Disney Channel And Walt Disney Records In Tune With Movie Soundtrack Shipments

Disney Channel and Walt Disney Records have topped a million in shipments of their series and movie soundtracks in less than a year.
Disney Channel has enjoyed phenomenal ratings success over the past year increasing its audience share by 60%.
Rob Gilby, Disney Channel’s UK MD commented: "Understanding our audience and putting their needs at the heart of everything we do is critical to Disney Channel’s success. Music is incredibly important to kids and tweenagers and core to the Disney Channel proposition."
Martin Morales, Executive Director Buena Vista Music Group EMEA encompassing Walt Disney Records said: "We are delighted to have such a strong and coordinated partnership with Disney Channel and must also congratulate our licensee EMI on the success of these albums."
The musical success story has been driven by key Disney Channel properties and strong Walt Disney Records products:

• Disney Channel Original Movie, High School Musical broke records around the globe. The soundtrack hit #1 and has been certified double platinum in the UK.
• Tween phenomenon Hannah Montana, whose debut soundtrack was the first TV soundtrack ever to debut at #1 in the US Billboard chart, was only released in the UK last December and already has a gold UK album. Star of the show, Miley Cyrus, in the UK this week to launch her DVD and perform her first UK gig, proved a huge hit with British fans as 70,000 people called in for tickets to the event.
• The soundtrack from Cheetah Girls 2, the second most popular Disney Channel Original Movie of 2006, starring Disney Channel favourite Raven Symone, is also set to go gold.
• The Very Best of Disney Channel released this week and set for a top 20 chart entry brings together the greatest songs from Disney Channel series and films, including Hannah Montana, Jump In!, The Cheetah Girls, That's So Raven and High School Musical.
  

Disney Channel and Walt Disney Records will continue to build their music credentials in 2007. April sees the release of the Disney Channel Original Movie, Jump in!, the soundtrack of which debuted at No 1 in the US Digital Album Chart. Jump in! star Corbin Bleu, who played Chad in High School Musical, will release a solo album later this year on Disney’s Hollywood Records to join that of his High School Musical co-star Vanessa Hudgens. Her debut solo album was released in December ’06.
(DS/SP)