Black Sabbath and Bravado: Masters Of Reality Meet Masters Of Merchandise!

- Iconic Rock Band Signs with Leading Merchandise Company

- International Design Contest Announced with Leading Retailers

NEW YORK, May 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- One of the most iconic rock bands of all time, Black Sabbath, has signed with the world's leading music merchandising company, Bravado, a division of Universal Music Group.  The announcement was made today by Tom Bennett, CEO, Bravado.

Black Sabbath, consisting of the legendary Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi, is one of the most influential bands of all time.  Their albums, including the quadruple platinum Paranoid, released in 1970, helped define the genre of hard rock.  Frequently cited as one of the greatest hard rock and metal bands of all time, Black Sabbath has sold 70 million albums worldwide.  They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

Bravado will commemorate the launch of the Black Sabbath collection with contests held in the USA, UK and Germany for fans and budding t-shirt designers to create their own Black Sabbath inspired merchandise.  In the USA, Hot Topic will sponsor a "Design your own Black Sabbath T-shirt" contest and in the UK, HMV will sponsor the same, with one lucky winner having his/her creation sold exclusively at that store.  The winning designer will also receive a lithograph signed by the members of Black Sabbath.  In Germany, the leading mail order company EMP will sponsor the contest, with the winning design sold exclusively in their catalog and online.

"Bravado is dedicated to working with the most talented and most popular artists of our time," stated Mr. Bennett. "To many, Black Sabbath transcend their music.  They not only created a genre, but they then elevated it to have a place in pop culture.  I can't wait to see what kind of products they will create with us."

In June 2012 Black Sabbath will co-headline the Download Music Festival, a three day rock music festival held annually at Donnington Park, England, and then perform in August at the Lollapalooza Festival in the Chicago, Illinois, area.

About Bravado

Bravado, the only global, 360 degree full service merchandise company, develops and markets high-quality licensed merchandise to a world-wide audience. The company works closely with new and established entertainment clients, creating innovative products carefully tailored to each artist or brand. Product is sold on live tours, via selected retail outlets and through Web-based stores. Bravado also licenses rights to an extensive network of third-party licensees around the world. The company maintains offices in London, Los Angeles, New York, Berlin, Paris, Tokyo and Sydney. Now under the Universal Music Group umbrella, Bravado is able to leverage a global sales and distribution network from the world's largest record company, as well as the group's significant marketing strength. Bravado artists include The Rolling Stones, Lady Gaga, Michael Jackson, Justin Bieber, Paul McCartney, Eminem, Kanye West, Metallica, Katy Perry,  Nicki Minaj, Guns 'N Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lil Wayne, Green Day and The Killers, among many others.