ETC Music Receives CIO-100 Award for Innovative Products and Services

Business Wire, August 22, 2001

Business/Technology Editors

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 22, 2001

ETC Music today has been named winner of the prestigious CIO-100 by IDG's CIO magazine. The 2001 CIO-100 recognizes organizations around the world that excel in positive business performance through innovative practices and products. ETC Music was recognized for its development of MUSICTELLER, the industry's first device for delivering music directly to the emerging class of portable digital audio players.

According to CIO magazine, the 100 companies on this exclusive list were selected from a record number of 1000 nominations. Nominations were assessed and evaluated by a panel industry experts as well as CIO magazine editors and writers. The judges specifically reviewed companies that demonstrated positive business performance through innovative products and services.

"In order to survive in the competitive business world, companies rely on innovative ideas and development of those ideas into sound business processes," said Abbie Lundberg, Editor-in-Chief, CIO magazine. "Honorees of this year's CIO-100 have done just that and are being recognized for their ingenuity and success."

"We are delighted to be recognized as a standard of innovation by CIO Magazine," said Mark Hardie, founder and CEO of ETC Music. "Digital distribution is changing the way that people get music, expanding not only the breadth of music available but also the variety of places where music is offered. We are proud to take this one step further by giving music fans fast and easy ways to purchase digital music at their local music or consumer electronic store."

MUSICTELLER is a convenient and simple way to get digital music away from home. The digital downloading technology works like a bank ATM except that it dispenses music directly into MP3 players. The Teller uses a simple touch screen that allows customers to choose songs, plug in an MP3 player, and download their music in just a few minutes. The TELLER supports a variety of different digital audio players including the Nike PSA 60 and 120 and the Rio 600 and 800. MUSICTELLER makes sense for people on the go, because it allows them to buy new music and access previously purchased music from a virtual music locker anytime, anywhere.

About ETC Music

ETC Music Inc. is a privately held company founded in 1999 by Mark Hardie, a prominent technology analyst in the entertainment industry. Based in Boston, MA, the company is committed to bringing direct-to-device solutions to the marketplace. In July 2000, ETC Music introduced MUSICTELLER, the industry's first device for delivering music directly to the emerging class of portable digital audio players. The company works in conjunction with music labels and independent artists, as well as retailers, entertainment producers, technology companies, Web-based service providers, and telecommunications companies.

About CIO Magazine

CIO magazine (launched 1987) is published by CXO Media Inc. CXO Media serves CIOs, CEOs, COOs and other corporate officers who use technology to thrive and prosper in this new era of business. The company strives to enhance partnerships between C-level executives, as well as create opportunities for information technology (IT) and consumer marketers to reach them. In addition to publishing CIO, CXO Media produces www.cio.com, The CIO Insider, Darwin magazine and www.darwinmagazine.com, as well as CIO and Darwin Executive Programs, a series of conferences that provide educational and networking opportunities for corporate and government leaders.

CXO Media Inc. is a subsidiary of IDG, the world's leading IT media, research and exposition company. IDG publishes more than 300 computer magazines and newspapers and 4,000 book titles and offers online users the largest network of technology-specific sites around the world through IDG.net (www.idg.net), which comprises more than 270 targeted websites in 70 countries. IDG is also a leading producer of 168 computer-related expositions worldwide and provides IT market analysis through 50 offices in 43 countries worldwide. Company information is available at www.idg.com.