REDMOND, Wash., March 2, 2000 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the launch of the Music Video Guide at WindowsMedia.com, the MSN TM guide to audio and video content on the Internet, which delivers high-quality videos on demand, special video premieres and promotions, and comprehensive information about artists. The new Music Video Guide gives music lovers a single, easy-to-navigate source for finding music videos from top artists and offers content providers a targeted promotional mechanism for greater visibility.
The Music Video Guide was created in response to rapidly growing music video content from top artists in the Microsoft® Windows Media TM format and premieres with more than 1,200 music videos from major artists including Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Creed and TLC, courtesy of Vidnet.com. Thousands of additional music videos provided by EMI Recorded Music and LAUNCH.com will be incorporated into the guide in the coming weeks.
Videos from EMI will feature such artists as Meredith Brooks, Marcy Playground, Luscious Jackson, Tracie Spencer, The Moffatts and Robbie Williams from Capitol Records; Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, AIR and Basement Jaxx from Astralwerks; and Trace Adkins, Keith Urban, Chris LeDoux, Steve Wariner and Susan Ashton from Capitol Records Nashville. LAUNCH.com ( http://www.launch.com/ ) will showcase videos from Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI.
“There is tremendous interest in watching music videos on demand, and Windows Media is an excellent platform for delivering videos over the Internet,”
said Jay Samit, senior vice president of New Media at EMI.
“Providing a central location for videos at WindowsMedia.com will help to develop the interest even further by making it easy for customers to find the thousands of videos we offer.”
Videos are available in both broadband formats, for high-speed connections, and narrowband formats, for dial-up connections, under a video tab on the WindowsMedia.com home page at http://www.windowsmedia.com/ .
“With the enormous depth and variety of the videos that EMI, LAUNCH and Vidnet are bringing to the new WindowsMedia.com guide, music fans will be able to watch videos from their favorite artists whenever they want to,”
said Dave Fester, director of marketing for the Digital Media Division at Microsoft.
“Music videos are really taking off as an online promotional tool, and we expect even greater growth as more people get broadband connections,”
said Adam Clampitt, vice president of business development for Vidnet.com (NASD OTCBB: EBLD).
“Windows Media is the foremost platform for high-quality broadband delivery.”
As a guide to Windows Media-formatted content on the Web, WindowsMedia.com directs consumers to the Web sites of content providers. According to Media Metrix Inc., WindowsMedia.com is the fastest-growing audio and video site on the Web* and attracts 3.9 million unique users a month.
“The ability to watch music videos on demand provides a much richer user experience than simply listening to audio alone,”
said Dave Goldberg, CEO of LAUNCH.
“By combining our music video collection, which is the largest on the Web, with the high-quality Windows Media format, we can meet the demand of users of WindowsMedia.com for compelling music content.”
About Windows Media
Windows Media is the leading digital media platform, providing consumers, content providers, solution providers, software developers and corporations with unmatched audio and video quality. Windows Media Technologies, which includes Windows Media Player, Windows Media Services, Windows Media Tools and the Windows Media SDK, is available for free** download at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/ . The Windows Media Player is the fastest-growing media player. More than 60 million copies have been downloaded to date – growing by more than one every second.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software – any time, any place and on any device.
*Audio and video guide category defined by Microsoft. It includes WindowsMedia.com, Real.com, other RealNetworks sites, Broadcast.com, Broadcast.com sites and MP3.com.
**Connect-time charges may apply.
Microsoft, MSN and Windows Media are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages.
