Verizon Wireless V CAST Music Customers Can Now Access Digital Rights Agency Catalog of Indie Music

/PRNewswire/ -- From SXSW (South by Southwest) today, Digital Rights Agency
 (DRA), a leading worldwide digital music distributor, and Verizon Wireless,
 operator of the nation's most reliable wireless network, announced the
 companies will deliver full track downloads of the DRA catalog through Verizon
 Wireless' V CAST Music service.  Music from DRA's catalog is available today
 to V CAST Music customers.
     Digital Rights Agency client catalogs feature key titles by recording
 artists including Daddy Yankee, Chamillionaire, Lil Jon, Death Cab for Cutie,
 Yellowcard, Bloc Party, Elliott Smith, Sleater-Kinney, RJD2, Smokey Robinson
 and Count Basie.  In total, the DRA catalog includes 185,000 recordings by
 7,000 artists on 250 leading labels in 12 countries.
     "We are pleased that Verizon Wireless recognizes the importance of making
 indie catalogs available to their V CAST Music customers," said DRA managing
 director, Tuhin Roy from a news conference at South by Southwest. "We strongly
 believe that over-the-air downloads will rapidly become an important part of
 the digital music mix and Verizon Wireless' V CAST Music service is leading
 the way."
     "Because indie music represents twenty-five percent of all music sales
 today, it was critical for us to include these labels in the V CAST Music
 catalog," said John Harrobin, vice president of marketing for Verizon
 Wireless.  "Our relationship with Digital Rights Agency helps us deliver the
 most comprehensive full-track catalog to our customers."
     Already available to 150 million Americans, V CAST Music runs on Verizon
 Wireless' award-winning broadband network.  V CAST Music from Verizon Wireless
 signals the availability of revolutionary new services from the nation's
 leading wireless service provider.
     Songs purchased from V CAST Music from the PC cost $0.99 for a single
 download to the Windows(R) XP PC using Windows Media Player 10 that may be
 transferred to the V CAST Music phone via USB cable.  For music lovers who
 want immediate gratification, song purchases made from a V CAST Music-capable
 handset cost $1.99 for a copy sent immediately to the phone and a second sent
 to the customer's V CAST Music online account for download to a Windows XP PC.
 Customers can also purchase entire albums from the Verizon Wireless V CAST
 Music Store via their Windows XP PCs; prices vary by album.
     For over-the-air downloads, customers need a V CAST Music-enabled phone
 and a subscription to the V CAST VPak added to their Verizon Wireless calling
 plan, which is $15.00 monthly access.  Customers interested in managing their
 music from their PCs need Windows Media Player 10; a free download of the
 player is available online in the V CAST Music store.
     Customers can visit the V CAST Music store online at
 http://www.verizonwireless.com/music for more information.  V CAST Music is
 available through Verizon Wireless' 2,000 Communications Stores and Circuit
 City locations and online at http://www.verizonwireless.com.
 
     About Verizon Wireless
     Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless
 network, serving 51.3 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in
 Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications
 (NYSE:   VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web
 at http://www.verizonwireless.com.  To preview and request broadcast-quality
 video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log
 on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at
 http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
 
     About the Digital Rights Agency
     The Digital Rights Agency distributes independent record label catalogs to
 digital outlets around the world. Labels distributed by DRA, either directly
 or through sub-distribution relationships, include Asphodel (DJ Spooky,
 Ryuichi Sakamoto), Barsuk (Death Cab for Cutie, They Might Be Giants), BCD
 Music Group (Lil Jon, Lil Flip and Snoop Dog & Friends), Orbison Records (Roy
 Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis), Definitive Jux (Aesop Rock, RJD2), Rocketown
 Records (Chris Rice), Darla (My Morning Jacket), Tiger Style (American Analog
 Set), Kill Rock Stars (Sleater-Kinney, Elliott Smith, The Decemberists),
 Oarfin Records (Yellow Card, Chingy, Susan Tedeschi), Dim Mak (The Von
 Bondies, Bloc Party, Pretty Girls Make Graves), Ipecac, (Kid 606, Dalek),
 Talent House (The Presidents of the United States of America), Stony Plain
 Records (Ronnie Earl, Elvin Bishop, Duke Robillard), Reality Entertainment
 (Marcy Playground, Krokus), Om Records (Ming and FS), Moonshine Music (Carl
 Cox, D:Fuse), Wide Hive (DJ Zeph) and Ubiquity Recordings (Greyboy, Francisco
 Aquabella). DRA also back-ends digital distribution offerings for leading
 distributors Navarre, Inc., Oarfin Distribution, BCD Music Group and The
 Talent House and operates in France, Italy and the UK.  The company manages
 all aspect of the digital distribution process including the negotiation of
 collective licenses, data delivery, marketing and consolidated electronic
 royalty reporting.  By eliminating duplicative negotiations, content
 deliveries and accounting, DRA drives significant cost savings for both labels
 and digital outlets.  DRA's outlet partners include download stores,
 subscription music services, Internet-connected jukeboxes and ringtone
 providers.  The company's website is located at
 http://www.digitalrightsagency.com.
     The Digital Rights Agency is a trademark of Digital Rights Agency LLC.
 All other trademarks are the intellectual property of their respective owners.
 
 

SOURCE  Verizon Wireless