AG Interactive and Def Jam Enterprises To Lead MEM 2005 Keynote 'Making Def Jam Mobile'

AG Interactive and Def Jam Enterprises To Lead MEM 2005 Keynote 'Making Def Jam Mobile'

LONDON, June 14/PRNewswire/ --

- Famed Hip Hop lifestyle entrepreneur Russell Simmons, Chairman of Def Jam Enterprises with AG Interactive's mobile content expert, Bryan Biniak, to discuss Def Jam Mobile and European trends for mobile entertainment content

The Def Jam brand is synonymous with Hip Hop lifestyle worldwide and is a powerful draw for young consumers looking for the latest in urban fashion. Russell Simmons, Chairman of Def Jam Enterprises will join Bryan Biniak, Senior Vice President of AG Interactive and General Manager of AGmobile to discuss the world-wide impact of this iconic brand and its influence on the world of mobile content. The executives will deliver a must-see keynote address 'Making Def Jam Mobile' on June 16, 9:00 am GMT, at the Mobile Entertainment Market (MEM) 2005, the premier mobile entertainment event. www.mem05.com Ajax Scott, Publisher of MusicWeek, the leading weekly guide to Europe's most influential music market will host the keynote.

"The Hip Hop lifestyle has proven to be a global financial powerhouse," stated Russell Simmons, Chairman, Def Jam Enterprises. "The launch of Def Jam Mobile represents more than music. It represents the entire Hip Hop lifestyle including games, film, television, video, comedy, sports, fashion and news."

Def Jam Mobile represents a milestone in the establishment of a mobile entertainment marketplace, leveraging the strength and success that Russell Simmons and Def Jam Enterprises have earned in the Hip Hop market. The brand extends the Hip Hop empire that Mr. Simmons has built over the past two decades including Def Jam Recordings, Def Comedy Jam, Def Poetry Jam, Phat Farm, Baby Phat, Def Jam University, Run Athletics, Phat Farm Footwear, Def Jam Interactive, Def Films and Def on Demand cable network among others. Def Jam is a uniquely enduring lifestyle brand, which possesses unrivaled customer loyalty characterized by both a sense of community and shared cultural experience.

"The fact that Hip Hop acts regularly top ringtone charts all over the world emphasises just how much potential there is for urban-related mobile content in Europe. This is set to be a real growth business," stated Ajax Scott, Publisher, MusicWeek.

AG Interactive and Def Jam Enterprises partnered in 2004 to create Def Jam Mobile, the definitive platform for mobile Hip Hop lifestyle products and services. The partners recently announced the availability of seven new Def Jam mobile services in the U.S. providing a compelling variety of content ranging from the latest ringtones and games, to the first Hip Hop news services for phones. As part of the announcement, they debuted the industry's first Sportz Tonez which integrate game sounds, music and spoken word from athletes to create one-of-a kind tones for phones. www.defjammobile.com

"The launch of Def Jam Mobile is a major expansion of one of the most powerful brands in U.S. history and we are thrilled to offer this incredible portfolio of services to carriers globally," stated Bryan Biniak, Senior Vice President, AG Interactive and General Manager, AGmobile. "The Def Jam lifestyle is now available world-wide to consumers through a comprehensive range of products including the most original content available."

With plans to soon expand availability of wireless Hip Hop services into Europe and beyond, the partners offer carriers and content providers a powerful set of marketing and distribution skills to help them deploy new services and attract new customers. AG Interactive's offices in the UK, France, Spain and Romania provide keen insight into the local content trends which ensures the company's content development efforts are ahead of the industry. AG Interactive partners with many of Europe's top mobile operators including Proximus, Mobistar, Vodafone (Germany, Spain and Italy), SFR, O2 (UK and Germany) Orange, Bouygues Telecom, Telefonica MoviStar and Wind. The company also has marketing partnerships with major European media firms include Antena 3, MTV, MCM, France 2, Skyrock, NRJ, RMC Info Talk Sport and Capcom.

AGmobile, AG Interactive's mobile division, has grown to a force of 150 employees worldwide. AGmobile has launched 17 unique applications in the past 12 months supporting Def Jam Mobile, Univision Movil, MIDIringtones and Blue Mountain Mobile.

About Def Jam Enterprises

Def Jam Enterprises, a subsidiary of Rush Communications' fashion and entertainment empire, offers consumers a wide range of popular products and services in a variety of industries including fashion, film, gaming, and mobile. By leveraging the power of the Def Jam brand, Def Jam Enterprises has co-produced two highly successful video games with Electronic Arts: Def Jam Vendetta and Def Jam Fight For NY. Since its launch last year, Def Jam University has already established itself as a premier urban fashion brand. Def Jam Mobile, in partnership with AG Interactive, is the premier provider of Hip Hop content for wireless consumers. Def Jam Enterprises will continue to expand into new arenas by staying true to the logo.

About AG Interactive

AG Interactive is a leader in mobile content development and multi-channel distribution solutions. The company offers innovative multi-cultural expression solutions for consumers for wireless and multimedia platforms. The company operates a network of the industry's most popular sites including Def Jam Mobile, Univision Movil, MidiRingtones.com, AmericanGreetings.com, BlueMountain.com, BlueMountainCards.co.uk, and Egreetings.com. The company has site partnerships with Internet services innovators AOL(R), MSN(R) Yahoo(R) and EarthLink(R) and content partnerships with brand icons such as Warner Bros. and Rush Communications. The wireless division has partnerships with all leading branded content and cellular providers who maximize American Greetings Corporation's massive retail and online distribution network. With over 20,000 high quality greetings and other types of expressive content available, AG Interactive sites are the premier online greeting card destinations -- attracting more than two million paying subscribers and millions of unique visitors per month. AG Interactive is the new media subsidiary of American Greetings Corporation (NYSE: AM), which is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio and is one of the world's leading manufacturers of social expression products. www.interactive.ag.com

Web site: http://www.ag.com http://www.mem05.com http://www.defjammobile.com http://www.interactive.ag.com

Source: AG Interactive

David Bramley of Platform PR, +44-771-1239-062, or +44-208-964-9149, for AG Interactive UK; or Christian Harris, Country Manager UK of AG Interactive UK, +44-778-6916767; or Pamela Preston, of Breakaway Communications, +1-212-590-2554, for AG Interactive; or Lauren Wirtzer, VP of Marketing of Def Jam Enterprises, +1-212-840-9399

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