Best Buy and RioPort to Deliver Digital Download Catalogs From All Five Major Record Labels to BestBuy.com; Agreement Extends Best Buy's Reach into the Digital Music Marketplace

Business Wire, June 5, 2001

Business Editors

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 5, 2001

RioPort, the leading music application service provider (ASP), today announced that it will distribute commercial music downloads to BestBuy.com(TM), the wholly-owned subsidiary of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY), the nation's number one specialty retailer of consumer electronics, personal computers, entertainment software and appliances. The RioPort agreement adds to BestBuy.com's current digital music offerings and extends Best Buy's leadership role for offline music sales to the digital music space. The RioPort agreement will position Best Buy as the first traditional retailer with the ability to have access to commercial downloads from all five major labels.

RioPort, the only company to have formed digital download distribution agreements with all five major record labels, will begin providing access to thousands of commercial downloads to BestBuy.com later this summer. Through its PulseOne Media Service(TM), RioPort will provide BestBuy.com with content aggregation, rights management, hosting services and customer service tools. The service will provide a shopping experience that allows consumers to easily purchase popular music downloads, regardless of the format or digital rights management solution being used. RioPort is also providing its proprietary delivery manager that ensures the integrity of the downloading experience and an online music account feature that enables customers to easily access and track their online music purchases.

"RioPort has clearly demonstrated its ability to integrate the diverse rights, format and delivery requirements from all the major music labels in one seamless, consumer-friendly experience," said Scott Young, VP/GM- Entertainment for BestBuy.com. "Best Buy is committed to expanding our consumer offers of digital entertainment products and services. Adding RioPort to our current digital services will greatly enhance our ability to provide compelling digital media offers from a broad group of label sources."

"Best Buy has become one of the leading 'click & mortar' retailers in part by focusing on making it easy for consumers to buy in-store or online," said Jim Long, president and CEO of RioPort. "We are very excited to work with BestBuy.com to achieve this same high-quality experience for their customers who want access to a wide assortment of music downloads from both independent and major labels. BestBuy.com will have access to the growing number of digital music downloads being made available to RioPort through its strong label relationships."

RioPort's PulseOne Media Service

RioPort's PulseOne Media Service provides all of the online functions and services needed to find, purchase and deliver digital music to consumers over the Internet simply and securely. The PulseOne Media Service features a 24 x 7 Web content hosting center; a wide catalog of thousands of popular music downloads; a network of well-positioned e-tailers; and a secure rights and e-commerce system focusing on a simple, secure consumer experience. For its music label partners, RioPort provides all of the services necessary to securely encode, package, distribute, manage, sell and host audio content on the Internet. The PulseOne Media Service from RioPort sets the standard for the Internet economy's media application services.

About Best Buy Co., Inc.

Minneapolis-based Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is the nation's number one specialty retailer of consumer electronics, personal computers, entertainment software and appliances. The Enterprise operates retail stores and commercial Web sites under the names: Best Buy, (BestBuy.com), Sam Goody (SamGoody.com), Suncoast (Suncoast.com), Media Play (MediaPlay.com), On Cue (OnCue.com) and Magnolia Hi-Fi. The Company reaches consumers through more than 1,800 retail stores nationwide, in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

About RioPort.com, Inc.

RioPort.com, Inc. is the leading music application service provider, enabling e-tailers and consumer electronics manufacturers with industry-standard solutions for selling music to consumers in a simple, secure manner. RioPort's distribution partners include the MTVi Group, House of Blues, Bolt, BestBuy.com and others. RioPort is backed by Oak Investment Partners, Vulcan Ventures, SONICblue, Microsoft Corp., Mitsubishi Corp., EMC Corp., Quantum Corp. and Macrovision Corp.