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Bell launches online music service

9/25/2002

Toronto, - Bell Canada today launched Musicmatch.ca, the first digital music Web service licensed in Canada to offer subscription-based streaming music. The new site, delivered in collaboration with Musicmatch Inc., includes Radio MX, North America's online personalized music
service, and Musicmatch Jukebox, the number-one selling digital music player.

"Musicmatch.ca demonstrates Bell's leadership in providing Canadians with compelling online content that is simple to enjoy and easily personalized to meet individual tastes," said Charlotte Burke, senior vice-president, Next Generation Services, Bell Canada. "With more than 100,000 songs from 35 music genres, Musicmatch is the most comprehensive online music service of its kind today. There is music for everyone, whether you are looking for a little bit of country, a lot of rock and roll, or something in between."

Musicmatch Radio MX provides subscribers unlimited access to a wide variety of songs from any PC with Internet access. With a high-speed Internet connection, users can play CD-quality(*) streaming audio from a selection of pre-programmed stations or build their own commercial-free stations based on their favourite artists, era and/or music genres. Subscribers can choose from four different types of customized stations:

- Artist Match - lets music fans create a station based on up to 25 artists. By entering the names of favourite artists, Radio MX will deliver a playlist containing songs by the selected artist and other similar artists

- Popular Formats - offers listeners more than 35 popular music genres pre-programmed and ready for listening, including: Adult Alternative, Canadian Hits, Disco, Classic Rock, Classical, 80s Hits, Country Hits, Top Hits, Rap & Hip-Hop, and Film Scores - Era Stations - listeners can create a custom station based on music chosen from any specified period (one or multiple years) from 1960 to the present

- Station Mixer - allows music fans to become DJs by enabling them to create custom stations by mixing formats

For Canadian music fans, Bell and Musicmatch have added a "Canadian Hits" station with 100%Canadian content to their Popular Formats that plays only music from Canada's current leading artists, as well as some of the country's up-and-coming musicians.

"In extending Radio MX to the Canadian market, we have secured additional Canadian licensing from all five major labels, and the result is an extensive catalogue of music from the most popular artists in Canada as well as from around the world," said Peter Csathy, Musicmatch Inc. president. "The Bell Canada and Musicmatch relationship represents the first time a digital music service has been broadly distributed in Canada and we are excited to introduce millions of new customers to Radio MX."

Musicmatch Jukebox and Jukebox Plus offer music lovers the freedom to play, record and organize their music collection. In addition, customers can record from CDs, cassettes and vinyl as well as create audio CDs. Popular audio formats such as MP3, mp3PRO, MP2, Windows Media Audio and WAV are supported and Jukebox Plus offers customizable equalizer settings, visualizations and graphic skins.

The Radio MX service is subscription-based and is available for $7.95 a month or $59.95 annually. A 7-day free trial of Radio MX is available at www.musicmatch.ca. A free version of MUSICMATCH Radio is available on musicmatch.ca with FM-quality sound and limited customization and programmed stations. Jukebox Basic is available free of charge and Jukebox Plus is priced at $29.95.

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