America Online Inc.'s Spinner.com and Winamp Brands and Atlantic Records Set Industry Firsts with Stone Temple Pilots

Business Wire, Oct 6, 1999

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 6, 1999--

Internet Exclusive Debuts Online Single and Secure Digital Download;

Major Record Label Promotion Marks First Stage of Integration of

Leading Internet Music Service and Most

Popular Internet Music Player

America Online, Inc.'s Spinner.com, the first and largest Internet music service, and Winamp, the leading high-fidelity secure Internet music player for the PC, and Atlantic Records today announced a promotion premiering new music from Grammy Award-winning recording group Stone Temple Pilots.

As part of this unique effort, Winamp will offer a previously unreleased live version of Stone Temple Pilots' "Down," the lead single from the group's forthcoming fourth album "No. 4" on Winamp.com. This will be the first ever major label, Internet radio and digital download co-promotion. The track was recorded by Stone Temple Pilots last month during an invitation-only concert in Las Vegas, (as detailed in the band's official website, (www.stonetemplepilots.com).

Mjuice.com will provide security for the download via their secure digital song delivery and transaction system. Winamp listeners will also be directed to multiple online retail outlets where they can pre-order "No. 4." The download times-out on the album's Oct. 26 release date. In addition, the album version of the "Down" single will be featured as part of a streaming audio channel on Spinner.com.

Spinner.com is also hosting an STP online contest with numerous prizes, including an autographed STP guitar and limited-edition lithographs. The on-site promotion will be directly linked to www.stonetemplepilots.com.

Internet music sites are quickly becoming viable promotional tools for the recording industry. U.S. online music sales are expected to grow to $2.6 billion by 2003, representing a compound annual growth rate of 76 percent, according to Jupiter Research.

"By combining the features and audiences of Spinner and Winamp -- among the most powerful forces in the online music space -- we are able to offer the labels an effective promotional tool, reaching 5.5 million unique listeners per month, while providing top-quality music, music news and commerce opportunities to STP fans worldwide," said Josh Felser, general manager of Spinner.com, Winamp and SHOUTcast.

"The Stone Temple Pilots' debut on Spinner and Winamp is a clear mark of the evolution taking place between major labels like Atlantic Records and the foremost Internet music players."

Commenting on the new agreement, Val Azzoli, co-chairman/co-CEO of The Atlantic Group, said: "This promotion delivers a bold statement which befits the brilliant new album from Stone Temple Pilots. Atlantic has looked forward to offering secure music downloads via Winamp for some time. The MP3 copy-protection offered by the Mjuice system, in conjunction with Winamp's user base, opens a host of new opportunities for Atlantic both to expose new music to consumers via the Internet, and to drive new customers to online retail. In addition, this groundbreaking promotion partners Atlantic with Spinner and Winamp, two highly innovative music offerings now backed by the vast reach and online marketing expertise of America Online."

With total worldwide sales in excess of 15 million, Atlantic recording group Stone Temple Pilots -- Dean and Robert DeLeo, Eric Kretz, and Scott Weiland are set for the release of their first album since 1996. Due Oct. 26, the much-anticipated "No. 4" is produced by Brendan O'Brien, who also produced Stone Temple Pilots' three previous multi-platinum releases -- "CORE" (1992), "PURPLE" (1994), and "TINY MUSIC: SONGS FROM THE VATICAN GIFT SHOP" (1996).

About Atlantic Records

In 1998, Atlantic Records celebrated its 50th anniversary. Over the past half century, the label has released a string of recordings which have had a profound impact on the course of modern music. Today, The Atlantic Group releases recordings by artists working in virtually every musical genre, including: pop, rock, R&B, country, jazz, musical theater, classical, world music, Latino, Christian/gospel, and comedy.

Throughout the '90s, Atlantic has been a pioneer in the marriage of music and new technology -- from the launch of its acclaimed website (www.atlantic-records.com) four years ago, to the establishment of its industry-leading MultiMedia Lab, to the 1998 opening of its state-of-the-art in-house direct-to-web digital studio, to its array of multimedia releases. The Atlantic Group is a Warner Music Group company. Warner Music Group is a division of Time Warner Inc.

About Spinner.com

Spinner.com, an integral part of AOL's Interactive Properties Group, is the first and largest Internet music service with a database of 250,000 digitized songs delivered on 130 highly specialized music channels. Covering an unprecedented depth and breadth of music programming -- with channels such as '90s Rock, Bluegrass, British Invasion, Chicago Blues, Top Pop, Trip-, Jungle/Drum 'n Bass and Salsa -- Spinner.com reaches 1.3 million unique listeners per month, broadcasting two million songs per day.