MTV Networks' URGE Digital Music Service Unveils 'My Auto-Mix,' A New Way to Experience Music Recommendations

MTV Networks' URGE Digital Music Service Unveils 'My Auto-Mix,' A New Way to Experience Music Recommendations

Music Fans Now Enjoy Personalized Playlists Based on Moods, Songs, Artists or Music Styles, and First-of-its-kind Customization Controls

NEW YORK, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Ever wish your digital music service would take into account the human element -- yours -- when making music recommendations?

MTV Networks' URGE today announces a preview version of "My Auto-Mix" that does just that. My Auto-Mix features powerful customization tools that fans can manipulate to create personalized playlists based on songs, artists, music styles or moods they choose.

Instead of the typical approach to music recommendations, My Auto-Mix is a completely interactive and visual experience. Users can fine-tune their Auto- Mixes using innovative slider controls and choose from emoticons depicting the full range of human emotions, from happy to sad, defiant to desperate. The resulting playlists reflect their current state of mind, inspire a new mood or invoke a feeling -- all while helping fans discover new music.

"When we launched URGE earlier this year, we likened it to a 'psychic concierge' that helps guide your musical experience. We're pushing that idea further with My Auto-Mix," said Michael Bloom, Vice President of Digital Music for MTV Networks and General Manager of URGE. "Music fans will now enjoy recommendations with a human touch -- it puts the user in charge, giving them a fun and engaging way to fine-tune their music experience based on their tastes or moods, while also exposing them to new artists and styles."

The innovative customization tools include:

-- Customized slider controls, which allow users to fine-tune Auto-Mixes
based on what they might like to hear -- from more popular music to
more obscure, newer music to older tunes, familiar to different;

-- A Mood Selector, which allows users to create an Auto-Mix reflective of
a range of 179 moods, from gloomy to dreamy. Each mood is represented
by an emoticon that depicts a certain frame of mind;

-- An Artist Selector, which let users choose up to five artists of the
more than 110,000 available through URGE. An Auto-Mix including the
artists and others like them then appears; and

-- A Style Selector, which let users visually zoom into any of URGE's
18 genres and browse from more than 330 styles of music. Users can drag
and drop the styles they like to create an Auto-Mix that will span any
musical spectrum.

After users create an Auto-Mix, they can then save a Feed to it and get new, updated music delivered to their PC and portable music player each time they access URGE.

MediaUnbound

MediaUnbound, a music personalization tech company, licensed a unique hybrid technology that MTV Networks used to create the foundation for My Auto- Mix. The My Auto-Mix platform establishes unique attributes of each listener based on what users listen to and how they listen to it. By combining computer technology with human music analysts, the system produces highly relevant and exciting listening and discovery experiences for URGE users.

In addition to My Auto-Mix, URGE today unveiled a new, simple way for users to access the diversity of programming and editorial content available on the service. The new hub, called "Stories," will showcase all the content compiled by URGE's expert music programmers, including: exclusive artist Q&As, album reviews, playlists, trend stories and the URGE Informer Blogs -- the service's marquee editorial franchise written by leading voices in music. URGE will also make it easier for music lovers to interact with -- and learn more about -- each expert programmer. Individual biography pages will dynamically update with their recent features and create a forum for fans to interact with the programmers directly.

URGE, available for free download at http://www.urge.com/, offers millions of songs and unlimited downloads for your PC or portable music player. URGE also features over a thousand frequently updated playlists, music feeds, exclusives from MTV, VH1 and CMT, and original editorial and blogs from some of the best minds in music.

About MTV Networks and URGE

URGE is the digital music service of MTV Networks, a division of Viacom (VIA, VIA.B). Featuring original and exclusive music programming, first-rate editorial and innovative music-discovery features, URGE is an immersive entertainment experience for music fans to connect with their favorite artists and discover new ones. Leveraging the music programming of MTV, VH1 and CMT, URGE celebrates all music, from alt-country to zydeco. URGE offers subscription and a la carte access to over 2.4 million songs across all music genres. URGE is available for free download at http://www.urge.com/.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: MTV Networks

CONTACT: Mariana Agathoklis, MTVN Music Group, +1-212-846-5755,
Mariana.Agathoklis@mtvstaff.com; Matt Hutchison, MTVN Music Group,
+1-212-846-8052, Matthew.Hutchison@mtvstaff.com

Web site: http://www.urge.com/
http://www.mtv.com/

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