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iTunes Tagging for HD Radio Broadcasting Announced
Columbia, Maryland, September 6, 2007 – Responding to the desire of millions of people who discover music via their favorite local radio broadcasts, Apple, iBiquity Digital, and major radio broadcasting groups unveiled today the result of an industry-wide initiative to create a new, free service called “iTunes Tagging.”
iTunes Tagging is designed to make music discovery, purchase and listening even more fun and simple for all. iTunes Tagging enables consumers using HD Radio receivers that have been equipped with a special Tag button, to “tag” songs that they hear on the FM dial for subsequent purchase via iTunes.
"iTunes tagging takes music discovery on the radio to the next level," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of iPod Product Marketing. "When a song plays on your HD Radio that you like, a simple push of a button will tag it and later give you the chance to preview, purchase, and enjoy it with iTunes and your iPod."
Bob Struble, CEO of iBiquity Digital, the developer of HD Radio technology, said, “Research consistently shows that radio is the predominant source of music discovery. Now, with iTunes Tagging, HD Radio technology provides a cool new way to capture the songs listeners discover, buy them on iTunes and then enjoy them. We are especially pleased that so many broadcasters came together so quickly for the initial launch.” Several major broadcasters will implement iTunes Tagging, initially across hundreds of stations. Additional stations and broadcast groups are expected to join soon, with a formal announcement of participating groups planned for later this year at the NAB Radio convention, September 26 – 28.
Struble continued, “We are delighted that JBL and Polk Audio will have the first available products that enable iTunes Tagging. The new Polk Audio I-Sonic® Entertainment System 2 and the JBL iHD will both include the Tag button. These products will go on sale during the holiday shopping season and we anticipate several additional products that include the Tag button for both the home and the car to follow in early 2008.”
Peter Ferrara, CEO of the HD Digital Radio Alliance, the coalition of radio broadcasters formed to promote HD Radio technology commented on the broadcasters’ promotional plan for iTunes Tagging, saying “the HD Digital Radio Alliance is tremendously excited about this great new HD Radio feature and will broadly promote iTunes Tagging. We plan a multi-million dollar advertising campaign focusing on the JBL and Polk Audio products, as well as participating retailers.”
Mark Mays, CEO of Clear Channel Communications, Inc. commented, "Clear Channel Radio remains committed to being the leader in HD Digital Radio content on both primary and multicast channels, and our embrace of iTunes tagging is just the latest step in that leadership. We believe that HD Digital Radio innovations such as this will continue to open up additional and new services for consumers and revenue opportunities for broadcasters."
About iBiquity Digital
iBiquity Digital Corporation is the developer of the HD Radio system which is powering the AM/FM digital radio revolution. This transformational technology allows AM and FM stations to broadcast digital signals in tandem with their analog signals, providing broadcasters with a platform to deliver multiple channels of programming (HD2 multicasting); crystal-clear, CD-quality sound; advanced services such as traffic updates; and text information. HD Radio technology is being or has been tested in many countries throughout the world, including
About the HD Digital Radio
The HD Digital Radio Alliance is a joint initiative of leading radio broadcasters to accelerate the successful rollout of HD Digital Radio. Current members include Beasley Broadcast
About the Harman Consumer Group
The Harman Consumer Group (HCG), Inc., is a leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of a wide range of high-fidelity loudspeakers, audio and video components, and multimedia systems for use in homes and automobiles, and with computers. The group’s brands include JBL®, Infinity®, Harman Kardon®, Mark Levinson®, Revel®, Audioaccess® and Lexicon®.
HCG is a division of Harman International Industries, Incorporated. Harman International (www.harman.com) is a leading manufacturer of high-quality, high-fidelity audio products and electronic systems for the automotive, consumer and professional markets. The company’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “HAR.”
About Polk Audio
Polk Audio is an award-winning designer and manufacturer of high performance audio products and the largest audio brand of Directed Electronics, Inc. (NASDAQ, DEIX). Founded in 1972 by three
Apple®, iPod® and iTunes® are registered trademarks of Apple Corp. HD Radio™ and the HD Radio logos are proprietary trademarks of iBiquity Digital Corp. Other product and company names may be trademarks of their respective companies
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