IRON MAIDEN Splits With SANCTUARY ARTIST MANAGEMENT

The Sanctuary Group PLC has announced that IRON MAIDEN has not renewed its management agreement with the company. Rod Smallwood, who co-founded Sanctuary in the late '70s, discovered IRON MAIDEN in 1979 and managed them ever since, will also leave Sanctuary simultaneously and will continue to manage the band at his new company Phantom Music Management. Smallwood will also be retained as a consultant to Sanctuary for an initial six-month period. In the meantime, Sanctuary has signed MAIDEN to a new long-term contract for tour, retail and licensing of merchandising rights worldwide with Sanctuary-owned Bravado and has signed the band to a new recording agreement for the USA for their new album "A Matter of Life and Death". Sanctuary Records already has USA rights to the majority of MAIDEN's extensive and valuable catalog and will continue to coordinate with the band the release of new product based on that catalog.

Comments Sanctuary Group CEO Frank Presland: "Although we are obviously sad to see the band and Rod depart from a management and company standpoint we are delighted to be able to continue with the band long term as their worldwide merchandiser and U.S. label. MAIDEN are renowned as one of the biggest-grossing bands in the world in all aspects of merchandising with their distinctive Eddie T-shirts worn by multitudes of fans everywhere and for record-breaking merchandising grosses at major venues all over the world. Our label is also delighted to show what it can do by putting the band's new album in the Billboard Top 10 for the first time, at a time when the band are rapidly increasing their U.S. record-selling and touring base. The MAIDEN catalog has always been our biggest seller in America and we look forward to a fruitful ongoing relationship on this and new product based on the catalog.

"The parting with Rod and MAIDEN is entirely amicable and we are delighted that Rod has made himself available to Sanctuary as a consultant and look forward to a long and valuable relationship with him and the band. All at Sanctuary wish them both the very best for the future."

Adds Rod Smallwood: "It's obviously a bit of a wrench leaving Sanctuary after all these years but at this time in my career and with the band's ever-increasing international stature it makes total sense for me to concentrate on developing the band's huge potential in the many areas of what is now a very complex and time-consuming business. The band and l leave many friends at Sanctuary and we wish them and the company every success in the future and look forward the continuing successful relationships in merchandising and U.S. records."

According to Reuters, Sanctuary has struggled since mid-2005 due to delays at loss-making Urban Records, which it bought in 2003 from Mathew Knowles, father of R&B diva Beyonce.

Last month the company shunned a bid approach from MAMA Group, which manages the KAISER CHIEFS and FRANZ FERDINAND, and said it still had a strong independent future.