MP3.COM GETS EXCLUSIVE TRACK FROM POP MUSIC GROUP TLC TO KICK OFF CHARITY INITIATIVE
Dime-a-Download™ Initiative Poised To Raise Millions for Charity; MP3.com and TLC Announce Other PromotionsAtlanta –September 27, 1999 –
Kicking off an initiative that could change the way corporations donate or raise money for charities, MP3.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: MPPP) today announced Dime-a-Download™. This innovative corporate giving initiative lets selected artists contribute an exclusive track to MP3.com for free downloading by fans. Each time the track is downloaded, MP3.com will donate ten cents to a charity of the artist’s choice. As the first artist to participate in the program, R&B music group TLC is donating an exclusive new music track entitled I Need That available only on MP3.com.Both MP3.com and TLC have stipulated that all funds raised will go directly to the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. MP3.com and TLC are shooting for a ‘platinum standard’ of 1,000,000 downloads by Friday October 1, 1999, which would provide a gift of $100,000 to the Association, a charity specially chosen by Tionne ‘T-Boz’ Watkins of TLC. MP3.com kicked off this charity initiative today with a donation of $25,000 to the Sickle Cell Disease Association.“Dime-a-Download breaks the seal on great new music and cuts the ribbon on a new way for companies to donate and raise money for charities,” said Michael Robertson, chairman and chief executive officer of MP3.com. “We’re setting entirely new standards for music promotion that puts control back in the hands of the artists, and we’re breaking ground in new ways of corporate philanthropy that cut through the overhead and put the money in the hands of the people who need it most.”“We are very excited to be chosen as the charity of choice by TLC for this groundbreaking initiative with MP3.com,” stated Lynda Anderson, president and chief operating officer of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. “Our goal is to really raise the awareness about the disease by reaching the fans of TLC and the community of MP3.com.”“MP3.com connects us with our fans and with a charity we really care about,” said Tionne Watkins of TLC. “No marketing and promotional red tape, no hassles – just great music, great fans and a great cause. It’s a freedom that artists and fans have been waiting a long time for.”MP3.com will work with other selected artists and the charities of their choice for the new Dime-a-Download initiative in the future. With more than 400,000 visits each day to its site, and more than 50 million downloads to date, the initiative stands to raise millions for charity.MP3.com and TLC announced several other promotions, including an upcoming tour sponsorship and online crossmarketing agreements.The TLC Tour and Other PromotionsMP3.com is also sponsoring TLC’s upcoming tour, which kicks off in Montreal, Canada on October 15, 1999. The tourrepresents the first time the band has been seen in concert since 1995. Other key promotional arrangements betweenMP3.com and TLC include:• Hyperlinks between the MP3.com website and websites designated by TLC• On-line chats by TLC on the MP3.com website• TLC tour-related tie-ins, including backstage passes for MP3.com invitees, participation by TLC artists in MP3.comreceptions and the establishment of VIP areas at TLC concerts for MP3.com invitees• Early ticket availability for MP3.com to TLC performancesAbout MP3.comMP3.com is pioneering a revolutionary approach to the promotion and distribution of music. The Company’s website has grown into a premier online music destination. The Company uses the Internet and file formats that make music files smaller to enable a growing number of artists to distribute and promote their music to a broad audience and to let consumers conveniently access this expanding music catalogue. The Company’s website contains more than 154,000 songs from more than 26,000 artists, representing what the Company believes to be one of the largest collections of digital music available on the Internet. Consumers can search, sample and download music free of charge.About TLC They stand alone, a trio of female pioneers who have demonstrated an uncanny ability to bridge the gap between rap, hip-hop, pop and soul. No followers of fashion, but leaders of their generation, who push the envelope in music, image and style. Out front, no strangers to controversy, the three young women who compose the best-selling female group in music history are always looking ahead, creating a new level of growth and accomplishment. With the release of their third album FanMail, T-Boz, Left Eye and Chilli use the cutting edge approach that has taken TLC to international recognition.About Sickle Cell Disease Association of AmericaSickle cell disease is a hereditary blood disorder that affects the hemoglobin, the substance in red blood cells that carries oxygen. Sickle hemoglobin causes blood cells to assume a sickle or crescent shape. Sickled blood cells may block tiny blood vessels, causing severe pain and lack of oxygen.TLC’S “I NEED THAT” WENT ON TO GARNER HALF A MILLION DOWNLOADS AND RAISED $50,000 FOR THE SICKLE-CELL FOUNDATION.
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