AOL Music Wins First Annual MidemNet Innovation Award

Business Wire, Jan 18, 2003

Entertainment Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 18, 2003

   First Listen Program Prevails Over Apple's iPod, Yahoo!'s Launch
  and Microsoft's Windows Media 9 for Outstanding Contribution to the
                        Digital Music Industry

America Online, the world's leading interactive services company, today announced that AOL Music's First Listen program has been awarded the first annual MidemNet Innovation Award. The Award was established by Midem, which is recognized as the world's leading international music market, to honor the most innovative company in the digital music industry.

The award was presented to AOL Music's Executive Director Evan Harrison at the 4th annual MidemNet Conference on January 18 in Cannes, France. MidemNet is a daylong program devoted to the digital music industry, preceding the Midem conference.

AOL was one of ten companies nominated for the MidemNet Innovation Award by a jury made up of music industry professionals and international media members specializing in music and new media. Companies were nominated for launching a successful new technology, a new concept or a process relevant to online music. Other nominees included Apple's iPod, Yahoo!'s Launch, Listen.com's Rhapsody, Microsoft's Windows Media 9, OD2, Phononet, Pressplay, Shazam and Vitaminic. Music fans were able to vote for their favorite initiative from November 28, 2002 to January 6, 2003 at www.midem.com.

"AOL Music's groundbreaking franchises have transformed the way that AOL members experience music online and have helped make AOL Music the # 1 online music destination," said Kevin Conroy, Senior Vice President and General Manager of AOL Entertainment. "In partnership with the entire music industry, AOL Music brings the widest range of exclusive content to music fans, and AOL Music's First Listen franchise represents the first time in the history of the music business that songs from top artists debut first on a media outlet other than radio."

"First Listen debuts have allowed AOL members to experience more than 50 exclusive world premieres to date of new songs from top artists representing all genres of music," said Bill Wilson, Vice President and General Manager, AOL Music. "In November alone, First Listen debuted new songs by Mariah Carey, Barbra Streisand, Jay-Z, matchbox twenty and Phish. A recent First Listen for Christina Aguilera's song 'Infatuation,' set a new record on AOL Music with nearly 2 million streams in one day. We look forward to expanding upon the success of First Listen with additional programs such as First View -- through which we exclusively debut new music videos -- as well as our original performance/interview program Sessions@AOL, thus realizing the promise of the online medium for music."

By offering artists the opportunity to reach AOL's unmatched global audience, First Listen has become the premier outlet for today's hottest stars to exclusively debut their new songs. In 2002 alone, more than 50 artists debuted their new singles on AOL Music First Listen, including Bruce Springsteen, Nelly, Christina Aguilera, and the Dixie Chicks. Artists from every genre have experienced huge success on First Listen, with the unique program having received an unprecedented response from music fans.

About AOL Music

AOL Music, a division of America Online, Inc., reaches the largest audience of online music fans in the world through a rich array of programming, products and services that make it easy to discover, experience, listen to and buy music online. AOL Music's offerings are available at the number one Internet music destination, the AOL Music Channel, and throughout the AOL service, AOL Broadband Services and AOL's family of Web brands including Netscape, CompuServe, AIM, ICQ, Spinner, Winamp and SHOUTcast. America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: AOL). Based in Dulles, Virginia, America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services.