SAN DIEGO, March 21, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- The largest collection of interactive radio stations just got better with an enhanced look and added functionality. The ability to create "radio" station pages on MP3.com (Nasdaq:MPPP) (www.mp3.com) has become so popular with users that the number of stations on the site now surpasses the number of artists there. There are currently over 144,000 artists and record labels that make their music available on MP3.com, while the number of stations has increased to more than 148,000. To illustrate the contagious nature of creating your own station, consider that an average of 316 new stations appear on the site each day.
Stations are an exciting way for music fans to create radio playlists using their favorite music from MP3.com. Those playlists can be shared with other music fans. Listeners can interact with the music by rewinding and fast forwarding through songs in any station. One example with lunch sets, weekly features, and top requests can be found at www.mp3.com/stations/pro_critic.
"Giving users more control over the music they listen to is really the promise of digital music," said Michael Robertson, chairman and chief executive officer of MP3.com. "Our Station feature is fulfilling that promise for the online radio experience."
The craze known as "station creation" is generating enthusiastic responses from station fans as well. Nearly eight million pageviews and roughly 2.75 million listens were generated from the Stations section of MP3.com in February 2001. The number of unique songs on station pages has escalated to more than 334,000 and the average number of songs featured per station is 8.1.
The popularity of stations among music fans recently prompted MP3.com, Inc. to enhance the look and function of the station pages. Now, in addition to prominently displayed express URL's that allow station owners to easily promote their site, there are also links that allow users to email a station to friends with the click of a mouse. Fans of a station can even compliment its creator by utilizing the "Email a Station Creator" button. Look and listen to what all the excitement is about by visiting a station example at www.mp3.com/stations/midnight.
To enjoy more stations in a variety of tastes and genres, visit www.mp3.com/stations.
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About MP3.com
MP3.com, Inc. has created a unique and robust technology infrastructure designed to facilitate the storage, management, promotion, and delivery of digital music. As the Internet's premier Music Service Provider (MSP), the company is dedicated to providing consumers access to music when they want it, where they want it, using any web-enabled device. The company's web site hosts what MP3.com believes is the largest collection of digital music available on the Internet, with more than 926,000 songs and audio files posted from over 144,000 digital artists and record labels. Dedicated to growing the digital music space, the company's products and services include on-demand Subscription Music Channels, an innovative Business Music Services program, a Radio Services Division and others. Additionally, through the company's MSP technology initiative and its Music InterOperating System, MP3.com is partnering with a variety of forward-looking businesses to expand its digital music strategy. MP3.com's common stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the ticker symbol MPPP. The company is based in San Diego, California. For more information on MP3.com, visit www.mp3.com.
Statements in this press release that are not strictly historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements may include references to the functionality and availability of station pages on MP3.com. These statements involve a high degree of risk and uncertainty, are only predictions, and actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to differences include risks related to: MP3.com's litigation proceedings, including without limitation the inability to reach settlement with all parties to such proceedings; risks related to the functionality and availability of station pages on MP3.com; MP3.com's new and uncertain business model; acceptance of MP3.com's products and services; MP3.com's limited operating history; and MP3.com's rapid growth, as well as other risks detailed from time to time in MP3.com's reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000.