Magex Takes Center Stage Making Digital Music Secure; Magex is first InterTrust partner to offer a generally available commercial solution for secure music downloads over the Internet

Business Wire, June 26, 2000

Entertainment Editors

NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--June 26, 2000

Magex, the digital commerce service, and InterTrust Technologies (NASDAQ: ITRU), the MetaTrust Utility(TM), today announced availability of the first commercial solution that protects digital content from piracy. Secure music using the Magex solution is currently available on websites in the UK and Far East, in addition to over 1 million CD-ROMs containing exclusive content and Magex software that will be distributed in the next three months. Magex raised $80 million in private equity funding recently which is supporting the expansion of its service globally.

In addition to the recently announced CD promotion with www.metal-is.com, where Magex software and protected content is being distributed to fans attending Iron Maiden's world tour, music can also now be downloaded from www.Channelfly.com and www.Asiamix.com. www.i-gig.com, another Magex partner, is scheduled to go live later this month.

"To date, the music industry has been fighting the growing problem of piracy primarily through the courts. We are offering a solution, which will help open up the Internet for legal online music distribution," said Peter Beverley, CEO of Magex. "Piracy is a real problem and in the past artists' copyright concerns have taken center stage impeding the availability of music over the Internet. With Magex, artists now have comprehensive protection of their copyright as well as an iron-tight payment mechanism for the distribution of their material."

"We have been working closely with content providers to develop a secure, trusted and flexible platform for managing rights and automating e-commerce, serving the needs of new business models and consumers," said Edmund Fish, EVP and chief business officer, InterTrust Technologies. "Magex has added a secure payment and clearinghouse facility to this platform which provides the market with a compelling commercial solution."

Music Piracy

A study by Magex estimates that by 2003, copyright infringement on the Internet could cost the music industry in excess of $10 billion per annum unless an effective solution to control the problem is found. The study, `Online Music Piracy: I fought the law and the law...' highlights the rapid changes occurring as a result of the arrival of the new economy, in particular:

-- The growth of PC and Internet penetration around the world

-- The arrival of broadband

-- The arrival of wireless technology

-- The increasing portability of peripherals

-- The improving compression technologies

-- The increasing size of hardware memory

-- The ethics of the internet generation

-- The impact of technologies such as Napster and Freenet

-- The growing public awareness of the availability of online music

About Magex

The development of the digital content market, which JP Morgan estimates will be worth $275 billion by 2003, has been held back by the need for a secure copyrighting and payment system. Magex has been developed within NatWest Bank and built on leading DRM technology provided by InterTrust Technologies, to provide this solution.

Magex Ltd is a digital commerce service developed to create a secure and efficient environment for the trading of digital content on the Internet. The Magex technology addresses the security and payment problems surrounding digital distribution, enabling fast, safe and easy web transactions.

Incorporating Digital Rights Management from U.S. partner, InterTrust Technologies Corporation, Magex delivers the persistent protection of copyright products such as - music, information and games in any format alongside a simple, trusted payment process. Because businesses can now offer their best products for download with confidence their customers will appreciate the broader, richer choice on offer.

Magex recently raised US$80 million in equity funding. Major shareholders are Goldman Sachs, Capital Z Financial Services, NatWest (now owned by Royal Bank of Scotland), Universal Music Group, InterTrust Technologies Corporation, and Reuters. For more information about Magex visit www.magex.com

About channelfly.com

Originally born out of the Barfly Club, London's leading promoter of new rock, pop and indie talent, Channelfly has been responsible for spotting and promoting the likes of Oasis, Jamiroquai, Kula Shaker, Skunk Anansie, Catatonia, Travis and The Stereophonics at early stages of their career. The channelfly website offers webcasts and digital downloads of the UK's best emerging music talent.

About Asia Mix.com

AsiaMix.com is the leading online digital music distributor focused on Asian music. AsiaMix.com has digital distribution agreements with some of the leading Asian record labels having access to over 7,000 Asian tracks for free and for secure download sale. By distributing music content in digital formats, AsiaMix.com offers music lovers a compelling destination to discover new Asian music and provides a captive marketing platform for artists, record labels and advertisers. AsiaMix.com is the first Asian music site to implement secure commercial digital downloading via the Magex service. AsiaMix.com is based in Hong Kong with offices in Korea and Malaysia. For more information about Asia Mix visit, http://www.asiamix.com