Loudeye announces second Portuguese digital music distribution deal

LONDON, UK (Loudeye Corp/ www.loudeye.com) - Loudeye Corp, a worldwide leader in business-to-business digital media solutions, today announced it was chosen by Portuguese label X-Tazee Records (https://www.x-tazee.com) to power a multi-faceted digital music distribution strategy and consumer download experience. Under the terms of the agreement, X-Tazee will launch a retail site leveraging a digital music download store powered by Loudeye's OD2 services and license portions of the X-Tazee music catalogue for distribution through stores powered by the OD2 services. Today's announcement marks the second deal for Loudeye in the Portuguese market over the past 30 days.

X-Tazee's online music experience will aim to deepen relationships between artists and their fans, open a new retail channel for driving music sales, and promote X-Tazee's artist roster. The new online music store, expected to launch in the first quarter of 2005, will contain a number of unique features designed with the needs and tastes of the Portuguese public specifically in mind.
One of the prime benefits the new store will offer customers is the opportunity to download select new releases before they hit retail stores.

By negotiating deals directly with the artists on their label, X-Tazee can offer exclusive deals for national and international acts through their digital download store, and will shortly announce those expected to be featured during the launch of the site.

Artists on X-Tazee's roster include guitarist Snowy White, Latin Jazz Grammy nominee Orlando Sandoval, Hip-Hop sensation Pentagon, singer P.P. Arnold, gothic lovers Dr. Zilch, Dutch heavy metal band Eye-Con, and many others.
"Loudeye's OD2 services enabled us to rapidly capitalize on the potential of a digital distribution and retail strategy, leveraging our brand and the assets we already have in place," said Luis de Matos, founder of X-Tazee.
"With our core focus on signing artists, producing and promoting their work and driving music sales, we sought an industry leader who could offer a turnkey solution for meeting our digital distribution goals. Loudeye's OD2 services provide a complete solution for every aspect to our deployment and brought a strong understanding of the importance of localizing the offering to the Portuguese market."

Charles Grimsdale, president and general manager of Loudeye's international business operations, said, "This deal, our second in 30 days for the Portuguese market, highlights the recent rapid growth and great appetite for high quality, legal digital music among Portuguese consumers.
X-Tazee's unique position in the marketplace enables them to launch a service using our platform that can leverage their content assets and retail reach to significantly enhance their business strategies by increasing artists' visibility, accessibility and sales potential."

Loudeye's OD2 services are the leading European digital music services, offering online access to more than 400,000 songs through sites such as Virgin, Tiscali, MyCokeMusic and HMV. Loudeye's localized European services provide a focused offering for each country, with the best international acts for sale alongside the finest local talent.