Lenny Kravitz Music Video "Dig In" Now Available
Virgin and Roxio First To Enable Consumers Portable Music Video
Milpitas, California - (November 8, 2001) - Lenny Kravitz is the
first artist to have a music video available to download from the
Internet and burn onto a CD, it was announced today by Roxio, Inc.
(Nasdaq: ROXI), the Digital Media Company, and Virgin Records America,
a division of EMI Recorded Music. In this ground-breaking agreement,
Roxio and Virgin announced that consumers could download and burn
Kravitz's video for "Dig In," the first single from his
new album Lenny, by visiting MTV.com
and VH1.com. This promotion with
Virgin Records authorizes consumers, who own Roxio's best-selling
Easy CD Creator software, to burn the music video to CD.
"Roxio's strategic relationship with EMI was formed with the
intention to deliver CD recording solutions for the authorized digital
distribution of music," said Chris Gorog, president and chief
executive officer for Roxio. "The Lenny Kravitz promotion represents
a major milestone in the acceptance, by the music industry, of the
pivotal importance that burning plays in the digital distribution
model."
Today, customers who own Roxio's Easy CD Creator software can download
and burn the Kravitz music video from www.MTV.com and www.VH1.com.
At the sites, they will be required to enter their email address
and postal code to receive a license to download the music video.
If the user does not own Roxio software, they will be allowed to
download the Kravitz video to their PC, but the license and video
will expire, and will not be playable after 30 days. The music video
uses Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Media Video technology and Digital
Island, www.digitalisland.com, will enable the delivery of the free
download to consumers via its 2Way Web Services™.
Lenny, the first album of new material in nearly three years from
genre-defying, multi-platinum-selling rocker Lenny Kravitz, was
released by Virgin Records on October 30, 2001. The album was written,
arranged, produced and performed by the three-time Grammy winning
artist, and features twelve Kravitz originals, including the debut
single, "Dig In". Lenny is the highly anticipated follow-up
to his breakthrough 1998 release, 5 (featuring the chart-topping
"Fly Away" and his hit rendition of "American Woman"),
and his most recent Greatest Hits, which contained the smash single
"Again", nominated this year for an MTV Video Award for
"Best Male Video". Greatest Hits has sold upwards of eight
million copies worldwide, solidifying the premier American rock
musician's international stature.
"What's cool about this promotion is we are enabling fans
to download Lenny's new 'Dig In' video and burn it to CD,"
said Ty Braswell, vice president of New Media for Virgin Records
America. "To do so, the only thing they need to do is register
their email address. With that, we can send them updates on Lenny's
touring, TV appearances, new remixes and other news. And, if a fan
wants to give a copy of the video to their friends, thanks to Microsoft's
digital rights management technology, the video will only play if
the friend registers online."
"Digital Island's 2Way Web Services accelerate delivery and
receipt of this exclusive Lenny Kravitz music video by delivering
the online video closer to the end user for a faster, more reliable
download," said Adam Cohen, chief media officer, Digital Island.
"Roxio and Virgin are taking digital media commerce to a new
level and paving the way for similar and innovative ground-breaking
promotions for future artists."
Roxio will also feature the music video promotion in its' worldwide
consumer print, broadcast, and online advertising campaign. This
campaign includes broadcast ads on MTV, VH1, ESPN and print ads
in Maxim, Rolling Stone and Spin magazines.
About Virgin Records America
Virgin began in the early 1970s as a small, independent label based
in London. By 1986 Virgin had grown dramatically, and brought its
innovative approach to U.S. soil. Today, Virgin Records America
and its London-based parent company Virgin Music Group Worldwide
are part of the EMI, the world's third largest music company. In
America, Virgin is distributed by EMI Music Distribution (EMD),
and the label's offerings span virtually all contemporary musical
genres -- including modern rock, R&B, pop, hip hop, rap, blues,
country, film soundtracks, compilations and contemporary instrumentals.
