From PR NewsWire: OfficeRadio.com (TM) today announced that it has awarded its site design contract to MediaX Design Group, a division of MediaX Corp (OTC Bulletin Board: MXMX) and MediaX's amuZnet.com will be the exclusive music retailer for all the internet radio stations on the Office Radio Network(TM), with the contract valued at $1 million.

Office Radio seeks to be the leading broadcaster of originally programmed audio entertainment over the Internet. The Office Radio Network is a network of Internet based Radio Stations that will be physically located in major metropolitan areas.

The first OfficeRadio.com station will be launched in Los Angeles, CA, with stations soon to follow in Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco, New York, Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia and Dallas.

Office Radio will be building "brick and mortar" Radio Broadcasting Stations in each of its network cities, from which both its own staff programmers and everyday people will be able to sit down and produce programs in an eclectic, yet professional atmosphere; to broadcast their own radio show. "While we will have professional broadcasters on staff conducting their own radio shows in one hour segments, we are truly excited about our 'Open Mike' segments," stated Francisco Ramirez, President of OfficeRadio.com. "We fully intend on finding the next Howard Stern or Russ Limbaugh or Dr. Laura," he added.

The way today's radio programming is conducted, with radio hosts typically broadcasting for 8 hour segments, a vast majority of some of the nations potentially finest and most talented hosts never get a chance to be heard. We intend on changing that very basic limiting paradigm for the good of all participants.

While traditional radio rules the commuter airwaves, we intend on ruling the office airwaves. This new medium will reach millions and will outdistance the reach to people who work in offices above and beyond what traditional media (radio and television) could ever hope to achieve. While only 9% of the typical offices have access to television and 32% have access to radio -- 99% have a desktop computer. Radio programming carried on the Office Radio Network will be able to heard anywhere in the world by anyone with a personal computer," he stated. "Our reach will go from Los Angeles to Pasadena, from South America to North America, from Eastern Europe to Western Europe -- Asia, Africa, Poland and the Czech Republic. It is truly a global audience."

We believe Internet Radio is a phenomenon that mirrors what happened in the late 1970's when broadcasting mogul Ted Turner began transmitting signals from his modest Atlanta TV station over cable TV, boosting the stations audience from 700,000 to more than 70 million creating the nation's first so called super station," stated Mr. Ramirez.

When you compare the number of office workers who have access to a computer and an Internet connection versus having access to cable TV, it boggles the mind. The Internet is to cable what cable was to broadcasting. It cost us no more to send our radio signal 10,000 miles away than it does 5 miles away. It's a broadcasters dream and we don't have to spend $100 million; the price that some stations have sold for in major markets.

"Radio until now, has basically been unchanged since 1921. Whereas traditional radio attracts local advertising, we can attract national advertising. We will be creating and broadcasting some very specific, very targeted programming for a very specific and very targeted advertising customer. So in that sense, our network will also be an advertisers dream. And with the launch of Satellite radio around the corner, we may very well be able to reach the commuter too."

About the firm that actually issued the press release: "Founded in 1996, MediaX Corporation (www.mediax.com) is an award-winning developer of new media content for the Internet, entertainment companies and interactive satellite channels. In addition to its network of celebrity and entertainment-based web sites including www.RodStewartLive.com, www.jbirdrecords.com, www.Divinemusik.com, www.EYCLive.com, and MediaX's www.amuZnet.com which serves as an entertainment/e-commerce web site that offers more than 265,000 CD's, DVDs and home videos. The company recently entered into an agreement with the EchoStar interactive satellite system to broadcast amuZnet.com into more than 2.5 million homes."

"About Office Radio: OfficeRadio.com is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2000. The OfficeRadioNetwork.com and OfficeRadio.com names are registered trademarks and are wholly owned subsidiaries of the InternetFundingGroup.com, a Beverly Hills based e-Incubator. To be advised of the official launch date of OfficeRadio.com, register at the site at http://www.officeradio.com. Registered users will have the opportunity to win a CD collection of Billboard's Top selling 50 albums on the date of the launch."

KH's comments: In reality, there is no opportunity to register at the website named above. At least as of 9AM CT today, all you see is the kind of "Under Construction" page (see screenshot above) that's typical for firms who have reserved a domain name but don't want to spend the $20/month that it costs to put up a page on a web hosting service. I've also highlighted in red above a few statements that seemed odd and/or interesting. -- KH Want to comment on the above story yourself? Click here to contribute your opinions.

