NAPSTER AND BEST
BUY JOIN HANDS

Napster and Best Buy have announced a strategic marketing alliance to "leverage the power of both brands to drive new subscribers to Napster and deliver a wide range of digital music experiences to Best Buy's entertainment and technology customer base."

And you thought they just liked each other.

Best Buy will promote Napster as its leading digital music service through comprehensive in-store marketing activities as well as extensive broadcast, print and online advertising. Best Buy will also market a co-branded version of Napster which will be made available to customers online through Bestbuy.com. In exchange, Best Buy will receive Roxio stock with a value of up to $10 million over the term of the agreement and Napster will engage with Best Buy in jointly funded marketing activities.

Best Buy VP Digital Entertainment Scott Young stopped downloading the Paris Hilton video to exult: "Best Buy believes that the strength of the Napster brand, together with the experience of Napster's subscription service, makes this an ideal digital music solution for our customers. Napster's compatibility across many of the digital music devices, hardware and software platforms that Best Buy offers, coupled with the exciting opportunities to offer exclusive content, will create very compelling customer solutions in digital music. Now, has anyone seen my danged Walkman?"

Added Napster/Roxio Chairman/CEO Chris Gorog: "We are very excited to begin this strategic retail initiative with a partner of this caliber and one that shares our conviction that subscription services provide the most compelling consumer offering in the digital music
market. Best Buy, with its proven success of driving millions of digital subscriptions, has a unique understanding of how to successfully market the Napster subscription experience. After all, they sell a shitload of microwaves."

Starting this summer, the nationwide marketing alliance will bring many of Best Buy's high-profile exclusive artist promotions to Napster's service and allow Best Buy to reach Napster's extensive online audience. Best Buy will help introduce the Napster subscription service to a mass audience by featuring its products in physical displays in its stores, as well as demonstrating the service through interactive kiosks. Best Buy sales associates will focus on showing customers how the Napster service can be part of their complete solution for digital music, bringing together entertainment content, services and devices to allow customers to experience entertainment in a way that is most convenient for them.

In your face, Steve Jobs.