Napster Names Carat Fusion as Media Agency of Record

Napster Names Carat Fusion as Media Agency of Record

Digital Music Pioneer Selects Agency to Create Engagement with Consumers

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Carat Fusion announced today that it has been named media agency of record for Napster, the biggest brand in digital music. Carat Fusion will handle all media planning and buying for Napster including broadcast, cable, print, out of home, interactive, search engine marketing and affiliate marketing.

"Napster is committed to providing music fans with a superior digital music experience through powerful partnerships, unique programming and continued innovation," said Alan Cohen, Napster's chief marketing officer. "We know that effectively communicating this message to consumers requires partnering with agencies that can design solutions that create true audience engagement and we are confident that with Carat Fusion handling media and Modernista! now handling creative, we have the best team to help us achieve our goals."

"Napster is one of the most exciting and revolutionary brands of our time," said Toby Gabriner, president of Carat Fusion. "Our work will focus on maximizing the strength of the brand while never losing sight of measurement and accountability. Napster has always been a force to be reckoned with in the online music space, and we look forward to helping them go to the next level."

Initially, Carat Fusion will focus on planning and buying for the Holiday 2005 season, the most important of the year for the online music company.

Today's news comes on the heels of the agency's announcement to evolve its approach and its name to Carat Fusion. To learn more about the launch of Carat Fusion, please visit: http://www.caratfusion.com/ .

About Napster

Napster, the biggest brand in digital music, is a subscription service that enables fans to freely sample the world's largest and most diverse online collection of music and move an unlimited amount of songs to compatible MP3 players. Napster (www.napster.com) members have access to songs from all major labels and hundreds of independents and have more ways to discover, share and acquire new music and old favorites with community features like the ability to email tracks to friends and browse other members' collections. Napster also offers Napster Light, a "lighter" version of the service for those who just want to purchase songs and albums a la carte. Napster is currently available in the United States, Canada and the U.K. and is headquartered in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York, London and Frankfurt.

About Carat Fusion

Carat Fusion, a leading digital and direct response marketing agency, focuses on building engagement between consumers and brands. With headquarters based in San Francisco, CA, Carat Fusion has four additional offices in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. Carat Fusion is a part of Aegis' Carat, the world's largest independent media agency with more than $15 billion in worldwide billings.

Carat Fusion clients include adidas, Gateway, Hyundai, Kodak, Pfizer and RadioShack among others. For more information on Carat Fusion's services, go to www.caratfusion.com. Carat Fusion is also a part of Isobar, Aegis' global network of digital companies.

Contact: Bronwyn Saglimbeni Carat Fusion 415-385-8859 bronwyn.saglimbeni@carat.com

Source: Carat Fusion

CONTACT: Bronwyn Saglimbeni of Carat Fusion, +1-415-385-8859, or bronwyn.saglimbeni@carat.com

Web site: http://www.napster.com/

Web site: http://www.caratfusion.com/

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