Greek Language Service Provides Low Cost, Great Choice
Digital Music Experience
ATHENS, Greece and SEATTLE, June 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Virgin
Megastores Hellas and Loudeye Corp. (Nasdaq: LOUD), a worldwide leader in
business-to-business digital media solutions, today announced the launch of a
Virgin Greece digital music service. The service, powered by Loudeye's OD2
services, is designed to give Greek consumers an affordable digital music
package with a wide array of content from a Greek language site.
The service, available at http://www.virginmegadownloads.gr, operates on a
'pay-as-you-go' model, meaning music buyers only pay for what they want. The
service will also be supported by a Pre-Paid Card system, which will allow
consumers to purchase music, not just by credit card, but with a card paid for
in advance. These cards will be available in amounts of 5, 15, or 30 Euros,
initially from Virgin Megastores Hellas and later from other retail outlets in
Greece.
Richard Branson, Chairman of the Virgin Group, said: "Our new service in
Greece will be instrumental in giving the consumer what they want, when they
want and at an affordable price package. Virgin has been a pioneer in the
music industry since our earliest days, and our low-cost Greek digital music
service is in the same tradition. We want to make it simple and low cost for
music fans to sample and buy music digitally."
"Music fans are driving the demand for digital music and now the
technology is there, the industry is behind it and -- with the introduction of
our service -- prices are affordable for all," Branson continued.
Kostas Piladakis, Chairman of Vivere Entertainment and the Virgin
Megastores in Greece, continued, "We've created a service that is easy, low
cost and more importantly assists in the drive against piracy in Greece. The
site will offer a broad catalogue and aim to support the Greek record industry
in its efforts to provide a digitalized music service to the Greek consumers."
The launch of Virgin Hellas' music service represents the first store in
Greece powered by Loudeye's OD2 services.
Philip Shepherd, Loudeye's head of strategic partnerships -- EMEA said,
"Virgin Hellas has launched a strong digital music offering that will appeal
to a wide range of music fans. Its decision to offer an alternative to the
subscription model shows that digital music can be packaged in a number of
different ways to suit consumer needs and buying patterns, and we are
delighted to be involved with this exciting development into this new market."
About Vivere Entertainment S.A. and Virgin Megastores
Vivere Entertainment owns the license rights to represent Virgin
Megastores in Greece, as well as http://www.virginmega.gr and operates 15 stores
across Greece. Its aim is to seek new and innovative ways for entertainment
products and services within the B2B and B2C Greek market.
About Loudeye Corp.
Loudeye is a worldwide leader in business-to-business digital media
solutions and the outsourcing provider of choice for companies looking to
maximize the return on their digital media investment. Loudeye combines
innovative products and services with the world's largest digital music
archive, a broad catalog of licensed digital music and the industry's leading
digital media infrastructure enabling partners to rapidly and cost effectively
launch complete, customized digital media stores and services. For more
information, visit http://www.loudeye.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are
based on current estimates and actual results may differ materially due to
risks, including the possibility of adverse changes in the market for
distribution of digital audio and video that Loudeye serves; adaptation to new
international markets; adverse or uncertain legal developments with respect to
copyrights surrounding the creation and distribution of digital content;
pricing pressures and other activities by competitors; the failure of
Loudeye's hosting infrastructure; the complexity of Loudeye's services and
delivery networks; any problems or failures in the structure, complexities or
redundancies of Loudeye's network infrastructure; failures in third party
telecommunication and network providers to provide required transmission
capacity; lack of market acceptance for Loudeye's products and services; the
possible delay in the adoption of digital media or related applications on the
web in general; and other risks set forth in Loudeye's most recent Form 10-Q,
Form 10-K and other SEC filings which are available through EDGAR at
http://www.sec.gov. Loudeye assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking
statements.
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SOURCE Loudeye Corp.
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Related links:
http://www.loudeye.com
http://www.virginmegadownloads.gr
CONTACT:
Maria Kalkakou, Marketing and PR Manager of
Vivere Entertainment S.A. (Virgin Megastores), +30210 6836295, or
mkalakakou@virginmegastores.gr; or media, in Europe, Chris Owen
of Trimedia Communications UK, +44 (0)207 471 6851, or +44
(0)7970 933 680, or chris.owen@trimediauk.com, or in the U.S.,
Karen DeMarco of mPRm Public Relations, +1-323-933-3399, or
kdemarco@mprm.com, both for Loudeye Corp.; or investors, Michael
Dougherty, +1-206-832-4000, or ir@loudeye.com
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