4th March 2008

7digital.com To Distribute MP3 Downloads From Warner Music International

- 7digital.com is the first major European download store to offer Warner Music catalogue in an unencrypted format

- More than 80% of 7digital.com’s 3.5million track catalogue is now MP3

London, 4th March, 2008: Warner Music International (WMI), a division of Warner Music Group (WMG) and 7digital.com, a leading digital media delivery company, today announced that MP3 music audio downloads from Warner Music are now available to 7digital.com customers in the UK, Ireland, Spain, France and Germany. Beginning today, 7digital.com will be the first major European download store to offer Warner Music tracks in the MP3 file format, which is compatible with virtually any digital music device.

In addition, 7digital.com and WMI will work in partnership to offer a range of digital music products such as value-added album bundles that contain additional content. 7digital.com will build and maintain dedicated artist or label pages which Warner Music labels and artists can edit remotely in order to provide fans the latest offerings and artist-related updates.

In celebration of this announcement, 7digital.com today launched a major promotion around Warner Music content, backed by an online marketing campaign. 7digital.com will make selected albums from Warner Music’s world-class repertoire available for a limited period at the price of £5/€6.99.

John Reid, Vice Chairman, WMI & President, Warner Music Europe, said “This deal will offer music fans a new level of flexibility in their use of tracks from our world-renowned artists. We believe that providing consumers with this assurance of interoperability will encourage sales of music downloads and ultimately help the development of new digital music experiences. This agreement will not only enhance 7digital.com’s service and expand our digital footprint but also benefit artists and music fans alike.”

Eric Daugan, Vice President, Digital Business, WMI, said “In 7digital.com we have an agile, innovative and growing partner who will offer us new, improved retail and promotional opportunities across key parts of Western Europe. We look forward to working with them to provide consumers with an even wider choice of content-rich digital products that will further deepen the relationship between our artists and their fans.”

Ben Drury, CEO, 7digital.com, said “7digital.com is excited to be Warner Music's first major partner in Europe to bring MP3s to the marketplace. Our 1.2 million registered customer base has proved to us that MP3s sell very well and MP3 is currently the format of choice for digital media consumers. The addition of Warner Music’s MP3 catalogue to 7digital.com means that over 80% of 7digital.com’s 3.5 million track catalogue is now DRM-free. 7digital.com is committed to becoming the destination for MP3s and we plan to make our entire music catalogue available in DRM-free, high-quality MP3 format by summer 2008.”

Warner Music continues to grow its digital distribution footprint and diversify the services that it delivers to its artists across online and mobile platforms. Warner Music also has strategic partnerships in place that help it reach new audiences around the world including Asia, Latin America, Europe and Africa.

In 2007, 7digital.com saw year-on-year sales grow 188%, with DRM-free MP3 downloads out-selling other digital formats by almost four to one (where MP3 is offered alongside WMA and AAC). In order to meet the increasing demand for DRM-free downloads, 7digital.com is expanding overseas. A recent VC investment of £4.25 million will be used to expand 7digital.com’s offering internationally.

28th January 2008

7digital Agrees Terms of $8.5 Million Investment to Capitalise on Rising Digital Media Demand

- £4.25 million ($8.5 million) investment agreed with a group of investors led by Sutton Place Managers, as well as existing investor Balderton Capital

- 7digital well placed to capitalise on the burgeoning demand for digital media downloads

- Investment will enable 7digital to roll out its international presence to more European countries and the US.

Leading digital media delivery company 7digital today announces that it has agreed terms for an investment of £4.25 million ($8.5 million) with a group of investors led by Sutton Place Managers, as well as existing investor Balderton Capital (formerly Benchmark Europe).

Sutton Place Managers is a media specialist investor. Mark Getty, co-founder of Getty Images and Partner of Sutton Place Managers, commented: “We are excited to be investing in a platform which has the potential to emerge as a major player in the evolving digital music industry. 7digital comprises a unique combination of high quality B2B download store services, an emerging B2C digital media community (“7digital.com”) and a platform for unsigned artists to reach out to digital music consumers (“indiestore.com”).” Patrick Maxwell, also a Partner of Sutton Place Managers, is expected to join 7digital’s board.

With digital music sales currently accounting for approximately 15% of the world’s music sales, the sector is now worth an estimated $2.9 billion1. The additional funding will enable 7digital to capitalise on increasing consumer demand for digital music and video downloads. It will also enable 7digital to further its international expansion, particularly in the US.

Ben Drury, CEO of 7digital, comments: “The last year has seen rapid growth in the digital music market and this year we expect it to grow even faster with the move toward the open MP3 format. 7digital has enjoyed incredible growth in the UK and Europe and with this new investment we are well-placed to expand overseas and into new areas.”

