 |
|
      
|
|
Samsung Electronics and Napster Partner on New Portable Music Device To Debut This Fall
An alliance between the leader in digital music and the leader in digital audio devices will provide unmatched user experience to music enthusiasts NEW YORK– (September 16, 2003) Samsung Electronics and Napster are forging a technology and marketing partnership to improve the experience of consumers using digital music. The partnership - announced today at Samsung’s DigitALL Inspiration 2003 Showcase by Eric Kim, Executive Vice President and Head of Global Marketing Operations and Digital Solution Center for Samsung Electronics, and Chris Gorog, Chairman and CEO of Roxio (Nasdaq: ROXI), the parent company of Napster - kicks off with the introduction of a new Samsung-Napster digital audio player that is designed to work seamlessly with the Napster 2.0 music service launching in the U.S. by the holidays. The new device will be available in retail stores this fall. The partnership will include joint engineering and co-marketing activities centered on a line of portable music devices that integrate with Napster 2.0. The Samsung devices will be co-branded and identified as "Napster compatible" on the packaging, helping consumers understand that the Napster service and Samsung device work together seamlessly. Napster 2.0 will offer music fans access to more than 500,000 tracks of the world’s greatest music from all five major record labels and hundreds of independent labels. Users of the service will be able to purchase individual tracks or albums, which can be transferred to portable devices and burned to CDs. In addition, consumers may select a premium version of the service that offers unlimited listening and downloading, radio and community features, and unique content. "The Samsung Electronics and Napster partnership is an example of our ongoing commitment to providing our customers with innovative products that are simple for everyone to use," said Eric Kim. "Our partnership with Napster enables us to offer our customers a seamless experience from selecting and downloading legal music from Napster to enjoying that music on the Samsung player. The relationship with Napster enables us to develop a line of offerings that will deliver an unmatched customer experience using our products with Napster content." "Napster and Samsung share the vision that the digital music experience should be fun and very easy," said Chris Gorog. "Combining the resources of this global leader in consumer electronics together with the most recognized online music brand in the world, we will introduce a line of products that dramatically enhances the digital music experience. We look forward to a rewarding relationship with Samsung that benefits music fans everywhere." About Napster Napster is the world's most recognized brand in online music. Napster has extensive content agreements with the five major record labels, as well as the top independents. The service will deliver access to one of the largest music catalogs, featuring artists from Eminem and Miles Davis to the Dixie Chicks and Bob Marley. Napster is a division of Roxio, Inc., (Nasdaq: ROXI), The Digital Media Company® and provider of the best selling digital media software in the world. Napster has offices in Los Angeles and New York. About Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, and digital convergence technology. Samsung Electronics employs approximately 75,000 people in 89 offices in 47 countries. The company is the world's largest producer of memory chips, TFT-LCDs, CDMA mobile phones, monitors and VCRs. Samsung Electronics consists of four main business units: Digital Media Network, Device Solution Network, Telecommunication Network and Digital Appliance Network Businesses. For more information, please visit http://www.samsung.com. About Samsung Electronics America, Inc. Headquartered in Ridgefield Park, NJ, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., markets a broad range of award-winning, advanced digital consumer electronics and information systems products. The SEA organization oversees the North American operations of Samsung Telecommunications USA, Samsung Electronics Canada and Samsung Electronics Mexico. Please visit www.samsungusa.com for more information. Safe Harbor Statement Except for historical information, the matters discussed in this press release, in particular matters related to Napster’s relationship with Samsung, the re-launch of Napster, and product development, are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties such as increased competition, failure to maintain key corporate relationships, product development failures, and undetected errors in the Napster software and service that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Additional information on these and other factors are contained in Roxio’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q as filed with the SEC on August 14, 2003, copies of which are available at the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Roxio assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this press release. Copyright © 2003 Roxio, Inc. All rights reserved. Roxio, the Roxio tagline and Napster are registered trademarks of Roxio, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks used are owned by their respective owners. Samsung Media Contact: Ethan Rasiel 212-704-4521 ethan.rasiel@edelman.com Napster Media Contact: Seth Oster 310-281-5027 seth.oster@napster.com
* * *
|
