Valley Media Wins NARM's Large Wholesaler of the Year; Entertainment Wholesaler Adds to String of Consecutive Industry Awards

Business Wire, March 2, 2000

Business Editors

WOODLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 2, 2000

Valley Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: VMIX), a recognized leader in the full-line distribution of music and video entertainment products, today announced it received the National Association of Recording Merchandisers' (NARM) Large Wholesaler of the Year award at NARM's annual trade convention in San Antonio, Texas. This award is bestowed upon a wholesaler in the music industry that best satisfies essential service criteria as voted by the NARM membership of retail businesses, music labels and distributors.

Rob Cain, Valley's President and CEO, commented, "This marks our sixth consecutive 'Best in Class' award from NARM; an unprecedented accomplishment in our segment of the music industry. I am extremely proud of our people for showing the continued passion and excellence in the jobs they do. Without their dedication, accomplishments like this wouldn't be possible."

The award was accepted by Valley Media executives at the NARM Convention Awards Dinner on the evening of March 1st.

Valley Media is a distributor of music, video and DVD product offering Full-line distribution, Independent distribution, publications, and proprietary database products. Valley provides e-commerce fulfillment services to Internet retailers on behalf of its affiliate, amplified.com. The Company 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 may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements concerning the anticipated completion of the transaction between Valley Media and amplified.com. 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. In addition, the anticipated combination of certain portions of Valley's Internet assets with amplified.com may not occur. 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."