RealNames and MP3.com Team Up On Internet Keyword Technology; Agreement Extends Internet Keywords to Online Music Fans

Business Wire, Oct 19, 1999

SAN CARLOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 19, 1999--

RealNames Corporation, creator of the Internet Keyword Web addressing and navigation service, today announced that it has entered into a promotion and marketing agreement with MP3.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:MPPP), the Internet's premiere online digital music destination.

Under the agreement, using a custom Internet Keyword implementation, unique MP3.com Web pages become the destination for anyone who types `MP3' and the specific title, artist or category of music into their Internet Keyword-enabled browser. MP3.com is also the first search result returned on several popular Internet search engines when similar `MP3' queries are entered.

MP3, a compression format that stores audio files on a computer, is currently a popular search word in many Internet search engines.

"RealNames provides a quick and easy way for Internet users to arrive at the specifically named destination of their choice," said Michael Robertson, chairman and chief executive officer of MP3.com. "Internet Keywords will allow MP3.com visitors to find their favorite artists, songs, concerts and other information simply by typing `MP3' and an artist's name or music genre."

Internet Keywords for large, highly dynamic Web databases such as MP3.com are designed to allow Internet users to quickly and easily navigate to the exact Web location they are seeking without typing www's or dot-coms. For example, users can type in "MP3" and a genre such as "jazz" or an artist's name such as "Alanis Morrisette" to arrive at a specific Web page.

In addition to simplifying the user's search process, the arrangement between MP3.com and RealNames will give all registered MP3.com artists a free MP3.com Internet Keyword to support their promotional efforts.

Internet Keywords are enabled by the RealNames platform. This platform is a layer of Internet infrastructure that is designed to facilitate navigation in multiple languages from any location on the Internet. This platform is currently available to many Internet users as a result of being integrated into browsers, search engines, directories and portals such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer 5.0, AltaVista, LookSmart, GO Network and DogPile.

Internet Keywords have been employed by such leading brands as eBay, Ford, Specialized Bicycles, and barnesandnoble.com as a fast and effective means of getting users to the relevant content on their sites.

"By giving the MP3.com community fast and easy access to the most popular music site on the Web, RealNames both enhances users' experience and helps MP3.com promote its artists," said Keith Teare, president and CEO of RealNames. "Internet Keywords allow music enthusiasts to find the Web sites they want quickly, without having to know the www or dot-com address or sift through pages of search results."

About MP3.com

MP3.com is pioneering a revolutionary approach to the promotion and distribution of music. The Company's Web site has grown into a premier online music destination. The Company uses the Internet and file formats that make music files smaller to enable a growing number of artists to distribute and promote their music to a broad audience and to let consumers conveniently access this expanding music catalogue.

The Company's Web site contains more than 154,000 songs from more than 26,000 artists, representing what the Company believes to be one of the largest collections of digital music available on the Internet. Consumers can search, sample and download music free of charge.

About Internet Keywords

The simple proposition behind Internet Keywords is to get Web users where they want to go quickly and easily. Internet Keywords are generally simple and intuitive words or phrases that allow users to get where they want to go on the Internet using familiar identities.

A consumer generally requires no additional knowledge of a company's location on the Web other than its company, brand or product name. Similarly, an Internet user can navigate directly to a person's Web page by simply knowing the person's Internet Keyword, which can be his or her name.

About RealNames

Founded in 1997, RealNames Corporation has developed a new addressing system based on Internet Keywords that simplifies navigation on the Internet. Internet Keywords are generally intuitive, familiar names, such as company, product, brand and personal names.

Internet Keywords are used instead of lengthy Web addresses to navigate from any point on the Internet that recognizes Internet Keywords. The use of Internet Keywords is designed to make Web navigation easier for users and to allow companies to leverage and promote their brands as direct connections to their Web pages.

Internet Keyword users may now type intuitive phrases such as "Ford Explorer" rather than lengthy Web addresses such as http://www.fordvehicles.com/explorer/index.html. Internet Keywords are enabled by the RealNames platform, a new layer of Internet infrastructure that is designed to facilitate navigation in multiple languages from any location on the Internet.