Yes they do Charles,
OTCBB FTEL
For Immediate Release
October 7, 1997
FNet teams with Netwaves to give new artists a
multi-media platform
Westlake Village, CA.> Franklin Telecom announced today that its subsidiary, FNet Corp. has
signed a contract with Netwaves to pioneer an innovative project utilizing the Internet to identify and
promote new talent. FNet will design and host a major web server for Netwaves through which
visitors to the Netwaves site can explore and discover the very latest artists.
The site features new artists from all genres of music and the arts, including actors, comedians,
dancers, singers and writers. Visitors to the Web site can click on the photo of any artists about
whom they are curious and hear a cut from their latest CD; view video clips or hear interviews with
the artist. The visitor will then be able, via another click, to order the artist's merchandise directly
from Netwaves.
Producer, writer and entertainer Jeanette Clinger, and her longtime business associate, computer
scientist Brent Pilgreen founded Netwaves. Clinger has been a professional entertainer for three
decades, working in virtually every aspect of the industry. As a child prodigy, she performed with
such legends as Bob Hope, Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye, and Liberace. More recently she toured with
Sheena Easton (MCA), recorded and toured with Hiroshima (SONY/EPIC), as lead singer and is
currently touring as principle back up singer for Yanni (VIRGIN), to name a few. Jeanette will be
featured in Yanni's up-coming Taj Mahal and Forbidden City of China video's, in addition to his new
CD release. Pilgreen is also well versed in the entertainment industry, having designed graphics for
feature films, such as True Lies, Die Hard III, Speed 2, G.I. Jane, Sgt. Bilko and the TV series
Louis and Clark.
Pilgreen and Clinger came up with the concept of creating a direct link between the consumer and
the new artist as a reaction to the realities of life within the traditional recording industry in the '90's.
"The problem, " she explains, " is that it is exhausting and complex these days for a new artist to get
a real shot at making it through the recording industry route". It used to take many thousands of
dollars to produce a professional quality demo. Once somebody accomplished this, there were still
the obstacles of distribution and airplay. Now, however, technology makes it possible to turn out a
good demo for just a few hundred dollars. Because of this, there has been an explosion of people
making product and the end result is that so many people are competing for attention, a lot of great
talent is never heard at all. One major record label that I know throws away two giant trash barrels
of demo CD's every single day -without so much as a glance and a listen. Our staff has been
watching and listening - selecting a great variety of new talent and sounds who deserve to be seen
and heard in the marketplace - and now with the technology provided by FNet, we've got a way to
let other people judge for themselves."
Clinger further remarks, "This is the first effective way to break the 'insider' cycle between the labels
and the radio stations which has kept new talent from being recognized and discovered. It gives the
consumer a tremendous new market and the most straight-forward opportunity there has ever been
to choose for themselves what they want to experience instead of being dependent on the results of
the long-standing collusion between the record labels and radio stations to support their 'pets'.
Netwaves will also offer interactive files showcasing talent, which can be accessed by casting
directors and modeling agencies and many others looking for new talent. These can be constantly
updated to reflect new credits and introduce new faces.
This is a direction with almost boundless possibilities for us!"
Pilgreen goes on to say, "This is opening the door to a myriad of talent that has been kept locked
out. Our platform is unique in that we host and showcase brand new talent from around the world
that would otherwise never be seen or heard. By implementing cutting edge compression technology
in an instant streaming audio/visual format, we deliver fresh new content you won't hear anywhere
else (with no download delays!")
According to Frank Peters, president, & CEO of FNet, "Although Netwaves pioneered radio over
the Internet from its inception, because of the technological demands of such a venture they were
unable to deliver to a wide enough audience, until they added the engineering resources of FNet.
Their research indicates that to service the volume of interactive traffic this site will generate, they
need major bandwidth capability with fiber optic quality. An OC-3 is mandatory. Since FNet has all
this in place, we're a natural to partner with Netwaves on this project. This will be a one-stop site
which will showcase talent and display and sell their disks and related products. In addition, we are
investigating a procedure, using high-speed CD duplicators, which would allow the customer to put
together their own CD by making selections from a variety of artists they like. Again, this would be
as simple as pointing, clicking, and making a secure credit card purchase. A couple of days later,
they'll have a completely personalized and unique CD."
Peters continued, "This is one example of the pattern of Added Value functions we have always
envisioned for FNet. In fact we are already pursuing several other parallel ventures utilizing high
density interactive Internet capacity as well as developing new media delivery systems to enhance
the multimedia experience. With our new satellite facilities in Atlanta and St. Paul we could even
down load entire feature length motion pictures to our clients in the industry. With our central
headquarters in the heart of the entertainment industry, this is a direction with many possibilities for
us. Among these is Netwaves Entertainment World Mall (NEWMall) which can offer the consumer
a broad array of media related services and merchandise, often customized to their specifications,
via the Internet & FNet."
The WEB site is up and running now but will be replaced shortly by Franklin's Malibu Internet
division which is completely re-vamping the site.
Elaborating further, Peters added, "Netwaves, using an investment facility developed by Franklin last
year will open an investment opportunity using a private placement subscription and qualification
which will be accessible on both Franklin's and Netwaves WEB page."
Under the terms of the agreement with Netwaves, FNet will have 30% of the venture with
Netwaves holding the remaining 70%.
The primary business of Franklin Telecom (OTC FTEL) founded in 1981, is the design and manufacturing of
communications devices, high speed LAN, WAN & Telco Systems and software. Franklin has an installed base
of over 100,000 nodes worldwide. Franklin Telecom has produced innovative voice and data communications
products for over sixteen years based on the engineering philosophy that connectivity products should be
reliable, high speed, reasonably priced and easy to use. FNet, Franklin's Internet division, is a national,
full-service Internet Service Provider which focuses on corporate and professional Internet usage.
More information can be obtained by contacting Helen West, Shareholder Relations, at 805-373-8688. Franklin
Telecom, founded in 1981, designs and manufactures communications devices and software. Franklin has an
installed base of over 100,000 nodes. Franklin is traded on the Over The Counter Market as "FTEL".
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