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MEDIA AVAILABILITY: REALNETWORKS AVAILABLE TO COMMENT ON SUPREME COURT'S MGM STUDIOS V. GROKSTER DECISION AND TO DISCUSS "RHAPSODY 25," THE NATION'S ONLY FREE AND LEGAL ONLINE NETWORK FOR SHARING SONGS FROM ALL MAJOR LABELS
Supreme Court Ruling Anticipated Soon
WHAT:
SEATTLE, June 17, 2005 — Officials from RealNetworks (Nasdaq: RNWK), the leader in legal digital music subscription services with more than one million subscribers, will be available for comment on the day the Supreme Court renders its decision in the MGM Studios V. Grokster case. A decision in this case is expected soon.
WHY:
Ten years ago, Real brought sound to the internet for the first time with the introduction of RealAudio® (precursor to the RealPlayer®), setting the foundation for today's online digital music industry. On April 26th of this year, Real introduced a new tier of its awarding-winning Rhapsody® service, dubbed Rhapsody 25, as the nation's only free and legal alternative for sharing and discovering music from all major labels. This one-of-a-kind service, available at www.rhapsody.com, lets anyone in the United States listen to and legally share songs, of their choosing, every month from a library of over one million songs from all major labels for free.
HOW:
Rhapsody's breakthrough in free, legal music sharing was made possible by several factors: First, Real worked closely with the music industry to create a more flexible model for consumers to try Rhapsody for free. As part of this arrangement, Real pays the music industry for each song played at generally comparable rates to full on-demand subscription service plays. This works for Real and the music industry because the company believes that the new Rhapsody will drive significant increases in consumer usage, subscriptions and purchases of music. Real's business relationships with other partners or sponsors also help offset the music licensing costs.
For More Information Contact
Matt Graves, Real, 1-415-934-2159, mgraves@real.com or Amanda Sanyal, SutherlandGold Communications (for Real), Amanda@sutherlandgold.com, 1-866-262-7373 Ext. 106.
ABOUT REALNETWORKS
RealNetworks, Inc. is the leading creator of digital media services and software including Rhapsody®, RealPlayer 10, and casual PC-based and mobile games. With more than one million subscribers, the company is the market leader in premium music subscription services. 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/company.
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LEGAL NOTICE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This media advisory contains forward-looking statements regarding the effect of RealNetworks' new Rhapsody products and services on RealNetworks' music subscription business and the market for digital music, the number of free Rhapsody customers who will purchase premium services, the effect of the new service on the appeal for new subscribers, usage, song purchases or other factors that may affect future earnings or financial results. Factors that may impact the forward looking statements include consumer adoption and acceptance of the new services, consumers' continued use of illegal file-sharing services, the availability and quality of portable devices, RealNetworks' effectiveness at marketing its premium offers to free users and continued availability of necessary music licenses. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements can be found in RealNetworks' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including but not limited to the most recent reports on Forms 10-Q and 10-K, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Copies of filings made with the SEC are available through the SEC's electronic data gather analysis and retrieval system (EDGAR) at www.sec.gov. RealNetworks assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements included in this document.
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