New Britney Spears Single is America Online's 100th First Listen

Business Wire, Oct 2, 2003

Entertainment Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2003

AOL(R) Music's Groundbreaking First Listen Program to Reach Landmark With Debut of "Me Against the Music" Featuring Madonna

America Online, Inc. the world's leading Interactive services company, will celebrate its landmark 100th First Listen by unveiling the exclusive world premiere of a brand new song from Jive recording artist Britney Spears. "Me Against the Music," featuring Madonna, will be available exclusively for AOL(R) members for 24 hours beginning Monday, October 6 at 12:01am ET at AOL Keyword: First Listen. The song will be the first single off of In the Zone, Spears' forthcoming new album, set to hit stores on November 18. "Me Against the Music" will mark number 100 in a string of hit songs debuting on AOL(R) Music's groundbreaking First Listen program before any other media outlet.

"I'm really excited about the new single and I think its great that my fans on AOL will be the first to hear it," states Britney Spears.

The First Listen program represents the debuts of the most eagerly anticipated songs by the biggest names in music, before they are available anywhere else. Since the program's launch in January 2002, AOL members have had the first opportunity to hear exclusive world premieres from top artists across music genres, including hit songs from Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, 50 Cent, Dixie Chicks, Nelly, Josh Groban, Beyonce and Christina Aguilera. AOL Music's First Listen received the first annual MidemNet Innovation Award in January 2003. The prestigious 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.

"We are thrilled Britney and Jive Records have chosen our First Listen program to unveil her newest work to the world," said Evan Harrison, vice president and general manager of AOL Music. "We expect a tremendous reaction from our members."

"Me Against The Music," was co-written by Britney Spears and produced by Redzone. Spears co-wrote 7 of the 13 songs for In the Zone, the hotly anticipated follow-up to her 2001 self-titled, multi-platinum release. Some of the other producers/writers on the album include Moby ("Early Mornin'"), Bloodshy & Avant ("Showdown"), Guy Sigsworth ("Everytime") and R. Kelly ("Outrageous"). Since storming the pop music scene with 1999's ...Baby One More Time, Spears has sold nearly 60 million albums worldwide.

AOL Music 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 for Broadband Services and AOL's family of Web brands including Netscape, CompuServe, AIM, ICQ, Spinner, Winamp and SHOUTcast.

About America Online, Inc.

America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL Time Warner Inc. Based in Dulles, Virginia, America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services.