04/21 08:36 RMS Titanic, Inc. Licenses Worldwide
Rights to Exhibit the
Titanic <SOST.OB>
RMS Titanic, Inc. Licenses Worldwide Rights to Exhibit the Titanic Artifact
Collection to SFX Entertainment, Inc., for a Minimum of $8.5 Million Annually
Five-Year License to Begin September 14, 1999
NEW YORK, April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- RMS Titanic, Inc. (OTC Bulletin
Board: SOST) announced today that it has licensed the exclusive worldwide
rights to exhibit the artifacts recovered from the Titanic to SFX Entertainment,
Inc. in consideration of the guaranteed payment to RMS Titanic, Inc. of a
minimum of $8.5 million annually. The license agreement has an initial term
of one year, commencing September 14, 1999, with SFX having the option to
extend the term for up to four additional one-year periods.
George Tulloch, president of RMS Titanic, Inc., said "We are delighted to
establish this partnership with a company possessing the expertise,
experience and resources of SFX, and look forward with great anticipation to
working with and supporting the efforts of SFX to present outstanding
exhibitions of our Titanic artifacts throughout the world."
Mike Ferrel, Chief Executive Officer of SFX Entertainment, added, "We are
very happy to announce this new agreement. This partnership is
representative of SFX's broad capabilities to provide a national platform for
innovative ideas in entertainment. It helps to fulfill our goal of offering a broad
spectrum of live events and to expand our capacity utilization as much as
possible for the benefit of audiences across the country."
RMS Titanic, Inc. was granted salvor-in-possession rights to the wreck of the
Titanic by a United States Federal Court order in 1994, reconfirmed again in
1996. The court award includes the exclusive rights to own objects recovered
from the Titanic wreck site. The United States Federal Court recognized that
RMS Titanic, Inc. has taken responsibility for the historical preservation of
Titanic's wreck through its conservation of recovered artifacts and its
commitment to keep the artifacts together as a collection for public
exhibition, without sale to private collectors.
The efforts of RMS Titanic, Inc., in its capacity as exclusive salvor of the
wreck of the Titanic, prevents the plundering of Titanic's the wreck site for
private individual gain. In a June 1998 ruling, the Court commended the
company for "maximizing the wreck's historical value and returning the
wreck's artifacts to society for the general use and education of all mankind."
During the years 1998, 1996, 1994, 1993 and 1987, research and recovery
expeditions conducted by RMS Titanic, Inc. have recovered approximately
5,000 artifacts from the Titanic wreck site.
More than 4,000,000 people have attended exhibitions of the company's
Titanic artifacts throughout the world in venues such as St. Paul, Minnesota;
Zurich, Switzerland; Tokyo and other cities in Japan; Boston,
Massachusetts; Hamburg, Germany; St. Petersburg, Florida; Memphis,
Tennessee and at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. For
more information about RMS Titanic, Inc., visit its web site at
www.titanic-online.com .
SFX Entertainment is the largest diversified promoter, producer and venue
operator for live entertainment events in the United States. It owns, partially
or entirely, and/or operates the largest network of venues in the country used
principally for music concerts and other live entertainment events. SFX has
82 venues including 16 amphitheaters in all of the top 10 markets and own or
operates venues in 31 of the top 50 markets overall. SFX also develops and
manages touring Broadway shows, selling subscription series in 38 markets
that maintain touring schedules. Through its large number of venues, its
strong market presence and the long operating histories of the businesses it
has acquired, SFX operates an integrated franchise that promotes and
produces a broad variety of live entertainment events locally, regionally and
nationally. Pro forma for all completed and pending acquisitions, during 1998,
approximately 37 million people attended approximately 13,200 events
promoted and /or produced by SFX, including over 6,250 music concerts,
5,800 theatrical shows, over 800 family entertainment shows and over 350
specialized motor sports shows. SFX also represents many prominent and
prestigious athletes and broadcasters for contract and marketing services.
Certain statements and information in this release constitute "forward-
looking statements" and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of
the Federal Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-
looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of
the company to be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied. SOURCE RMS Titanic, Inc.
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