Valley Media Hires Sr. VP of Purchasing and Marketing

Business Wire, June 13, 2000

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

WOODLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 13, 2000

Strategic realignment of Sales, Marketing and Purchasing functions

targets stronger vendor and customer relationships

Valley Media, Inc. (Nasdaq:VMIX), a recognized leader in the full-line distribution of music and video entertainment products, announced today the hiring of Lew Garrett as Senior Vice President of Purchasing and Marketing. Mr. Garrett comes to Valley after 28 years with Camelot Music, Inc., most recently as Vice President of Buying and Merchandising.

"Lew is regarded as one of the best record executives in the business," said Pete Anderson, Valley's Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, "and his professionalism, creativity and knowledge of our business will make Valley a much stronger organization."

"Valley Media is a true leader in this industry," said Mr. Garrett. "I've admired the company as a customer for more than ten years, and I'm thrilled to be working here."

Mr. Garrett's appointment is part of a larger restructuring of Valley's Sales, Marketing and Purchasing departments designed to maximize Valley's position as a national wholesale distributor with a bi-coastal presence. Lee Negip, Director of National Sales, West, will head up West Coast-based audio sales efforts from Woodland, CA. George Balicky, Vice President of National Sales, East, will oversee Valley's East Coast account base from Carnegie, PA. As part of this restructuring, Ron Phillips, Senior VP of Purchasing, and Richard Plummer-Raphael, VP of National Sales, Audio, have resigned.

"The net result is a much more efficient organization. We're removing barriers between people by eliminating some department divisions and layers of management, and minimizing the effects of geographic separations," said Barney Cohen, Valley Media's Founder, Chairman of the Board and CEO. "We're also improving communications between departments, individuals, and sales teams and their accounts. This is an important strategic move by the company."

Valley Media is a distributor of music, video and DVD, and games, offering Full-line distribution, Independent distribution, publications, and proprietary database products. The Company provides music and video fulfillment services for e-commerce in coordination with its affiliate, amplified.com. Valley Media operates facilities in seven states with primary distribution facilities in Louisville, KY, and Woodland, CA, where its corporate headquarters are located. Additional information concerning Valley Media is available at www.valley-media.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are identified by words such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," or "intends" and by other descriptions of future circumstances or conditions. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect Valley Media's actual results include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties related to the following factors: intense competition, declining rates of Internet sales, customer concentration, increased fixed costs and tighter labor markets. More information about these and other factors that could negatively affect Valley Media's financial performance and the value of its common stock is contained in Valley Media's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Readers of the 10-K and 10-Qs should pay particular attention to the sections entitled "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and "Factors Affecting Operating Results."