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SAN FRANCISCO -- Big Talent and Unparalleled Support from GarageBand.com, Live365 and MSN Music Making New Pop Sensation the First Artist to be Discovered and Broken Via the Web

A six foot tall singer-songwriter from Portland, Oregon is making music history as the first emerging star to rise from the Internet and build a nationwide audience without the support of any record label. Breaking artist Geoff Byrd, discovered entirely via GarageBand.com's unique web-based listener ratings, is gaining massive exposure through a multi-faceted Internet promotion effort that includes Live365's internet radio network, GarageBand.com's musician community and MSN(R) Music. Just as TV shows like "American Idol" have successfully promoted new stars, the three digital music leaders today reported early success in their efforts to promote this outstanding independent musician to a nationwide audience. Geoff Byrd's growing Internet momentum has also helped him land coveted spots on radio playlists around the country, an appearance on the nationally-syndicated "Mark & Brian" radio show, and numerous magazine articles including a photo on the cover of Billboard Magazine.

"When we started down this path we never imagined the potential behind the internet and what can happen when you give such a powerful voice to an audience," said Geoff Byrd. "First we posted on GarageBand.com which led to massive exposure through Live365 and now my music is available to millions for download on MSN Music. The internet has opened a tremendous window of opportunity for aspiring new artists like me and a thriving resource for those who love music."

"Geoff Byrd's unparalleled success signals the dawn of a new era of opportunity for all independent musicians," said Ali Partovi, CEO of GarageBand.com. "Thanks to the efforts of MSN, Live365, and the GarageBand.com community, we're creating a new world where ordinary listeners, not just record label execs, choose which artists get the big breaks. And unlike major-label releases, the artist retains the largest share of the proceeds."

The companies are promoting Geoff's music via radio webcasts, grass-roots promotion, email newsletters, and tracks that are available for download exclusively on MSN Music. Within weeks, Geoff has accomplished several career-defining milestones:

--Over 20 million people have seen Geoff's photo or music on MSN

--#3 most-added track to playlists on Live365 Internet radio network

--Thousands of phone calls requesting Geoff on radio stations in 40 states

--Silver Plated in regular rotation on FM stations around the country

--Geoff's photo on cover of Billboard Magazine

--Silver Plated debuted in top 20 most downloaded tracks on MSN Music!

Geoff Byrd is backed up by a full band, and their independently-produced record is enjoying meteoric success built almost entirely on the internet. A large number of Geoff's early fans, as well as most of his management and promotion team, discovered him as a result of his outstanding listener ratings on GarageBand.com.

At GarageBand.com, every song is rated by randomly-assigned listeners from an audience of nearly half a million members. Out of the deluge of new artists submitting original music, Geoff Byrd emerged as an overwhelming success, with four songs that rose to the top of the charts. Recognizing Geoff's potential, GarageBand.com secured Live365 and MSN Music's cooperation to help expose Geoff's music to their large audiences.

Live365 is promoting Geoff via email to millions of registered users and via audio ads to its broad audience of over 2 million radio listeners. It has already pushed Geoff's music heavily to its influential base of broadcasters who program the network's radio playlists. As a result of the first few weeks of promotion, Geoff's music has been added to 47 stations on Live365 and his single Silver Plated became the #1 most-added track from Live365's Music Library, and #3 most added track across the entire Live365 network.

"Geoff Byrd's music has clearly struck a chord among DJs and listeners alike, and Live365 is delighted to play a seminal role in the career of this outstanding new artist," said Raghav Gupta, COO of Live365. "Geoff is hopefully the first of many talented new acts to break their way to stardom through Internet radio."

MSN began promoting exclusive music downloads from Geoff Byrd as part of its partnership with GarageBand.com, and has featured Geoff on the MSN home page, within the Windows Media Player, in regular rotation on MSN Radio and elsewhere across their broad array of entertainment properties. MSN will soon feature exclusive video content from Geoff Byrd such as interviews and recorded performances. Already Geoff's name, photo, or music have been seen more than 20 million times on MSN. His first single, "Silver Plated," debuted in the top 20 most downloaded tracks on MSN Music, alongside established major-label artists like Nelly, Snoop Dogg, and Maroon 5.

"MSN is committed to offering users a music experience where they can discover exciting emerging artists that they wouldn't find on other services," said Rob Bennett, Senior Director of MSN Entertainment. "We're thrilled to showcase Geoff Byrd exclusively on MSN Music and to help introduce Geoff to millions MSN users."

GarageBand.com has leveraged its membership to create one of the largest grass-roots campaigns in music history. At KRSK 105.1 "The BUZZ," Geoff's internet marketing efforts have vaulted his first single, Silver Plated, to become one of the station's most-requested songs. GarageBand.com has taken this winning grass-roots formula to a national level, mobilizing its membership to perform call-in requests to radio stations across the country in support of Silver Plated. As a result, thousands of people in 40 states have called their local radio station to request Geoff's music, and Geoff's song is now in regular rotation on FM stations KRSK (Portland), KPLZ (Seattle), KESC (Oklahoma), WBWZ (New York), KINK (Portland), WMRF (Lewistown, PA), WLAK (Huntingdon, PA), KLLY (Bakersfield, CA) and other radio stations around the world including Radio P4 in Stockholm, Sweden.

About GarageBand.com

GarageBand.com (http://www.GarageBand.com) is the world's largest musician community and home to the definitive charts of independent music. Since 1999, fourteen of its highest-ranking bands have been signed by major labels, including double-platinum recording artists Drowning Pool, and many more have scored licensing or publishing deals. In April 2004, GarageBand.com acquired exclusive rights to resurrect the former MP3.com community of 250,000 artists and 1.7 million songs. GarageBand.com uses collaborative filtering to let ordinary people identify the best songs. Recognized by Time Magazine as one of 2003's "50 Best Websites," GarageBand.com's mission is to empower musicians and redefine how music is discovered and promoted. GarageBand.com is run by CEO Ali Partovi, whose previous startup, LinkExchange, was acquired by Microsoft in 1998.

About Live365

With thousands of stations and more than 2 million listeners a month, Live365 is the largest Internet radio network. The Company gives individuals and organizations a "voice" to be able to reach a global audience, while offering radio listeners an unparalleled choice in music and other audio content. Through easy-to-use tools and services, anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can create their own Internet radio station. As a result, Live365 offers the most diverse array of high-quality radio available today, with thousands of stations spanning myriad genres and over 150 countries.

Launched in July 1999, Live365 is a two-time winner of the Best Radio Website Award from the Web Marketing Association, a two-time winner of the People's Voice award for Best Music Site at the Webby Awards, and has received Best-of-Web designations from Forbes.com and the San Francisco Chronicle. The Company is a member of the Digital Media Association (DiMA), the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), the Association for Independent Music (AFIM), the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS), and Collegiate Broadcasters, Inc. (CBI). Based in Foster City, California, Live365 is DMCA-compliant and pays royalties to labels, artists, songwriters and publishers.

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