LAUN - IMBO this looks like it could be a double.
thanks for the heads up.
Hold Press Conference to Announce Creation of Launch Japan Joint Venture
SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Dave Goldberg, CEO of
LAUNCH Media (Nasdaq: LAUN); Makoto Okazaki, President and CEO of Softbank
Publishing Inc. and Masahiro Inoue, CEO of Yahoo! JAPAN yesterday held a joint
press conference in Tokyo to announce the creation of LAUNCH Japan.
The newly formed company will be based in Tokyo with Softbank Publishing
owning a 50% stake, LAUNCH Media owning a 30% stake and Yahoo! JAPAN and Tokyo
Broadcasting System (TBS) each owning a 10% stake. The format of LAUNCH Japan
will mirror that of LAUNCH.com, offering members personalized music
information, music videos, streaming audio, exclusive artist interviews and
music-related news, charts, tour information and exclusive editorial content.
The site is scheduled to debut later this year at www.launch.co.jp .
The business model of LAUNCH Japan will be similar to that of LAUNCH.com,
driven primarily by ad revenue, sponsorships and transaction fees. The site
will be entirely in the Japanese language with a mix of Japanese and
international artists.
Softbank Publishing brings a thorough knowledge of the Japanese market to
the partnership as well as the ability to manage the Company on a day-to-day
basis. SOFTBANK CORP. currently operates or controls more than 15 online
companies in Japan including E*TRADE Japan, E-Loan JAPAN and CarPoint K.K.,
and was an early investor in LAUNCH Media through SOFTBANK Ventures, Inc.
Yahoo! JAPAN has been in operation since April 1996 and boasts over
75 million page views per day, maintaining its position as Japan's largest Web
portal. LAUNCH Japan will leverage the relationship with Yahoo! JAPAN by
providing content to Yahoo! JAPAN. In addition, Yahoo! JAPAN will market
LAUNCH Japan throughout the country. TBS will also promote LAUNCH Japan
through its broadcast and other media outlets nationwide.
LAUNCH.com will license its music content to LAUNCH Japan under an
exclusive agreement. The deal represents LAUNCH Media's first international
partnership and the debut of its effort to develop LAUNCH.com in localized
versions and formats. In addition, Japanese artists profiled on LAUNCH Japan
will be featured on LAUNCH.com in the United States, giving the Japanese
artists U.S. exposure. LAUNCH is currently a premier music content provider
for Yahoo! in the United States.
"Japan is the world's second largest music marketplace. As a premier
music Web site in the United States, we see this as a natural next step in our
growth," said Dave Goldberg, CEO of LAUNCH. "We couldn't have selected better
partners with a more thorough knowledge of the Japanese market than SOFTBANK
and Yahoo! JAPAN. Plus, this is a perfect way to further leverage the strong
relationships we already have with SOFTBANK and Yahoo!"
"Japan has been in need of a top music destination Web site. We strongly
believe that, together, we will succeed here," said Makoto Okazaki, President
and CEO of Softbank Publishing. "There is great demand for both localized and
international music content and information and we look forward to creating
the perfect balance between the two."
"Having LAUNCH information available on Yahoo! JAPAN will be a great
benefit to our millions of users," said Masahiro Inoue, President and CEO of
Yahoo! JAPAN. "LAUNCH's music-related services will be a valuable addition to
the comprehensive information services offered by Yahoo! JAPAN."
About LAUNCH
Headquartered in Santa Monica, LAUNCH (Nasdaq: LAUN) is a digital media
company focused on creating the premier Internet destination for discovering
new music. Leveraging the inherent advantages of digital media, LAUNCH offers
a compelling music discovery experience for consumers and provides a valuable
marketing platform for record labels, artists, advertisers and merchants.
LAUNCH is engaged in key relationships with AOL, Microsoft, Intel, Snap,
CheckOut.com, RealNetworks, Road Runner, Sony Music, EMI, Warner Music,
Yahoo!, SOFTBANK Ventures and NBC.
About SOFTBANK
SOFTBANK CORP. has emerged as one of the world's leading Internet market
forces. Through its ownership positions in more than 300 Internet companies
and its unique Internet management concept, it is able to create market
synergies for its family of companies on a global scale. In Japan its
activities encompass distribution, publishing, Internet media platforms, a
broad range of e-commerce businesses, and joint ventures with companies
including Microsoft, Cisco, Yahoo!, the National Association of Security
Dealers, and many other market leaders. In the U.S., SOFTBANK is the largest
shareholder in leading Internet companies including Yahoo!, E*TRADE and ZDNet,
in Europe has established Internet joint ventures with News Corp. and Vivendi,
and is helping build Internet companies in Latin America, Australia, New
Zealand, India, China and Korea.
(www.softbank.com and www.softbank.co.jp/sbadmin/index_e.html)
Softbank Publishing Inc. is a leading publisher of PC- and internet-
related periodicals and books. As an integral part of SOFTBANK's comprehensive
Internet initiatives, which also include e-Commerce and online financial
services, SOFTBANK Publishing is currently developing online media and
marketing services.
About Yahoo! JAPAN
Yahoo! JAPAN is Japan's most accessed comprehensive information site with
75 million page views per day and 12.5 million unique visitors per month.
Yahoo! JAPAN provides a wide range of content including directory search and
keyword search services, breaking news, sports news, weather reports, stock
price and company information, employment information, maps, rail and air
schedules, real estate and rental information, software downloads, shopping
and auction services, personalized information pages, a children's site and
many other services.
About TBS
Tokyo Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS) isone of the four major commercial
terrestrial networks in Japan and the only one that provides both television
and radio broadcasting services. In drama, variety, sports, music and news
production, TBS has a proven record of excellence and won many prizes in both
home and abroad. The 110.05 meter-high new broadcast center completed in 1994
is fully geared for digital broadcasting, the new standard of the 21st
century. Besides ongoing analog terrestrial, TBS plans to include in its
media expertise digital terrestrial, digital BS (broadcasting satellite), data
broadcasting and the Internet.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties including, among others, LAUNCH Media's limited operating
history, anticipated losses, the unpredictability of its future revenues,
competition, risks associated with system development and operation risks,
management of potential growth, and risks of new business areas, international
expansion, business combinations, and strategic alliances. Actual results
could differ materially from those discussed. More information about factors
that potentially could affect LAUNCH Media's financial results are included in
the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All
forward-looking statements are based on information available to the Company
on the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update such
statements.
SOURCE LAUNCH Media
-0- 03/16/2000
/CONTACT: Heather Crosby, 212-833-5080, email, heatherc@launch.com,
Charlene English, 310-526-4340, email, charlenee@launch.com, or Investor
Relations, Elisa Mailman, 212-833-4712, email, elisam@launch.com, all of
LAUNCH Media, or SOFTBANK Public Relations Department, +81 3-5642-8013, or
Corporate Communications, 617-558-6708, or email, katkov@softbank.com/
/Web site: softbank.com /
/Web site: softbank.co.jp /
/Web site:http://www.launch.co.jp /
/Web site: launch.com /
(LAUN)
CO: LAUNCH Media; Softbank Publishing Inc.; Yahoo! JAPAN; Tokyo Broadcasting
Systems; LAUNCH Japan; SOFTBANK CORP.
ST: California, Japan
IN: MLM
SU: JVN
AJ-CM
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