JEAN MICHEL JARRE TO RECEIVE SPECIAL AWARD AT THE SECOND IFPI PLATINUM EUROPE AWARDS IN BRUSSELS ON JULY 9TH

It is announced today (July 1), prior to the second IFPI Platinum Europe Awards Dinner in Brussels on July 9, that Jean Michel Jarre, the highly acclaimed and highly successful French musician, is to receive a Special Platinum Europe Award at the event in recognition of his Exceptional Contribution to the European Music Industry.

In a career that spans more than two decades and in which he has sold over 55 million albums globally and, specifically more then 32 million albums throughout Europe, he originally began by composing for ballets and movies. In 1976 he released, the album 'Oxygene', which has now sold more than 12 million copies around the world. It was - and still remains - a truly innovative and ground-breaking record and, besides marking the start of his long term international success, also Inspired subsequent generations of musicians to work In and adapt the genre of music that he created. As a performance artist he has created legendary stage shows, making an art of the spectacular, and performed in some incredible venues around the world including La Defense in Paris, the Houston Downtown, Moscow and, in 1981, he was the first Western artist to perform in the People's Republic of China.

The award will be presented to him by Jacques Santer, President of the European Commission and Nana Mouskouri who received a Special Platinum Europe Award last year and who also, as arguably, in the sixties, became Europe's first border-crossing artist and now MEP, has worked tirelessly for the European Music Industry in its fight against piracy and for copyright harmonisation through the EU.

Jean Michel Jarre has also agreed to act as European Industry Artist Spokesman for the next two years. This will involve working with the music industry and publicly promoting the priorities of artists and record companies In Europe.

IPPI Chairman David Fine said: "Jean Michel Jarre is a worthy recipient of the Special Platinum Europe Award and has agreed to act as a spokesman for the Music Industry in Europe. As one of Europe's most successful and innovative musicians, he is perfect for that role. He will be of enormous value in showing Europe's politicians that, on our priority issues of piracy and copyright protection in the information society, artists and the record industry are fighting for a common goal".

Jean Michel Jarre said. "This is a huge honour for me. Music has a very important role to play in the cultural, social and economic life of Europe. I am very happy to promote that role at a political and public level. This is an exciting time to be a recording artists in Europe - music is breaking down language and cultural barriers, and the information society is creating great new opportunities to reach our consumers. It's a time when certain absolute priorities must be made clear - such as the need for an environment which properly rewards the creativity of all those who work in the music industry. In the age of the internet as now, Europe's music culture will thrive only with strong copyright laws. I am very happy to use my voice on behalf of the music industry, to deliver that message."

The Platinum Europe Awards Dinner will honour a total of more than 100 artists who have achieved the outstanding feat of selling 1 million or more copies of an album in Europe in the last two years. The list of qualifiers, from 14 Countries, shows a European music market of increasingly varied consumer taste and growing linguistic and cultural diversity. It shows that Europeans have a growing appetite for European music sung in different languages. Three quarters of Europe's most popular recording artists are European; half of those are from Continental Europe.

Speaking in advance of the Awards, President Santer said: 'The Platinum Europe Award honours not only musical talent but also the outstanding musical taste of a generation of young people in Europe. Platinum Europe is a powerful expression of European Identity by our young people. And It is an expression that I believe politicians and governments in Europe should heed.'