Pressplay, Microsoft reach distribution deal

LOS ANGELES: Pressplay, a joint venture of recording giants Vivendi Universal

and Sony Corp., said on Thursday it reached a deal to distribute its

Internet-based music service on Microsoft Corp.'s MSN network.

The deal caps months of negotiations between the three companies, making

content from the two largest music companies, Vivendi Universal and Sony,

available to MSN's approximately five million subscribers.

Also as part of the agreement, Pressplay will be able to offer songs in

Microsoft's Windows Media format to consumers visiting MSN and other Pressplay

affiliates.

Subscribers are expected to pay a flat monthly fee, estimated between $10 and

$15, to get the music on the service, with acts ranging from U2, Limp Bizkit to

Bob Dylan.

Pressplay is expected to launch its music subscription joint-venture later

this summer.

Terms were not disclosed. The deal comes as all the big labels prepare to

launch services to fill the void left by Napster, the once wildly popular

song-swap service that has seen usage dwindle due to a court-ordered injunction.

(C) Reuters Limited 2001.