LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 30, 1998--
Industry Leaders Unite to Educate Consumers, Promote
Popular Online Music Format
Five of the pioneers in the rapidly expanding market for
downloadable music - GoodNoise Corp., MP3.com, MusicMatch, Xing
Technology Corp., and Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc. - today
announced the formation of the MP3 Association, an industry trade
group focused on the continued evolution and adoption of the MP3
(MPEG 1 or 2, Layer 3) standard.
The Association will focus on three primary goals: promoting MP3
technology as the next-generation digital music format, educating
consumers about MP3 and its legal use, and opening new creative
avenues for musicians and developers.
"The formation of the MP3 Association unites five of the leaders
in the online music world today," said Joeli Nelson-Payne of Xing
Technology, a spokesperson for the Association. "This alliance will
provide the MP3 community with a united voice in the debate over the
future of digital audio and will reinforce MPEG 1 or 2, Layer 3 as
the primary vehicle for the delivery and enjoyment of online music."
-- GoodNoise Corporation (NASD OTC:GDNO), based in Palo Alto, CA
(http://www.goodnoise.com) is an Internet record company harnessing
the Internet as a platform for the sale and electronic delivery of
music. With a compelling repertoire of leading-edge alternative and
modern rock artists, the GoodNoise web site offers music fans an
easy and convenient way to sample and purchase today's most exciting
music.
-- MP3.com, based in San Diego, CA (http://www.mp3.com) was founded
by Michael Robertson in November of 1997. With more than 3,000 songs
available for free download, MP3.com quickly became the No. 1 music
download site on the Internet with 3 million visitors monthly.
Today, more than 5 million songs have been downloaded from MP3.com,
where the DAM (Digital Automatic Music) program, an online label of
sorts, offers artists digital distribution and a 50% royalty. More
than 1,000 artists and 100 labels actively participate using MP3.com
as a promotional tool for their music.
-- MusicMatch, based in San Diego, CA (http://www.musicmatch.com) was
incorporated in February of 1997. The company develops complete
MP3-focused digital audio solutions, allowing people to elevate
their multimedia PCs into powerful components of their stereo
systems.
-- Xing Technology Corporation, based in San Luis Obispo, CA
(http://www.xingtech.com) is the leading provider of MPEG audio and
digital software. Since its founding in 1990, Xing has been the
premier innovator in emerging media standards, including MPEG-2
video, DVD, and MPEG 1 or 2, Layer 3 (MP3) digital audio.
-- Diamond Multimedia (NASDAQ:DIMD), based in San Jose, CA,
(http://www.diamondmm.com) is driving the interactive multimedia
market by providing advanced solutions for home, business and
professional desktop computer users, enabling them to create, access
and experience compelling new media content from their desktops and
through the Internet. Diamond's new Rio PMP300 is a portable,
lightweight digital music player for mixing and storing up to sixty
minutes of digital quality music and up to eight hours of voice
quality audio from the Internet or a PC. The device uses MP3
compression and features a simple interface for easily transferring
and converting files on the PC.
The MP3 Association will be exhibiting at the Webnoize '98
conference in Los Angeles, November 2-4.
MP3 Background
MPEG 1 or 2, Layer 3, or MP3, is an audio compression standard
that allows tracks from an audio CD to be compressed into a digital
file 1/10 of its original size. Once compressed, songs can be easily
stored on a hard drive for playback on any Windows PC or Macintosh
computer, with virtually no loss in sound quality. Users can manage
their music collection on their PC, home stereo connected to the PC,
or Internet radio station. The small size of MP3s allows for hours
of music to be stored rather than the one-hour limit of traditional
CDs. MP3 files can be streamed for live Web broadcasts, transferred
to portable music players, or downloaded and purchased simultaneously
for a small fee.
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