The array of artists on Virgin's roster includes: A Perfect Circle,
Aaliyah, Air, B.R.M.C., Bathgate, Beenie Man, Ben Harper, Blue Man
Group, Chemical Brothers, D'Angelo, Daft Punk, David Bowie, David
Byrne, Do Or Die, Doves, Fatboy Slim, Gang Starr, Gorillaz, Ideal,
Janet Jackson, John Lee Hooker, Joseph Arthur, Lenny Kravitz, Manu
Chao, Mariah Carey, Massive Attack, Miranda Lee Richards, N.E.R.D.,
Nikka Costa, Perry Farrell, Placebo, Richard Ashcroft, Scarface,
Spice Girls, Tank, Teddy Riley, Timbaland & Magoo, The Rolling
Stones, Tina Turner, UB40, and Yanni, just to name a few. The company
also boasts strategic alliances with an eclectic array of labels,
including Astralwerks, Blackground, Luaka Bop, Immortal, I AM Recordings,
and Rap-A-Lot, among others. Over 25 years after its humble beginnings,
Virgin remains devoted to seeking and embracing artists who possess
the talent, vision and passion to create something new and different.
About Digital Island
Digital Island®, a Cable & Wireless company (NYSE: CWP),
is the industry's first provider of 2Way Web Services that enable
enterprises to leverage the Internet to increase the profitability
of online operations, increase customer value and decrease costs.
Digital Island provides robust managed hosting, content delivery
and network infrastructure and applications required to transact,
deliver, and manage profitable transactions and interactions. As
a Cable & Wireless company, Digital Island operates data centers
in the United States, Asia-Pacific region and Europe and has a global
content delivery network that reaches more than 35 countries worldwide.
Digital Island also leverages Cable & Wireless' advanced IP
network reaching 70 countries. Digital Island is headquartered in
San Francisco. www.digitalisland.net
Safe Harbor Statement
The matters discussed relating to Roxio in this press release,
in particular matters related to Roxio's OEM relationships, include
forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties, including delays in product development, competition
in the software industry, and failure to maintain OEM relationships,
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
projected. Additional information on these and other factors are
contained in Roxio's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC), including the Company's Annual Report on Form
10-K as filed with the SEC on July 1, 2002 and Quarterly Report
on Form 10-Q as filed with the SEC on November 13, 2002, copies
of which are available at the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov.
Roxio assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements
included in this press release.
About Roxio
Roxio, a division of Sonic Solutions, develops and markets the best-selling digital media software in the world. Roxio offers
award-winning software products for CD/DVD burning, photo editing and video editing and has an installed base of over 150 million
users. Roxio distributes its products globally through strategic partnerships with major hardware manufacturers, through leading
retailers, through Internet partnerships and through direct sales at www.roxio.com. Roxio's
parent company, Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: SNIC;
http://www.sonic.com) is the leader in digital media software and provides a broad range of software
tools and applications for creative professionals, business and home users and technology partners. Sonic's products range from professional
DVD authoring systems and interactive content delivery technologies that are used to produce the majority of Hollywood movies released on DVD,
to the award-winning Roxio- and Sonic-branded CD and DVD creation, playback and backup applications that have become the premiere solutions
for consumers and business users worldwide. Sonic's AuthorScript® is the de facto standard for CD and DVD burning and formatting and has
been licensed by major software and hardware manufacturers, including Adobe, Broadcom, Microsoft, Scientific-Atlanta, Sony, and many others.
Sonic Solutions is headquartered in Marin County, California.
Sonic, the Sonic logo, Sonic Solutions, Roxio, MyDVD, CineMagic, Plug & Burn, LiveShare, Roxio Easy Media Creator, and
AuthorScript are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sonic Solutions or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other
countries. Dolby is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories. All other company or product names are trademarks of their respective
owners and, in some cases, are used by Sonic Solutions under license. Specifications, pricing and delivery schedules are subject
to change without notice.