Kiosk Testing Underway at Virgin
Megastore's Columbus, Ohio Location
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS
WIRE)--Aug. 2, 1999--Talented musicians and bands emerging on the
Internet are finally getting a break in the mainstream music
retail market. Riffage.com today announced that 100 songs from its
quickly-growing indie band roster are featured on Virgin
Megastore's in-store custom CD kiosks. Launched for testing at the
Columbus, Ohio-based store this summer, the CD kiosks allow Virgin
Megastore customers to create their own custom-burned CD from a
large selection of songs provided by Riffage.com, as well as other
Internet-based music content services.
Riffage.com (http://www.riffage.com)
is a revolutionary, new web-based music service that houses one of
the largest selections of authorized digital music for purchase by
download. Aimed at "connected" musicians and fans worldwide,
Riffage.com combines powerful community, communications and
e-commerce capabilities to deliver the most comprehensive library
of music genres on the Internet. Since the site's initial launch
on June 7, more than 1,000 new artists on average have signed up
each week.
"One of the key goals behind
Riffage.com is to get our indie artists involved in promotional
programs and help them to generate incremental revenue," said Ken
Wirt, CEO and founder of Riffage.com. "Virgin Megastore's
digital download kiosk enables Riffage.com artists to grow their
fan base and increase their income."
Riffage.com for Bands
Riffage.com provides musicians
with a direct marketing and distribution channel to the consumer
through the Internet, replacing the traditional music industry
paradigm of artist-label-distributor-retailer. Unlike other
digital music distribution sites, Riffage.com enables artists to
deliver their music through direct downloads or by selling CDs.
Artists can also sell T-shirts, posters and other merchandise on
the site.
Musicians utilizing the site can
build fan awareness by publishing upcoming concert dates, music
previews and artist news, showcasing band merchandise and threaded
discussion forums through their own personalized Riffage.com web
page. Riffage.com artists also have access to daily reports
showing current merchandise sales, the number of times that their
songs have been downloaded and the number of fans who have added
one of their songs to a personal playlist or voted them as a
"favorite" band.
Riffage.com for Fans
Riffage.com targets Internet-savvy
consumers with a wide selection of unique music and merchandise
from breakthrough indie bands. For consumers, the ability to
purchase single songs by download or an entire physical CD from
the comfort of a home, office, school or any "connected"
location, makes Riffage.com an enticing alternative to shopping at
a traditional retail store.
One of the key features that
differentiates Riffage.com from the growing ranks of online music
distributors is unique personalization tools. These tools enable
users to quickly receive recommendations on music that will appeal
to them using individual preference profiles. Riffage.com also
provides an online community where fans of similar or varied music
tastes can converge to discover and discuss independent artists
and their music. In addition, fans can produce their own album (playlist)
or "radio show," write personalized reviews of new music
releases and rank songs (unlike other sites that feature ranking
by download count).
About Riffage.com
Riffage.com, an Internet-based
music service aimed at "connected" musicians and fans
worldwide, combines powerful community, communications and
e-commerce capabilities to deliver the most comprehensive source
for cutting-edge music on the Internet. For musicians, Riffage.com
provides a powerful medium to develop their fan base, promote
their music and sell both music and merchandise. For consumers,
Riffage.com provides an online community where fans are matched
with others of similar music tastes to discover and discuss
independent artists and their music. Unique personalization tools
provide a better consumer experience than other music sites by
enabling people to receive recommendations from other listeners
about music they will like.
Riffage.com is a privately-owned
company. More information is available at http://www.riffage.com.
Contact:
Faiola Davis Public Relations
Andrea Sausedo/Sung Choi, 323/933-4959
[email protected]/[email protected]
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