Independent Music From IODA Now Available on Verizon Wireless' V CAST Service

Independent Music From IODA Now Available on Verizon Wireless' V CAST Service

AUSTIN, Texas, BEDMINSTER, N.J. and SAN FRANCISCO, March 16
/PRNewswire/ -- From SXSW (South by Southwest) today, IODA (the Independent Online Distribution Alliance) and Verizon Wireless, the leading wireless provider in the U.S., announced they will distribute IODA's music catalog to Verizon Wireless' V CAST Music service, adding more than 1,500 independent labels from around the world to the recently launched mobile music service. The music from IODA-distributed labels is available today on V CAST Music.

IODA's music catalog brings a rich and diverse array of content from independent labels and distributors around the world to V CAST Music, including artists and labels from KOCH Entertainment Distribution, China Record Corporation, Shellshock (UK), Outside Music (Canada), Inertia Distribution (Australia) and Daiki Sound (Japan). Its eclectic catalog ranges from established classics to modern up-and-comers, and includes the following labels and artists:

ABB (Little Brother, Dilated Peoples, Defari)
Absolutely Kosher (The Wrens, Pinback, Mountain Goats)
Ark 21 Records (Belinda Carlisle, Howard Jones)
Anticon (Sage Francis, Why?)
Badman (My Morning Jacket, Mark Kozelek)
Birdman (Gris Gris, Paula Fraser, Boredoms)
Bomb Hip Hop (Cut Chemist, DJ T-Rock)
Cantaloupe Music (Philip Glass, Bang On a Can)
Chancellor Records (Frankie Avalon)
Corazong Records (Flying Burrito Brothers, John Lee Hooker)
Cornerstone RAS (AWOL One, Dr. Dog)
DV Music, Inc (Louie Devito)
Delmark (Junior Wells, Big Joe Williams)
Easy Star (Easy Star All Stars)
Equity Records Inc (Clint Black)
ESP Disk (Billie Holiday, Ornette Coleman, Charlie Parker)
Everest Record Group (Bill Haley & the Comets, Patsy Cline, Jimi Hendrix,
Ray Charles)
Fat Cat Records (Animal Collective, Mum)
Fat Possum Records (R L Burnside, deadboy & Elephant Man)
G7 Welcoming Committee Records (Noam Chomsky, Propaghandi, Weakerthans)
Gearhead (The Pink Swords, Electric Eel Shock)
Guerilla Funk (Public Enemy, Paris)
Harmonia Mundi USA (Tokyo String Quartet, Anonymous 4)
Hieroglyphics (Del the Funky Homosapien, Souls of Mischief)
KAB America (Ryuichi Sakamoto)
Liquor Barrel (Planet Asia)
LSO Live (London Symphony Orchestra)
M.C. Records (Odetta, Pinetop Perkins)
MAXJAZZ (Erin Bode)
Naxos of America, Inc (Royal Philharmonic, Russian Philharmonic
Orchestra)
New Albion Records (Anthony Braxton, John Adams)
Ondine Inc (Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony
Orchestra)
Other Minds (Ezra Pound, George Antheil)
Quango (Bliss, Talvin Singh)
Quannum Projects (Blackalicous, Lyrics Born)
RER USA (Fred Frith, Faust)
Ropeadope Records (Charlie Hunter, Christian McBride)
Rubric Label Group (Brian Jonestown Massacre, Gogel Bordello)
Six Degrees Records (Bebel Gilberto, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Issa
Bagayogo)
System Recordings (Diesel Boy, Sasha & Digweed)
Taxi (Sly & Robbie, Horace Andy, U Roy, Black Uhuru)
UrbanDigital (Master P, Romeo)
Trax (Scramin Rachael, Joey Baltran)
True North (Bruce Cockburn, Howie Beck)
What Are Records? (Stephen Lynch, The Samples)
World Music Network (Rough Guides Series, Nuru Kane, Emmanuel Jal)
World Village (Boubacar Traore, Christopher O'Riley)
Wrasse Records (Seu Jorge, Fela Kuti)

"Mobile distribution and strong carrier relationships are essential to a healthy future for independent music," said IODA vice president of marketing and business development, Tim Mitchell. "With V CAST, Verizon Wireless has established itself as an important and innovative pioneer in the digital music space. IODA is excited to bring high levels of quality and variety to this ground-breaking service."

John Harrobin, vice president of marketing for Verizon Wireless, said, "Since the inception of V CAST Music, indie music has been an integral part of the service and IODA brings an important catalog of music to our V CAST Music customers. The addition of IODA's indie artists, from the U.S. and around the globe, furthers our goal to offer our customers wireless phones with access to the most diverse selection of mobile music."

Already available to 150 million Americans, V CAST Music runs on Verizon Wireless' award-winning broadband network. IODA currently distributes its catalog to more than 150 digital music stores, subscription services and mobile platforms around the world.

Songs purchased from V CAST Music from the PC cost $0.99 for a single download to a Windows(R) 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 can do so using 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 http://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 http://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 http://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 http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

About IODA

IODA -- the Independent Online Distribution Alliance -- is the industry-leading digital distribution company for the global independent music community. IODA provides comprehensive services to record labels, physical distributors, and artists, including license negotiations; media encoding and metadata management; and royalty payment administration and reporting. The company also provides promotional support through the IODA Digital Marketing division and through Promonet (http://promonet.iodalliance.com/login.php), IODA's promotional distribution network which provides qualified podcasts, blogs, Internet radio, e-zines and other promotional sites with access to thousands of pre-cleared, legal music tracks, videos, artwork, and other promotional assets from IODA's roster of leading independent labels. Founded in 2003, IODA represents a rapidly expanding roster of over 300,000 tracks from more than 1,500 independent labels around the globe. IODA was named one of FORTUNE magazine's 25 Breakout Companies for 2005. The company's web site is located at http://www.iodalliance.com/.

Source: Verizon Wireless

CONTACT: Jeffrey Nelson, Verizon Wireless, +1-908-306-4824,
Jeffrey.Nelson@verizonwireless.com; or Jill Mango, Jill Mango Media for IODA,
+1-201-729-1939, jill@jillmangomedia.com

Web site: http://www.verizonwireless.com/
http://www.iodalliance.com/
http://promonet.iodalliance.com/login.php
http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia

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