USA Digital Radio to Unveil
Another Digital First
From Radio Ink: "Company willl conduct an on-air digital audio broadcast from Las Vegas radio station KWNR-FM when the 2000 International CES opens today. IBOC DAB technology is designed to give consumers superior sound quality and crystal clear reception while listening to their favorite AM and FM stations, and display new data services on a radio screen, such as song and artist identification, local traffic, weather and news, and more.

"'As an owner of USA Digital Radio, Clear Channel looks to a digital future with tremendous enthusiasm. We are delighted to have our Las Vegas radio station, KWNR-FM, selected for this most prestigious event,' said Randall Mays, executive vice-president and chief financial officer of Clear Channel Communications..." (Read the full story in Radio Ink here.)

What is Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB)? "DAB is a digital method of transmitting virtual CD quality audio signals to radio receivers. IBOC DAB is a broadcasting technology that uses the current radio spectrum to transmit existing AM and FM analog simultaneously with new high-quality digital signals. This technology provides a unique opportunity for broadcasters and listeners alike to convert from analog to digital radio without service disruption while maintaining current dial positions of existing stations.

"Listeners who purchase digital radios will receive their favorite radio stations with reduced interference and superior sound quality -- free from static, hiss and noise. Additionally, listeners will have the capability to receive expanded digital radio receivers will offer auxiliary data services, such as station and program content, stock and news information, local traffic and weather, email and Internet access, and more." -- From the USA Digital Radio website


Radio stocks soared in 1999
From Radio Business Report: "The Radio Index™ closed out 1999 at a record high of 256.06, up 112% for the year. That beat all major stock market barometers, even the super-charged, high-tech Nasdaq composite. The Radio Index had a percent change of 112.22%. Dow Industrials had a percent change of 25.22%. Nasdaq comp. had a percent change of 85.59%. S&P 500 had a percent change of 19.53%." Read the item here in RBR.

Andy Schuon named head
of Universal's new Internet label
From All Access (here): As long rumored on ALL ACCESS, WARNER BROTHERS Exec. VP/GM, ANDY SCHUON begins sowing seeds as head of UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP's new Internet label, FARM CLUB (www.farmclub.com).

ARTISTdirect Inc. announces deals with labels
and almost $100 million in equity investments
From eRadio: ARTISTdirect has entered into separate and independent licensing, marketing and/or distribution agreements with Universal Music Group, BMG Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group to expand the content available on the ARTISTdirect Network and to promote popular musical artists across a wide variety of genres. Cisneros Television Group, the leading pay television content provider in Latin America, has also entered into a strategic relationship with ARTISTdirect, including an equity investment. ARTISTdirect also announced that Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO), a leading global Internet media company serving 105 million users, has taken a minority equity stake in the company.

The ARTISTdirect Network (www.artistdirect.com) is an integrated network of Web sites offering multimedia content, music news and information, community around shared music interests, and music-related commerce. The ARTISTdirect Network consists of ARTISTdirect.com (www.artistdirect.com), home of the online channels that the company operates and maintains on behalf of artists; UBL.com (www.ubl.com), a leading music search engine on the Web; iMusic (www.imusic.com), an online community site where fans exchange music interests and commentary; and the ARTISTdirect Superstore, a retail site offering a wide selection of recorded music and artist merchandise. (Read the full story in eRadio here.)

Web site offers help to avoid
Detroit traffic tangles
From the Detroit Free Press: Michigan has launched a Web site to give drivers up-to-the-minute traffic reports and estimated travel times. The information, which appears on the site 24 hours a day, is updated every 3 minutes, said Jeff Bauer, general manager of SmartRoute Systems in Detroit. SmartRoute is managing the Web site for the state. Other local Web sites, such as www.wwj.com, have a link or plan to link to the information.

The traffic Web site features a road map of metro Detroit freeways, enabling users to click on freeway segments and get traffic reports, construction or event information, unusual weather patterns and estimated travel times on specific stretches of freeway. SmartRoute plans to offer Detroit motorists a toll-free service in the next year that will allow residents to get the same information by phone. The Cambridge, Mass., company runs similar sites for a dozen cities nationwide, including Washington, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia and Cincinnati. Detroit's Web site began Dec. 20. (Read the story as posted in eRadio here)



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