SNOCAP Allies with Leading Independent Labels to Fulfill the Promise of Commercial Peer to Peer

Business Wire, March 17, 2005

SAN FRANCISCO -- TVT Records, Artemis Records, Nettwerk, Other "Indies" and Independent Online Distribution Alliance Sign Agreements to Adopt the SNOCAP Platform and Utilize the Company's Technology and Database Services

E[acute accent]SNOCAP, the first end-to-end provider of digital licensing and copyright management services for the digital music marketplace, today announced that it has entered into agreements with some of the industry's most prominent independent labels and aggregators. The deals call for SNOCAP to provide technology and database services for the digital distribution of the labels' entire music catalogues. These pacts further SNOCAP's commitment to offer the most extensive selection of content for consumers in the authorized digital music marketplace. E[acute accent]Independent record labels that have reached an agreement with SNOCAP include: Absolutely Kosher Records, Artemis Records/Sheridan Square Entertainment, Gammon Records, Streetbeat Records / Pandisc / Kriztal Entertainment, Nacional Records, Nettwerk Records, OM Records/Deep Concentration, Reality Entertainment and TVT Records. In addition, Independent Online Distribution Alliance, a premiere aggregator of independent label content for digital distribution, has signed an agreement to bring more than 75,000 tracks from 500 independent labels to SNOCAP. Labels will have the benefit of SNOCAP's easy-to-use web-based interface to clear and manage their licensing rights across multiple online retail locations. E[acute accent]"These indie labels are essential partners in creating deeper and richer online access to music and we are pleased that they recognize the need for SNOCAP's technology and services," said Shawn Fanning, Chief Strategy Officer for SNOCAP. "The authorized digital music marketplace, whether peer-to-peer or other online retail, can only be successful when consumers can access all the music they're looking for; these agreements are a critical step in SNOCAP's effort to enable the largest possible variety of content." E[acute accent]"TVT has always embraced the Internet as an important distribution channel for our artists," said Steve Gottlieb, President and Founder of TVT Records. "The whole point is promoting our artists where the listeners are. There's a market of consumers who use the peer-to-peer platform to ignite new interests, re-discover songs from their past and share music with each other, and we are thrilled that SNOCAP will open the doors for consumers to use P2Ps, while protecting the rights of the artists who create the music." E[acute accent]"We are excited to be working with SNOCAP, as it is clear that music fans enjoy the entire digital music experience, whether it be discovery, sharing or purchasing from tracks found via the Internet," said Daniel Glass, CEO of Artemis Records/Sheridan Square Entertainment. "We want music fans to be able to reach our catalog of artists through a broad range of services, and we are dedicated to expanding access to our content through digital music communities, including peer-to-peer networks." E[acute accent]"SNOCAP is expanding the boundaries of digital music services for labels and making room for an authorized, online marketplace where more music can flow between artists and fans," said Terry McBride, Co-Owner and CEO of Nettwerk Productions. "We're pleased that SNOCAP is providing us with the means to make our complete catalogue of music more accessible to digital music consumers." E[acute accent]"IODA is dedicated to ensuring that independents are well-represented and promoted in the digital landscape," said Kevin Arnold, Founder and CEO of Independent Online Distribution Alliance. "New channels for distributing music digitally are constantly emerging, and SNOCAP provides another great opportunity for independent rights holders to make their music available through a myriad of online channels, in turn benefiting the entire independent community." E[acute accent]SNOCAP is now allied with leading independent label groups and two of the largest major label groups, Sony BMG and Universal. SNOCAP's copyright management interface enables label partners to set business rules for each track on a global basis. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed. E[acute accent]SNOCAP is the first end-to-end solution for online music licensing and copyright management, providing value to record labels, artists, online services and consumers through its music registry and technology platform. With SNOCAP, consumers will finally have authorized options with comparable selection to today's file sharing services because SNOCAP gives rights holders the comfort level they need to make their content available on P2P networks. SNOCAP provides P2P networks and online retailers with a single clearinghouse to access the broadest possible selection of authorized digital music, allowing them to concentrate on providing compelling user experiences rather than trying to develop and maintain relationships with thousands of copyright holders. E[acute accent]For more information or for labels and artists to sign up and begin the registration process, please visit www.snocap.com.