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Napster Contact: Dana Harris (917) 342-6940 dana.harris@napster.com
NAPSTER TEAMS WITH IBM TO DEPLOY NEXT-GENERATION MEDIA DELIVERY SYSTEM
"Super Peer" System Helps Universities, ISPs and Enterprises Conserve Bandwidth NEW YORK, NY - Mar. 10, 2004 - Napster, a division of Roxio (Nasdaq: ROXI), today introduced its "Super Peer" application, an active cache-management system that employs IBM’s services and open standards-based technology to help universities, ISPs and businesses conserve bandwidth and enable their customers to safely and rapidly download music authorized for digital distribution. The Napster "Super Peer" application utilizes IBM eServer BladeCenter systems running Linux®, along with IBM support services to cache popular Napster content in on-site servers managed by Napster, reducing bandwidth and preserving the service quality of other simultaneously-running applications. Unlike simple peer-to-peer technology, which does little to proactively manage bandwidth usage, the "Super Peer" system delivers music on demand while providing a level of quality and security typical of centrally-served applications and freeing up network resources for mission-critical applications. This solution means that customers like The University of Rochester can offer its students unlimited, authorized access to Napster's popular Premium music service while optimizing the University's network and computing infrastructure and reducing its system vulnerability. At Rochester, the "Super Peer" system will provide leading-edge server technology that will allow the university to dynamically manage file demand among student users of the Napster Premium service while preserving valuable Internet bandwidth for the institution's considerable programs in teaching and research. "When we embarked on our industry-leading university program, we set out to alleviate the technical and business strains illegal file sharing puts on Universities and ISPs," said Bill Pence, Napster’s CTO. "With its expertise in on-demand computing and its reliable and space-efficient blade server systems, IBM enables Napster to scale the "Super Peer" application for many diverse institutions in an unparalleled way." In addition to helping port and validate Napster’s "Super Peer" application on its systems, IBM provides a resilient and flexible offering through the installation, support, and managed-services of the application. This range of support and management options will enable a wide range of institutions to take advantage of Napster content caching on demand without devoting extensive resources to configuration and ongoing maintenance. "We are excited to be working with Napster to enable customers to take advantage of the authorized digital distribution of music in a way that is efficient and cost-effective. IBM technology and services coupled with Napster's innovative approach to delivering music is a winning combination "said Steve Canepa, vice president, IBM Global Media and Entertainment Industry. "Helping customers securely and easily access authorized digital content is paramount to the future of the media and entertainment industry." The Napster "Super Peer" application is available now for institutions providing the Napster service to end-users. Through an active cache-management system, the most popular tracks in the Napster system are stored locally for rapid streaming and downloading, without requiring access to the open internet. The IBM eServer BladeCenter system is the industry's most compact server offering providing a remotely managed platform that offers 24x7 application availability, through a remote monitoring and diagnostics capability. IBM is the industry leader in blade systems [1]. About Napster Napster®, the world's most recognized brand in online music, enables fans to freely sample the world's largest and most diverse online collection of music, featuring over half a million songs. The revolutionary, easy-to-use interface allows users to quickly and easily download tracks, transfer songs to portable devices or burn them to CDs for just 99 cents per track or $9.95 per album. In addition to the free online magazine, Billboard charts, music videos, song clips and the ability to email tracks to friends and browse other members' collections, serious music fans have the added option to upgrade to a premium service that offers unlimited listening and downloading, over 50 commercial-free radio stations and a collection of interactive play lists and community features, all for just $9.95 a month. Napster is a division of Roxio, Inc., (Nasdaq: ROXI), the Digital Media Company, provider of the best-selling digital media software in the world. Copyright © 2004 Roxio, Inc. All rights reserved. Roxio, the Roxio tagline and Napster are either trademarks or 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. [1] Source: IDC Quarterly Server Tracker, February 2004
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