NEW YORK, Aug. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- SpiralFrog, the new music download
destination, has signed an agreement with Universal Music Group (UMG), the
world's leading music company, to make UMG's extensive catalog available
for legal downloading in the US and Canada via SpiralFrog's
advertising-supported service.
SpiralFrog will offer users of its no-cost web-based service the
ability to legally download music by many of the world's most popular and
award- winning artists.
"Offering young consumers an easy-to-use alternative to pirated music
sites will be compelling," said Robin Kent, SpiralFrog's CEO. "SpiralFrog
will offer those consumers a better experience and environment than they
can get from any pirate site." Kent highlighted some key factors -- legal
digital files with no viruses or spyware in a controlled client-server
architecture, quick downloading, and quality songs and music videos by
great artists as among the primary benefits users will gain.
Digital rights management technology is built-in to all audio and video
content as part of measures the company and its partners are actively
taking to address piracy. "We want to provide the best environment for
everyone -- our partners and the recording artists, as well as consumers,"
Kent said. "Piracy continues to be one of the biggest issues facing the
music industry where illegal file sharing and unauthorized CD burning are
the prime means of music piracy. Digital rights protection will help us
combat piracy and provide peace of mind for the record labels and the
artists."
For Universal Music Group and other record labels, the service will
also be compelling, Kent said. "Offering legally-authorized audio and video
downloads in an advertising-supported environment works, as our business
model is based on sharing our income streams from that advertising with our
content partners like Universal."
Kent noted that the company's research revealed that consumers are more
than willing to 'pay' for their content by watching non-intrusive,
contextually-relevant, targeted advertising in an online entertainment
environment where advertising is already part of the overall experience.
"We believe SpiralFrog will deliver an audience we highly desire and
need to reach," said Oscar Feldenkreis, Vice-Chairman, President and COO at
Perry Ellis International, Inc. "Our audience is heavily into music and can
be more easily reached on the web. We see SpiralFrog as an ideal place for
us to communicate and build lasting relationships with our core audience
and which give us unique new revenue opportunities."
Andrew McLean, Chief Client Officer Global at Mediaedge:cia, commented,
"The challenge is to find ways to integrate messaging and content to engage
and add value to consumers' lives rather than just add to the message
clutter out there. Companies like SpiralFrog offer a more direct engagement
opportunity and have the potential to be of value to consumers and, as a
result, our clients." Mediaedge:cia is a unit of GroupM, the media
investment management arm of WPP Group, one of the world's largest
communications services groups.
"Our target audience is the driving force behind the changes in how
music is created, discovered and consumed," Kent said. "They are the future
of music. We believe SpiralFrog's differentiated offering will be highly
appealing to them as well as to content providers."
SpiralFrog's target audience -- people between the ages of 13 and 34 --
is an advertiser's dream, Kent added. "This is the core audience we will
attract by building a music-centric experience and destination that is
second to none, legally delivering what the majority of users want --
content they pay for only with their time. It's content that advertisers
are willing to pay for on their behalf."
SpiralFrog will launch in beta later this year.
About SpiralFrog
SpiralFrog (http://www.spiralfrog.com ) is the new online music destination
offering advertising-supported legal downloads of audio and video content
licensed from the catalogs of the world's leading record labels and from
independents. SpiralFrog offers music-lovers a compelling alternative to
illegal file-sharing and pirate sites, with a secure environment for them
to satisfy their unyielding passion and thirst for music, entertainment,
information and brands at no cost except for their time and attention.
Headquartered in New York, SpiralFrog will launch its advertising-supported
service in beta in late 2006.
SOURCE SpiralFrog
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Related links:
http://www.spiralfrog.com
CONTACT:
Amy Levin of SpiralFrog, +1-212-905-3321,
amy@spiralfrog.com, or Neville Hobson, +1-202-470-2425,
+44-20-7558-8222, neville.hobson@gmail.com, for SpiralFrog
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