This announcement follows a phenomenal year for 7digital, with customer numbers reaching over 1.1 million, sales increasing 188% and successful partnerships with companies including Last.fm and Bebo. The company now offers a catalogue of over 3.5 million music and video downloads, with a large proportion available in high-quality MP3 320kbps format (free of Digital Rights Management, DRM).

The investment is expected to close by the end of February 2008.

9th January 2008

7digital reports record 2007 sales driven by DRM-free MP3 downloads

MP3 sales on 7digital.com result in record fourth quarter sales

Sales up 188% year-on-year outpacing overall digital market growth

Top sellers include Kylie Minogue, Radiohead and Arctic Monkeys

2008 looks even brighter as digital downloads continue to rise.

7digital, leading digital media delivery company, today announces a record end to 2007. Top selling albums in 2007 included Kylie’s X, Arctic Monkeys Favourite Worst Nightmare and The White Stripes Icky Thump. The removal of Digital Rights Management (DRM) and availability of high-quality 320kbps format MP3 tracks has resulted in massive surge in the popularity of digital music and year-on-year sales growth of 188% .

Radiohead was another big seller in 2007 with 6 albums in the top 20 following the exclusive release of its digital catalogue on 7digital.com. The top three singles of the year came from Dave Gahan Kingdom, Kylie 2 Hearts and Pet Shop Boys Integral.

“The 2007 charts reveal the increasingly popularity of digital music,” comments Ben Drury, MD of 7digital. “Alongside some of the year’s big album releases, such as Kylie and Arctic Monkeys, we also find 5 back catalogue Radiohead albums that were only released in digital format late in the year.”

The dexterity of music downloads also seems to have played a part in the singles chart. God Save the Queen makes an appearance 30 years after it was first released and Phil Collins’ In the Air Tonight ranks highly following its inclusion in a popular television advert.

2008 the Year of Digital Music

2008 is poised to be the year of digital music, driven largely by the continuing elimination of DRM from music downloads. EMI’s announcement that it would offer its catalogue without DRM in April signalled the beginning of the end for DRM.

“2008 is set to be the year DRM is gone for good” comments Drury. “We’ve already seen all four majors make efforts to offer DRM-free downloads and by the summer DRM will likely be resigned to the history books.

“As the physical market continues to shrink, downloading will continue to grow in popularity. The consumer wants a universally compatible format free of DRM and we’re finally able to offer this with MP3 320kbps downloads. Over 70% of our 3.5 million strong catalogue is available in MP3 format. By mid-year, every one of our downloads will be compatible with iPods, iPhones and all MP3 players, mobile phone or devices,” concludes Drury, who is also Deputy Chairman of the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA).

Top Selling Albums and Tracks of 2007

1. Kylie Minogue – X
2. Sigur Rós - Hvarf – Heim
3. Crowded House - Time On Earth
4. Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare
5. Roisin Murphy – Overpowered
6. Radiohead - OK Computer
7. Reverend And The Makers - The State Of Things
8. The White Stripes - Icky Thump
9. Interpol - Our Love To Admire
10. Radiohead - The Bends
11. Radiohead – In Rainbows
12. LCD Soundsystem – Sound of Silver
13. Babyshambles - Shotter's Nation
14. Radiohead - Hail To The Thief
15. Soulwax - Most Of The Remixes...
16. Radiohead - Pablo Honey
17. Air Traffic - Fractured Life
18. Idlewild - A Distant History: Rarities 1997 – 2007
19. Radiohead - Kid A
20. Cherry Ghost - Thirst For Romance

Top 20 mp3 tracks of 2007

1. Dave Gahan - Kingdom (Single Version)
2. Kylie Minogue - 2 Hearts
3. Pet Shop Boys - Integral (Dave Spoon Mix)
4. Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen
5. Paul Weller & Graham Coxon - This Old Town
6. Spice Girls – Stop
7. Dave Gahan - Tomorrow
8. Pet Shop Boys - Integral (PSB Perfect Immaculate Mix)
9. Reverend And The Makers - Heavyweight Champion Of The World
10. Spice Girls - Headlines (Friendship Never Ends) (Radio Version)
11. Paul Weller & Graham Coxon - Each New Morning / Black River
12. Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah
13. Palladium - High 5 (Radio Edit)
14. Mattafix - Living Darfur
15. Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight
16. Dualhead - MIAMI 2 LA (Radio Edit)
17. Arctic Monkeys - Brianstorm
18. Athlete - Hurricane
19. Eric Prydz Vs. Floyd - Proper Education
20. Joss Stone - L-O-V-E