Bertelsmann Ecommerce Group acquires Myplay, Inc. / Bertelsmann creates World's #1 music services company and advances global media strategy

Hamburg / New York (PROTEXT) - BeMusic integrates subscriber-based businesses with world class online and offline properties Bertelsmann eCommerce Group (BeCG) announced today theacquisition of myplay, Inc, the pioneering digital music lockerservice with more than six and one half million registered users.BeCG will utilize myplay's Locker and Subscription Technology andinfrastructure to directly interface with consumers withinBeMusic, the newly founded on and offline division that mergedBertelsmann's CDNOW, the premier online music retailer in theU.S, and BMG Direct, the world's largest music club, to createthe world's No. 1 music services company. The acquisition ofmyplay advances BeCG's 'Music Anywhere' strategy of providing theworld's consumers with the music they want, whenever and whereverthey want it. Andreas Schmidt, President and CEO of BeCG said: "With myplayas another important building block of our music strategy, we canoffer consumers now an unmatched array of services with a highdegree of personalization; whether they are buying actual CDs,storing digital music, streaming a music file or accessing thewide variety of music available via our subscription based musicclubs". Effective July 1st, the Bertelsmann eCommerce Group alsomerges all its online and offline music assets into its newBeMusic Division to form the #1 global music service company.BeMusic generates yearly revenues of one billion US Dollar andhas 2400 employees including state of the art distribution andfulfillment capabilities. BeMusic serves over 12 millionsubscribers, part of 23 million customers online and offline. Itoperates the worlds largest music club and the leading US onlinemusic retailer in addition to industry-leading technology andDigital Rights Management companies. With 11.9 million uniquevisitors per month BeMusic's consumer brands are the worldwide #1 music entertainment destination sites according to Media Metrixsurpassing all its competitors. Per year BeMusic ships over 150million CDs to its customers in the US, which represents a totalof 15 percent of the total US CD sales of one billion units peryear. In addition BeMusic the Bertelsmann eCommerce Group willcontinue its strategic alliance with Napster, which focuses onbuilding a subscription based filesharing service. Andreas Schmidt: "As music is today the only media thatcrossed succesfully the borders of the online and offline worldand has created a high demand by the consumers worldwide to beaccessible anywhere, anytime BeMusic is the first and mostimportant cornerstone of the Bertelsmann strategy to integrateits global customer bases and deliver content in digital andphysical formats across all networks and devices. As consumerdemand and behavior continues to change in the future, BeMusicwill lead the way in the distribution of other media categorieslike books or filmed entertainment to provide unmatched servicesand easy to use consumer experience." BeMusic Answers Consumer Demand for Convenience andAccetssibility in Delivering Content The acquisition of myplay will give BeMusic customers theflexibility to store and access their music from any location viaany device, whether PC based, handheld, at home or in the carthrough Internet, broadband or mobile networks. It is part ofBeMusic's multi-channel strategy to deliver to consumers the bestmusic experience to the world's largest music customer base.BeMusic will work closely with the myplay team to integrate itsLocker and Subscription technologies into their wide-rangingbrands so that consumers can seamlessly store, manage, downloador stream the music they care about. With this addition, BeCGbecomes the only company that covers all possible distributiontechnologies and platforms for music fans everywhere, rangingform retailing online and offline, subscriptions to downloads,filesharing and streaming music. Doug Camplejohn, CEO and co-founder of myplay, Inc. said, "Weshare BeCG's commitment to provide consumers with the bestdigital music experience. From our launch day in October 1999 wehoped to change the way people experienced music on the Web. Now,as part of BeCG we will be able to realize that goal, bringingour tools, team and technologies to join the company that iscreating the Web's best music distribution platform with thegreatest flexibility and ease of use for the consumer." DavidPakman, President of Business Development and Public Policy andco-founder said, "As part of the BeCG multi-channel platform themyplay Locker can become the cornerstone of new subscriptionofferings from a company clearly possessing the leadership anddirect-to-consumer reach to credibly deliver on the promise ofdigital music. With consumers clamoring for access to legitimate,convenient online music services, we are pleased to become partof a company so committed to innovation and the quality of thecustomer experience." Myplay, the original creator of the music Locker, over thelast two years assembled a highly experienced and innovativeteam. Myplay delivered a compelling and valuable new musicapplication, the Locker, which allowed consumers for the firsttime to store, organize, and access their digital musiccollections via the Internet from a choice of devices. Since itsintroduction in 1999 the myplay Locker has become a key buildingblock of the fast-growing digital music economy. The company'sexpertise in creating scalable Locker technology, understandingof consumer behavior and knowledge of the legal landscape enabledthe company to successfully design and implement a private-labellocker infrastructure for AOL Time Warner's Nullsoft Winamp. About BeCG: Bertelsmann eCommerce Group (BeCG) was founded in June 2000 asa division of Bertelsmann AG. The group's objective is to buildthe leading global community and commerce networks across alltechnologies and platforms providing consumers with all mediaproducts and formats. Bertelsmann has direct access to some 200million customers worldwide. Bertelsmann has 81,000 employeesworldwide and revenues of 32.4 billion DM for fiscal year1999/2000. With 50 million unique visitors per month Bertelsmannis the global Internet leader among all media companies. BeCG ispart of Bertelsmann's DirectGroup, comprised of all ofBertelsmann's subscriber based businesses. About Myplay, Inc. Myplay is the creator of the digital music Locker', thegroundbreaking application that changed the way people experiencemusic on the Web. Myplay (www.myplay.com) debuted on the Web inOctober 1999 and now has 6.5 million customers. Led by foundersand former Apple Computer colleagues Doug Camplejohn, CEO, andDavid Pakman, President of Business Development and PublicPolicy, myplay is the legal and industry friendly online servicethat gives consumers the ability to store, manage and legallyshare their personal music collections online. Myplay is thecreator of the digital music Locker and the "Copy To Locker"button, and provides a suite of locker services and technology toother companies, enabling them to integrate the value of a co-branded or private label digital locker into their offerings. Acustomized version of the Locker can be found at AOL TimeWarner's Nullsoft Winamp (http://MyPlay.winamp.com). Myplay'sLocker infrastructure is powered by a blue chip list oftechnology companies including AboveNet Communications, Cisco,EMC and Sun. Myplay has worked with record labels, such as Hollywood andArtemis Records and artists including Aimee Mann Steve Earle andKittie via its Target Music Marketing (TMM) programs. The companyhas received funding from respected venture capital firms VulcanVentures, IVP, Integral Capital Partners, and investment bankAllen & Company. Based in Redwood City, CA, with an office in NewYork City, Myplay can be contacted by phone at 650-620-6900.

ots Originaltext: Bertelsmann eCommerce Group Internet:http://www.presseportal.de Contact Bertelsmann eCommerce Group: Frank Sarfeld Senior Vice President and Chief Communication Officer Tel. Hamburg: +49-40-82 22 62 420 World phone: +1 646 752 3170 eMail: Frank.Sarfeld@becg.com or Alexander Adler Director Corporate Communications Tel. Hamburg: +49-40 82 22 62 320 eMail: Alexander.Adler@becg.com Contact myplay, Inc. Paula Batson VP Communications and Industry Relations myplay, Inc Tel.: +1 646 562 0306 eMail: paulab@MyPlay.com

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