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SEATTLE - August 24, 2004 -- RealNetworks®, Inc. (Nasdaq: RNWK), the leading creator of digital media services and software, today announced agreements with the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Minnesota to offer
its award-winning Rhapsody Internet jukebox service to students starting this fall. The agreements, which will give more than 80,000 undergraduate and graduate students deeply discounted access to Rhapsody, are the first the company has signed within the higher education community. The service will be available
this fall as part of first-year pilot programs at each university.
"We're excited to be working together with these forward-thinking universities to give their students access to our Rhapsody service, and make the transition back to school a little more fun," said Richard Wolpert, chief strategy
officer, RealNetworks. "By offering students legal alternatives to music piracy, we're investing in the future of the online music industry."
Rhapsody is the #1 Internet jukebox service, offering unlimited access to a vast library of major and independent label music for less than $10 a month.
Rhapsody's library currently offers more than 725,000 songs for on-demand streaming,
with more than 650,000 songs available for purchase at the industry-leading
price of 79˘ per song. In addition to burning full albums or custom mix
CDs, Rhapsody subscribers can build their own custom Internet radio stations,
listen to professionally programmed stations, and browse extensive music information
and editorial recommendations.
The University of California, Berkeley, which began offering Rhapsody to students
this week, is offering the service to all undergraduate students for free through
October 31st after which it will offer the service at a sharply reduced monthly
price. The service is available to more than 30,000 students at the University
of California, Berkeley.
The University of Minnesota will begin offering Rhapsody to more than 50,000
students at its four main campuses, including Twin Cities, Duluth, Morris, and
Crookston, in early September. Students will have the option of subscribing
to the service at a sharply reduced monthly basis or signing up for three or
12-month subscriptions at a further discounted rate.
"We're excited to be offering our students an easy-to-use online music
service where they can access their favorite tunes legally," said Cliff
Frost, director of communications and network services at UC Berkeley. "We
see this as an excellent opportunity to help our students get in the habit of
consuming music in a legal manner."
"We're in the 21st century. Listening to music using computers is a habit
for today's students," said Shih-Pau Yen, deputy chief technology officer,
University of Minnesota. "We wanted to help students gain access to a service
where they can get their music for a very reasonable price. Our agreement with
RealNetworks does that."
In establishing these agreements, the schools have been working closely with
the Campus Action Network (CAN), an initiative dedicated to facilitating the
introduction of safe, legitimate digital music services to the campus environment.
CAN, which is led by Sony BMG Music Entertainment and other record companies,
works with a wide range of legitimate online music services, and helps institutions
to create programs that uniquely fit their needs, as well as the needs of their
student bodies.
About Campus Action Network:
Campus Action Network (CAN) is a music industry-wide effort led by Sony BMG
Music Entertainment and other record companies. CAN's principal objective is
to ensure that students have access to safe, legitimate digital music services,
and it is working to support the launch of legitimate music services on campuses
around the country. CAN provides universities with introductions, information
and support on a broad array of online music services. CAN does not recommend
or endorse any one service or technology to institutions.
About RealNetworks:
RealNetworks, Inc. is the leading creator of digital media services and software
including the award-winning Rhapsody Internet jukebox service and RealPlayer
10, the first product to integrate finding, organizing, buying, playing and
managing digital audio and video in a single product. Consumers can access and
experience audio/video programming and download RealNetworks' consumer software
at http://www.real.com. Broadcasters, network
operators, media companies and enterprises use RealNetworks' products and services
to create and deliver digital media to PCs, mobile phones and consumer electronics
devices. RealNetworks' corporate information is located at http://www.realnetworks.com.
