REDMOND, Wash., and NEW YORK, June 18, 2001 — Microsoft Corp. and Paul McCartney, in conjunction with Capitol Records Inc., today announced a month of Wings specials featuring classic and previously unreleased audio and video clips on MSN® Music ( http://music.msn.com/ ), WindowsMedia.com ( http://www.windowsmedia.com/ ) and paulmccartney.com (http://www.paulmccartney.com/). Beginning in prime time tomorrow, at 8 p.m. EDT, fans will be treated to Internet-first video footage of Paul McCartney and Wings, available only in Microsoft® Windows Media™
Format for high-quality audio and video. To meet the anticipated demand, Microsoft will support the month of Wings specials across its Internet properties, featuring the content on both the WindowsMedia.com audio and video guide and on MSN Music.
The audio and visual content includes a debut presentation of the newly edited music video of the Wings classic,
“Maybe I’m Amazed,”
with previously unreleased home video footage of Paul and Linda McCartney. There will also be clips of McCartney reminiscing about his days in Wings and about coping with the breakup of the Beatles, as well as his well-publicized mugging in Lagos and run-ins with the law in Tokyo. New content will be featured weekly. In addition, in a contest sponsored by Capitol Records and Paul McCartney, fans can register to win copies of the recently released double CD
“Wingspan”
as well as selected merchandise from T-shirts to posters.
“Paul has embraced the Internet since its inception,”
said Robin Bechtel, New Media, Capitol Records.
“We are excited to be able to share this new and classic footage with McCartney fans throughout the world via the Internet on WindowsMedia.com and MSN Music.”
“Few artists have had more of an impact on popular music than Paul McCartney, and few have been more involved in exploring music’s future with digital media,”
said Dave Fester, general manager of the Windows Digital Media Division at Microsoft.
“Having Paul McCartney make these clips available online in Windows Media is a great demonstration of its quality and shows how the technology can be used to offer his millions of fans something special.”
This Internet special comes on the heels of the May 8 release of the 40-song, double CD
“Wingspan,”
which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart.
“Wingspan”
has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and has garnered critical praise as well as renewing interest in Wings.
About Windows Media
Windows Media is the leading digital media platform, providing unmatched audio and video quality to consumers, content providers, solution providers, software developers and corporations. Windows Media offers the industry’s only integrated rights-management solution and the most scalable and reliable streaming technology tested by independent labs. Windows Media Technologies includes Windows Media Player for consumers, Windows Media Services for servers, Windows Media Tools for content creation, and the Windows Media Software Development Kit (SDK) for software developers. Windows Media Player, available in 26 languages, is the fastest-growing media player. More information about Windows Media can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmedia/ .
About MSN
MSN is the world’s most popular destination on the Web, attracting more than
230 million visitors per month. Available in 33 markets and 17 languages, MSN provides consumers with their home on the Web — where they can get everything they need from the Web and make the most of their time online. MSN is a world leader in delivering Web services to consumers and digital marketing solutions to businesses worldwide. MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com/ .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies 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.
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.
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