I don't know if this was posted already.
biz.yahoo.com
Tuesday February 1, 8:28 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Navarre's Digital Entertainment and I-Jam Multimedia
Announce Strategic Alliance
New Partnership to Develop Virtual Entertainment Store -- Offering Digital Music, Consumer Software
and DVD Movies to Consumers
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 1, 2000-- Digital Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of Navarre
Corporation (Nasdaq: NAVR - news), one of the nation's leading distributors of entertainment products, today announced a
strategic alliance with I-Jam Multimedia L.L.C., a pioneer in the digital audio arena. Under the agreement, Digital
Entertainment will provide a virtual online mega store component on I-Jam's website, offering consumers a broad selection
of digital music and software titles, as well as the physical distribution of music CDs, DVD videos and consumer software.
''Partnering with I-Jam to develop a comprehensive destination where customers can browse and purchase entertainment
products is an important step for us,'' explained Ian Warfield, President and COO, Digital Entertainment. It represents
Digital Entertainment's first creation of a store that combines digital and physical goods. ''Together, we will leverage our
expertise and capabilities to offer innovative and accessible digital content to consumers.''
''Digital Entertainment and I-Jam are combining the scope of a megastore with the convenience of online shopping, to offer
the growing number of multimedia and audio buffs a variety of digital entertainment options that are not only
cost-effective, but easily accessible just with a click of a mouse,'' said Doug Marrison, President and CEO, I-Jam
Multimedia.
The I-Jam Virtual Store Slated to be live this summer, the I-Jam virtual store will feature an extensive digital catalog of
music and consumer software content in a wide variety of genres and categories, delivered through Preview Systems'
industry-leading secure Ziplock server solutions for software and music.
Available digital music tracks will include Navarre's entire catalog of pop labels and artists including Kenny Rodgers,
Richard Marx, Willie Nelson, Charlie Daniels and many more well-known artists. These downloads will support Microsoft's
Windows Media, Lucent's epac, and Sony's Open MG encoding formats.
In addition, Digital Entertainment will provide fulfillment of physical goods to the I-Jam virtual store through Navarre's
business-to-business e-commerce site, www.navarre.com. The fulfillment will include music CDs from major and
independent labels, DVD movies from major and independent studios and consumer software from leading publishers such
as Electronic Arts, Disney, Mattel, Eidos and Lucas Arts.
At the web site, customers will be able to conduct targeted searches, browse categories and view popular or recommended
selections. The alliance with Digital Entertainment will enable I-Jam to extend their product offerings, and broaden their
reach in the digital arena.
Navarre Corporation, a Russell 2000 Index and Russell 3000 Index stock, operates a ''business to business'' Internet
E-Commerce web site www.navarre.com and provides fulfillment for retail sites through traditional, e-Commerce and
digital technologies. Navarre's major business groups are: Computer Products Division, which distributes quality consumer
software to retailers nationwide; Independent Music Distribution, which distributes independent music labels in the United
States and now Canada; Alternative Retail Markets, which distributes major label music to non-traditional retail outlets and
also distributes DVD Home Video product; Digital Entertainment, Inc., which digitally distributes music, software and
movies over the Internet. Navarre has an ownership position in NetRadio Corporaton featuring originally programmed audio
content at netradio.com and its online store CDPoint.
Digital Entertainment, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Navarre Corporation, aggregates and distributes digital content
including music and software utilizing industry-leading solutions for encoding, encryption, digital rights management and
playback. With access to a large catalog of music and software content in digital form, Digital Entertainment has the ability
to offer secure download solutions to the broadest possible base of e-commerce customers. With worldwide digital
distribution rights, Digital Entertainment is now able to provide global solutions to customers with a multi-national
presence.
I-Jam Multimedia L.L.C, headquartered in Schaumburg, IL, was formed in 1999 to develop and market micro-sized,
multimedia products in the digital audio and video categories. The company is leveraging its advanced, in-house expertise in
microcircuit design and development with the marketing synergies of its sister company, Wireless Marketing Corporation.
For more information, go to the company's web site at ijamworld.com. I-Jam® and Jam Station(TM) are
trademarks and/or registered trademarks of I-Jam Multimedia Corporation.
The 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 and are intended to be
covered by the safe harbors created by these sections. The forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties
and the actual results that the Company achieves may differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to such
risks and uncertainties, including developments in the retail and consumer markets for prerecorded music products and
computer software products, retail consumer buying patterns, new and different competition in the Company's traditional
and new markets, the Company's dependence upon seasonality in its business, the Company's ability to attract and retain
large retail customers that account for a significant part of its business, the Company's ability to successfully act as
distributor to on-line retailers, the Company's ability to manage its inventory, the Company's dependence upon recording
labels and artists, the Company's ability to react to changes in the distribution of software and prerecorded music and the
Company's ability to successfully defend itself against litigation. A detailed statement of risks and uncertainties related to the
Company is included in the section ''Business- Forward Looking Statements'' in the Company's Form 10-K for the year
ended March 31, 1999 as well as the Company's disclosure in Forms 10-Q or Forms 8-K or Prospectuses filed with the SEC
subsequent to that date. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise any forward-looking statements in order to reflect
events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this press release.
Contact:
Navarre Corporation
Joyce Fleck, 612/535-8333
jfleck@navarre.com
or
Dresner Corporate Services
J. Spencer Maus, 312/726-3200
smaus@dresnerco.com |
