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Guitar Center Launches Interactive Community for King of the Blues Competition
Press Release
2007-03-13

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Guitar Center, Inc. (Nasdaq NMS: GTRC), the nation's leading music instrument retailer, today announced the launch of an interactive community in support of "King of the Blues" 2007 -- the world's largest guitar competition. Geared towards offering informative resources and promoting players with deep passion and commitment to the craft, GCKingOfTheBlues.com creates a virtual community that connects and fosters music enthusiasts.

Now in its 2nd year, Guitar Center's "King of the Blues" is a nationwide competition that searches to find the best up-and-coming guitar player in the country. 199 locations will be holding in-store competitions this year. Following the initial in-store competitions, winners advance through store, district and regional elimination rounds before reaching the grand finals, which will take place in June.

The new interactive website offers members the viral tools to upload tracks, edit profiles and share their passion with other members within the online community. A "Top 100 Tracks" section features the best songs as rated by the members of the cyberspace community. Users can also chat with other Blues lovers on the discussion boards dedicated to everything from talking shop to sharing techniques or finding local musicians or that rare '76 Gibson Les Paul.

The new website also allows fans to get the most up-to-date news regarding Guitar Center's nationwide "King Of The Blues" Competition. In addition, the virtual world offers VIP access to exclusive audio and video clips from famous Blues musicians like BB King and Hubert Sumlin.

"At Guitar Center our key mission is to cultivate new and upcoming musicians," said Dustin Hinz, Manager of Event Marketing and Promotions for Guitar Center. "This community of Blues fans and musicians was designed and built as an outlet for these talented artists to connect with others as they grow and shape their craft."

About Guitar Center

Guitar Center is the leading United States retailer of guitars, amplifiers, percussion instruments, keyboards and pro-audio and recording equipment. Our retail store subsidiary presently operates 200 Guitar Center stores, with 142 stores in 50 major markets and 58 stores in secondary markets across the U.S. In addition, our Music & Arts division operates more than 95 stores specializing in band instruments for sale and rental, serving teachers, band directors, college professors and students. We are also the largest direct response retailer of musical instruments in the United States through our wholly owned subsidiary, Musician's Friend, Inc., and its catalog and Web site, www.musiciansfriend.com. More information on Guitar Center can be found by visiting the Company's Web site at www.guitarcenter.com.

The Guitar Center logo is a registered trademark of Guitar Center, Inc. Other brand or product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.