Released on: November 28, 2007, 9:38 am

Press Release Author: Bill Hunt

Industry: Entertainment

Press Release Summary: Deutsche Grammophon (DG), a division of Universal Music
Group, the world’s leading music company, will become the first major classical
record label to make the majority of its huge catalogue available online for
download with the launch of its new DG Web Shop (www.dgwebshop.com).

Press Release Body: As the world’s leading classical music recording company,
Deutsche Grammophon will launch its DG Web Shop on 28 November, enabling consumers
in 42 countries to download music at the highest technical and artistic standards.
This global penetration includes markets where the major e-business retailers, such
as iTunes, are not yet available: Southeast Asia including China, India, Latin
America, South Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe including Russia.

Michael Lang, President of Deutsche Grammophon, stated: “Our company was founded
over 110 years ago, and since then, it has stood for innovation and quality. During
the development of our new web shop, we remained true to these principles as we
continue to expand the digital music marketplace with our range of download
services.”

Almost 2,400 DG albums will be available for download in maximum MP3 quality at a
transfer bit-rate of 320 kilobits per second (kbps) – an audio-level that experts
agree is indistinguishable from CD quality audio; and which exceeds the usual
industry download-standard of 128-192 kbps (as well as EMI’s 256 kbps on iTunes).

Through the launch of this new portal, drawing on the existing strength of its
250,000 unique web site visitors per month, the company once again shows that
tradition and technical progress can be combined, and that new distribution channels
can be created to appeal to a wider range of music consumers.

Among the highlights of the DG Web Shop are almost 600 album titles which are no
longer available as CDs – these have been specially converted into MP3 files for the
DG Web Shop, making them available as downloads – with more out-of-print titles to
follow. The goal is to digitize all the great Deutsche Grammophon recordings to be
accessible for download – a treasure of music history, always available.

Visitors to the web shop have the choice of buying entire albums, collections of
albums and box-sets – or individual movements, complete works, and individual
pieces. In contrast to many other digital download services all tracks are available
for sale regardless of length.

To design and operate the DG Web Shop, Deutsche Grammophon has partnered with DDD
(Germany) and Fresh Digital Inc. (UK). The DG Web Shop will begin by accepting
purchases both in US dollars and euros, depending on the residence of the customer.
Prices are competitive with current e-business pricing. For example, individual
titles with a playing time of up to seven minutes will be priced as low as $/€1.29;
while regular-length albums – with/without \"e-booklets\" (ie, cover-art, photographs,
and liner notes) – will sell for between $/€10.99 and $/€11.99.

All titles will be offered as 320 kbps MP3s without Digital Rights Management (DRM),
as part of Universal Music Group’s ongoing market trials of DRM-free downloads,
announced earlier this year. This means that DG Web Shop downloads will be
compatible with all portable music players including iPods and Walkmans; and, of
course, burnable to CD.

Michael Lang emphasized, \"By launching this easy-to-use, intuitive DG Web Shop, we
are not only expecting a significant growth in turnover but are also aiming to
solidify and expand the digital future. In concrete terms, this means establishing
innovative sales channels and concepts: by attracting the classical novice and, of
course, those already steeped in the genre – and everyone in-between – as they
transfer from being only CD buyers to exploring the advantages of downloading, in
CD-comparable audio. This web shop\'s easy-to-use search function helps all music
enthusiasts find and select music by categories such as genre, composer, artist, as
well as filter by awards, reviews and series.\"

Music fans without downloading experience will have easy access to the world of the
DG Web Shop. \"We\'re offering music consumers a user-friendly 3-click process – the
easiest way to load our music on their computer and MP3 player,\" explained Daniel
Goodwin, head of Deutsche Grammophon\'s Marketing & Media department. \"The shop is
part of Deutsche Grammophon\'s ever-popular, newly redesigned web-site, containing
news, e-booklets, promotion videos, tour dates, and more, as well as detailed
information on the composer’s works, recordings, and artists on Deutsche Grammophon.
It now makes our web shop also a well-rounded music boutique\".

As Christopher Roberts, President, Classics & Jazz, Universal Music Group
International, summarizes, \"The DG Web Shop will play a defining role in the digital
marketplace – superior audio, easy-to-use and compatible with all players. Now the
greatest classical music recordings are available world-wide.\"

Industry insiders expect strong growth rates for downloading classical music during
the coming years. Price Waterhouse Coopers, for example, in its study Global
Entertainment and Media Outlook 2006-2010 forecast that digital turnover will triple
between 2007 and 2010.

Web Site: http://www.dgwebshop.com

Contact Details: Bill Hunt
Cohn & Wolfe
30 Orange Street
London
Telephone: +44 207 331 5383