audiohighway.com Teams Up With Universal Music Group to Sell Legal Music Downloads

Business Wire, August 3, 2000

Business Editors/Entertainment & Online Writers

CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 3, 2000

audiohighway.com is One of Only a Handful of Companies Selected to

Participate In UMG's bluematter(TM) Trials that Feature

Blink 182, 98 Degrees, SMASH MOUTH, George Benson and

Other UMG Recording Artists

Music buffs can now log onto audiohighway.com and legally purchase music downloads from such leading recording artists as Blink 182, 98 Degrees, SMASH MOUTH and George Benson.

audiohighway.com is one of only a handful of Internet music companies selected by Universal Music Group to participate in the trials of bluematter(TM), UMG's new premium digital download format.

"In light of recent rulings in the Napster litigation, we feel that bluematter represents an important next step toward protecting the rights of mainstream artists and fostering legitimate business on the Web," said Grant Jasmin, chief operating officer and general counsel for audiohighway.com.

Songs in the bluematter format come with enhanced multimedia content, such as biographies, photographs, lyrics and credits. bluematter tracks span a range of musical genres from rock to pop to classical.

audiohighway.com will initially offer close to 60 bluematter tracks from a variety of UMG artists, including Blink 182, George Benson, Live, Luciano Pavarotti, 98 Degrees, Marvin Gaye and more, with more tracks to be added weekly as the bluematter trial continues.

The bluematter format allows consumers to introduce friends to new music through "superdistribution." Consumers can click the "e-mail a friend" button on their music player at the audiohighway.com Web site and send legal music references to friends via e-mail. Friends can then listen to a sample of the song and opt to purchase the full track in the bluematter format.

"We're proud to have audiohighway.com as an affiliate partner as we roll out the trials for bluematter," said Heather Myers, executive vice president and general manager of Global e., a subsidiary of UMG. "bluematter is a first step on the path towards a new legitimate digital music market."

About audiohighway.com

audiohighway.com is a leading online media destination, offering one of the Internet's largest and most diverse libraries of free audio content.

Visitors can access thousands of hours of music, audio books, news, entertainment, education and information from audiohighway.com in a number of formats (including MP3, RealPlayer(TM), Windows(R) Media Player(TM), and now, bluematter(TM)), through a variety of audio channels. audiohighway.com offers free audio and video content, which can be streamed directly to PCs or downloaded for future playback.

Consumers can also purchase music, videos, games, home electronics and much more through its e-commerce Web site: www.massmerchandise.com.

The statements made in this release that are not historical facts contain forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties.

Important factors that may cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, the impact of competitive products and services, the company's ability to manage growth and acquisitions of technology or businesses, the effect of economic and business conditions, and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.