Jamster and Warner Music Group Expand Relationship
with Commercial Featuring Hip Hop Superstar
Sean “Diddy” Combs First A-List Celebrity and Label CEO to Record
Ringtone Commercial Voiceover-- for The Notorius B.I.G. Mobile
Music Products
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA and NEW YORK, NY—December 20, 2005 – Jamster,
a worldwide leader in mobile content and entertainment services and
a wholly owned subsidiary of VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRSN), today announced
that Sean “Diddy” Combs, founder and CEO of Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment
Group, is featured in a new commercial promoting Jamster-exclusive ringtones
created from master recordings in The Notorious B.I.G. catalog. The
Notorious B.I.G.’s latest album from Bad Boy Records, The Notorious
B.I.G. Duets: The Final Chapter, hits music stores today. Bad Boy Records
is a joint venture with Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG).
Jamster has successfully worked with
WMG for close to a year. Jamster has distribution rights to WMG’s mobile
personalization products catalog, which allows it to offer consumers
ringtones and screensavers by WMG’s world-renowned roster of artists.
Earlier this year, WMG’s Warner Bros. Records worked
with Jamster to provide consumers with early access to Asylum Records/Warner
Bros. Records rap artist Mike Jones’ Top Five debut album by taking
advantage of ringtones. Together they created the first artist-endorsed
Jamster ringtone commercial in the Americas. A band on WMG’s Asylum
Records, D4L, created a ringtone called ‘Laffy Taffy’ earlier this year
that has topped the Jamster Top 40 Ringtones chart for nearly three
months.
“This relationship with a diverse,
global content aggregator like Jamster allows Warner Music Group to
literally put our music-based content in the hands of mobile phone users
around the world,” said Kevin Liles, Executive Vice President, Warner
Music Group. “As the mobile phone becomes an increasingly important
way for consumers to get their favorite music and entertainment, we’re
excited to be the first major music company to help fans connect to
music they love through Jamster and its network of dozens of wireless
providers.”
“Warner Music Group provides Jamster with popular
mobile entertainment choices that individuals everywhere are using to
personalize their wireless experience,” said Vernon Irvin, Executive
Vice President and General Manager, VeriSign Communications Services.
“As labels move into the mobile broadband age, Jamster is helping the
music industry give consumers what they want, when and how they want
it.”
The commercial featuring Diddy can be seen on BET,
which is the nation’s leading television network providing quality entertainment,
music, news and public affairs programming for the African-American
audience.
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About Jamster and VeriSign
Jamster International Sarl, a wholly owned subsidiary of VeriSign,
Inc., is the world’s largest creator, aggregator and distributor of
premier off-deck mobile content, which includes music, games and community
services. Jamster content can be ordered using a short messaging service
and is distributed to carriers and consumers worldwide. Through VeriSign’s
Intelligent Communications, Commerce and Content Services, the company
delivers content on-boarding, license aggregation, formatting, catalog
management, mediation, subscription management, rating and billing and
payment integration. Additional news and information is available
at www.jamster.com
and www.verisign.com.
About Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group (WMG) became the only stand-alone music company
to be publicly traded in the United States in May 2005. With its broad
roster of new stars and legendary artists, Warner Music Group is home
to a collection of the best-known record labels in the music industry
including Asylum, Atlantic, Bad Boy, East West, Elektra, Lava, Maverick,
Nonesuch, Reprise, Rhino, Sire, Warner Bros. and Word. Warner Music
International, a leading company in national and international repertoire,
operates through numerous international affiliates and licensees in
more than 50 countries. Warner Music Group also includes Warner/Chappell
Music, one of the world's leading music publishers, with a catalog of
more than one million copyrights worldwide.
For More Information
VeriSign Media Relations: Lori Sinsley, lsinsley@verisign.com,
1-650-426-4716
VeriSign Investor Relations: Tom McCallum, tmccallum@verisign.com,
1-650-426-3744
Warner Music Group: Amanda Collins, amanda.collins@wmg.com,
1-212-275-2213
Trademarks
VeriSign, Jamster and other trademarks, service marks and logos are
registered or unregistered marks of VeriSign and its subsidiaries in
the United States and in foreign countries. Copyright © 2005 VeriSign,
Inc. All rights reserved.
Statements in this
announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of
1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements
involve risks and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's actual results
to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking
statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others,
the uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and potential fluctuations
in quarterly operating results due to such factors as the inability
of VeriSign to successfully develop and market new products and services
and customer acceptance of any new products or services, including Jamster
services; the possibility that VeriSign’s announced new services may
not result in additional customers, profits or revenues; and increased
competition and pricing pressures. More information about potential
factors that could affect the company's business and financial results
is included in VeriSign's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2004 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. VeriSign undertakes
no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after
the date of this press release.
