Freehand Systems, Maker of the MusicPad Pro, Acquires Sunhawk Digital Music LLC

Business Wire, July 18, 2003

Business Editors

LOS ALTOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 18, 2003

Freehand Systems, Inc.:

-- Acquisition Positions Freehand Systems as World Leader in

Digital Music Technology and Largest Distributor of Digital

Song Titles

-- Purchase Taps Vast Market of 60 Million Musicians in the U.S.

Alone; Provides Seamless Experience in Searching, Purchasing

and Downloading Digital Sheet Music

Freehand Systems, Inc., announced today that it has acquired Seattle-based Sunhawk Digital Music LLC, a privately held company with the world's largest collection of digital sheet music titles, for $2 million. The acquisition places Freehand, a privately-held company with the mission of reinventing how musicians read and perform music, as the world leader in digital music technology and largest distributor of digital sheet music song titles. It also offers musicians a seamless experience in searching, purchasing and downloading digital sheet music.

Sunhawk's digital sheet music library consists of over 30,000 music titles. Each title is MIDI-capable and uses Sunhawk's proprietary Solero notational software to enable users to play the selection on an electronic device such as a computer or synthesizer. Sunhawk's catalog includes a wide range of product from classical to Christian to popular music due to its contracts with major publishers like Warner Bros. Publications, Mel Bay, and EMI.

"Sunhawk Digital Music has been a visionary company in the emerging market for digital music. Its library of digitized sheet music titles is truly a crown jewel and a great addition to Freehand's portfolio of digital music technology. With 60 million Americans who make or play music, the market potential for this new enterprise is substantial," says Kim Lorz, CEO of Freehand Systems. "Over the next three years, we expect this acquisition to generate $20 million in gross revenue."

"The combination of these companies creates a formidable force in advancing the early adoption of digital music technology," says Marlin Eller, Sunhawk's CEO. "Our product line of digital music titles is a perfect complement to Freehand's premier product, the MusicPad Pro(TM). We are pleased to become a part of the Freehand team and excited about the enormous prospects of the combined company."

The Sunhawk digital music library is on-line at www.sunhawk.com and www.freehandsystems.com.

The MusicPad Pro, the world's first digital sheet music computer tablet, makes teaching music much easier, learning music more enjoyable and performing music more fun. Not only does it create a paperless environment by providing storage capacity for an entire music library of more than 5,000 pages of sheet music, it solves the age-old problem of turning music pages by letting musicians simply touch the screen. They also can mark up compositions and write reference notes on the screen using Freehand's proprietary annotation technology.

The sleek new tablet computer is housed in a charcoal grey ABS polymer enclosure not much larger than a sheet of paper. Weighing just under five pounds, it is lightweight and easy to carry, although the MusicPad Pro Plus(TM), which comes with a rechargeable battery, weighs a little more. Without the discounts, suggested retail price for the MusicPad Pro is just $999. The MusicPad Pro Plus, with a battery life of three hours on one charge, is $1,199.

Both models have an easy-to-read, low glare, backlit 12.1 in. TFT LCD display. Key features include zoom in and zoom out capabilities and on-screen color highlighters and pens to add or erase rehearsal marks and notations. Digital music files in pdf, jpg and other popular graphics formats can be directly imported into the MusicPad Pro using the software provided with the device. Printed music can be scanned into a computer and then imported.

Freehand Systems, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in Los Altos, Calif., with the mission of reinventing the way 60 million American musicians and their counterparts worldwide read and perform music. The company is a world leader in the development, manufacture, and marketing of electronic accessories to the music industry, as well as the leading Internet-based provider of sheet music and digital files. Its flagship product, the MusicPad Pro, provides innovative technology and productivity benefits to arrangers, composers, conductors and performers within the orchestral, choral, studio musician markets, as well as music educators and amateur musicians. Freehand Systems has been funded and mentored by KAL Equity Capital Fund I, LLC.

Media Contact:

Tim Blair

BlairPR, Inc.

310.470.4569

tim@blairpr.com

Note to Editors: For more information visit www.freehandsystems.com.

Freehand Systems, Inc., MusicPad Pro, MusicPad Pro Plus are trademarks of Freehand Systems, Inc.