"Bliss" Download Press Release August 13, 1999 Added August 13, 1999

This press release from August 13, 1999 details the fact that the song "Bliss" is for sale online as a digital download.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 13, 1999

ONLINE "BLISS": ATLANTIC TO SELL NEW TORI AMOS SINGLE VIA WEB; FIRST MAJOR LABEL COMMERCIAL SINGLE DOWNLOAD TO BE MADE AVAILABLE TO ALL INTERNET RETAILERS

In a ground-breaking online sales initiative, Atlantic Records has announced that "Bliss," the first single from Tori Amos's forthcoming new album, "to venus and back," will be offered as a secure downloadable track for purchase via multiple online retailers beginning August 13th. This marks the first time that a major label has made a downloadable single commercially available across-the-board throughout the Internet retail community.

In making the announcement, Atlantic Group Co-Chairman/Co-CEO Val Azzoli commented: "The time has clearly arrived for online downloads to become another readily available retail format, alongside the familiar CD, cassette, and vinyl. Tori Amos, who has long enjoyed a tremendous web following and has been a powerful advocate of new media, is the ideal artist to initiate the widespread commercial launch of the download format. While major labels have often been accused of not responding quickly enough to developments in new technology, Atlantic has long been at the forefront of utilizing online avenues to bring our artists and their music to the consumer. With the for-sale download release of 'Bliss,' we are taking another major step in the rapid development of secure digital music distribution."

The downloadable version of "Bliss" is being made available to all online retailers nationwide. Confirmed participants to date include Musicland, Wherehouse, CDNOW, Tower Records, Transworld Entertainment, Virgin, EveryCD, and others. Over a dozen independent outlets have also signed up, including Music Millennium, Waterloo Records, Twist and Shout, and Compact Disc World, among many others.

"It is exciting for us to take part in an event that marks a new era in digital music downloading, and Atlantic's selection of Tori Amos, known for her pioneering efforts in digital downloading, is the perfect artist to start with," said Dick Odette, Senior Vice President of Music Merchandising at Musicland Stores Corporation. "By carrying this single, Musicland can supplement its business, while staying on the forefront of new music technology."

"Wherehouse Music is very excited to participate in the online distribution of this single and is launching an aggressive campaign to support this initiative," said Kevin Milligan, Wherehouse Vice President of Music Merchandising. "As the music industry pushes the envelope on technology, we are doing the same for how music is being retailed. We are in the business of selling music to customers and will continue to sell any format that the industry has embraced."

"We're pleased to be a part of this groundbreaking event, which represents the first milestone in changing the way consumers buy music," said Ted Hooban, CDNOW's Director of Digital Products. "The Tori Amos download marks the first time that CDNOW is offering digital music for sale. In addition, CDNOW is making it easier for our customers to purchase downloads because we are the first major online music retailer to integrate download sales into the regular purchasing process, which means that our customers can complete their entire order at CDNOW without being sent to another outside location. CDNOW will continue to offer our customers downloads from major artists and we plan to be the number one destination for music lovers to download music over the Internet."

Retailers can opt to deliver the single as a Liquid Audio and/or Windows Media Audio track. Both Liquid Audio and Microsoft are working with Atlantic to encode "Bliss" and deliver the track for sale in their respective secure formats. The online sale of "Bliss" is consistent with the goals of the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) specification officially adopted last month. In addition, the single's retail download will serve as a tool to test consumer response in advance of the increased online market which is expected to develop in the first quarter of 2000.

"Liquid Audio's distribution platform enables Atlantic Records and its artists to publish, syndicate, and sell secure music downloads to consumers online," said Charly Prevost, Vice President of Retail Marketing & Promotions at Liquid Audio, Inc. "We are pleased that Atlantic is leveraging the expansive reach of our network to sell 'Bliss,' the new Tori Amos single, via dozens of brick-and-mortar retail websites."

"We're thrilled to be a part of Atlantic and Tori Amos's cutting-edge effort in online music distribution," said Will Poole, Senior Director Of Marketing, Streaming Media Division, Microsoft Corp. "Over 40 million users are experiencing the superior audio quality of Windows Media. Today's announcement affirms that Windows Media is ideal for digital download distribution as well."

Coinciding with the release of "Bliss" as a commercial downloadable single, two new studio tracks from "to venus and back" are hitting radio stations across the country: "Bliss," which is being serviced to alternative, triple-A, and college outlets, and "1,000 Oceans," which is shipping to Hot AC, Modern AC, triple-A, and college stations. Both "Bliss" and "1,000 Oceans" will also be commercially released in CD5 and CD, cassette, and vinyl single versions.

On August 18th, Tori kicks off her co-headlining concert itinerary with Alanis Morissette. Dubbed the "5‡ Weeks Tour," the cross-country trek begins in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and concludes on September 25th in Los Angeles, California.

"to venus and back," which is due in stores on September 21st, will be a two-CD/cassette set featuring an all-new full-length Tori Amos studio album, plus a second disc recorded live in concert during her acclaimed 1998 world tour.

The studio disc of "to venus and back" will feature a dozen new Amos-penned and produced songs recorded with the members of her touring band - longtime collaborator Steve Caton on guitar, Matt Chamberlain on drums, and Jon Evans on bass -- plus programmer Andy Gray, with Tori on vocals and keyboards. The "to venus and back" live disc was recorded during Tori's "Plugged '98" marathon global trek, which marked her first-ever tour with a full band.

"to venus and back" is the four-time Grammy nominee's fifth Atlantic solo release, following "LITTLE EARTHQUAKES" (1992), "UNDER THE PINK" (1994), "BOYS FOR PELE" (1996), and "from the choirgirl hotel" (1998).

About Atlantic Records
In 1998, Atlantic Records celebrated its 50th anniversary. Growing from literally a one-room operation into a global enterprise, the label has released a string of recordings which have had a profound impact on the course of modern music. Today, the Atlantic Group releases recordings by artists working in a spectrum of musical genres, including: pop, rock, R&B, country, jazz, musical theatre, classical, world music, Christian/gospel, and comedy. In the '90s, Atlantic has been a pioneer in the marriage of music and new technology-- from the launch of its acclaimed website (www.atlantic-records.com) four years ago, to the establishment of its industry-leading MultiMedia Lab, to the 1998 opening of its state-of-the-art in-house direct-to-web digital studio, to its array of multimedia releases. The Atlantic Group is a Warner Music Group company. Warner Music Group is a division of Time Warner Inc.

About Liquid Audio
Liquid Audio, Inc. is a leading provider of software and services for the digital delivery of music over the Internet. The Liquid Audio solution gives musicians, record labels, Web sites and music retailers the ability to publish, syndicate and securely sell recorded music online with copy protection and copyright management. Using the Liquid(TM) Player software, available for free download at www.liquidaudio.com, music fans can preview and purchase downloadable music from the more than 200 affiliate Web sites in the Liquid(TM) Music Network. Traded on Nasdaq under the symbol LQID, Liquid Audio is located in Redwood City, California.

About Windows Media
Windows Media Technologies, which include the Windows Media Player, Windows Media Services, Windows Media Tools and Windows Media Audio SDK, is available now for free download at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/ (connect-time charges may apply). Nearly 40 million copies - more than one every second - of the free Windows Media Player have been downloaded. The latest release, Windows Media Technologies 4.0, provides consumers with access to high-quality digital media, and content providers, solution providers, software developers and corporations with the industry's best audio and video solution.

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