children, shared, “The ‘WOW Shares’ event was an incredible success. Not only did we pack a record-breaking amount of meals in one day, but we also helped changed the world for so many kids in Thailand.”

Over the lunch break, Brandon Heath (Reunion Records/Provident Music Group), Francesca Battistelli (Fervent Records/Word Entertainment) and Josh Wilson (Sparrow/EMI CMG Label Group) performed a concert for volunteers that numbered in excess of 1,500. Lunch was generously donated for volunteers by Sodexo, Belmont’s food services provider.

About Feed My Starving Children:
Minnesota-based Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) is a non-profit Christian organization committed to feeding God’s starving children hungry in body and spirit. The approach is simple: volunteers of all ages hand-pack meals designed specially for starving children, and FMSC ships the meals to more than 60 countries around the world. This year, FMSC will send 75 million meals around the world thanks to the work of 325,000 volunteers. For more information, see the attached fact sheet and visit http://www.fmsc.org.

About WOW and WOW Shares:
“WOW Shares” is a newly created effort formed by the WOW companies to mobilize Christian music industry employees to serve others this Christmas season. EMI Christian Music Group, Provident Music Group and Word Entertainment have coordinated their efforts to pack food for starving children in Thailand. Funds for the meals have been provided from proceeds from the sale of WOW CDs.

About Belmont University:
Belmont University, host of the 2008 Town Hall Presidential Debate, is a fast-growing community of 5,000 students who come from almost every state and more than 25 countries. Committed to being a leader among teaching universities, Belmont brings together the best of liberal arts and professional education in a Christian community of learning and service. The university’s purpose is to help students explore their passions and develop their talents to meet the world’s needs. With more than 75 areas of study, 12 master’s programs and three doctoral degrees, there is no limit to the ways Belmont University can expand an individual's horizon. For more information, visit www.belmont.edu.