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

03/16/2006, Austin, TX, Bedminster, NJ, and San Francisco — 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® 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 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 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 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 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 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.

Contact Information

Jeffrey Nelson

Media Contact

Verizon Wireless

Contact via E-mail