Muzak revs up rush hour with Audio Highway; Corporate collaboration cultivates new uses for vast music library.

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 1997--Quickly branching out from its stronghold as the nation's largest business music provider, Muzak announced today that it will provide audio content for Audio Highway's(TM) innovative new Listen Up(TM) Player portable audio device, continuing its drive to introduce unique, high quality content to companies that develop interactive consumer applications.

The device, which is being unveiled today at the Consumer Electronics Show(R), is expected to put custom produced audio magazine content into the hands of hundreds of thousands of commuters in the next three years.

The Audio Highway Listen Up Player is a hand-held portable device that delivers personalized audio content to the mobile market. Muzak's Enso Audio Imaging Division will produce original, enhanced reviews of new music in a variety of different music genres.

Consumers can select content that appeals to them, and respond to the content as well. As they listen to a music selection, consumers can press a button to let Enso know how they liked it, request more information about the release, or get purchasing information.

Listen Up users will have access to 15-minute music genre magazines including Adult Contemporary, Top 10, Jazz, Country, Pop, Rock 'n Roll, and Classical. Reviews contain engaging background information on artists and the music, and are interwoven with the music itself. In addition to the Enso-produced reviews, other Listen Up programming includes news, magazine articles, movie reviews, best-selling books, foreign language courses and more.

Using the Listen Up Player and an Internet connection, consumers can select the listening content they desire and download those selections using Audio Highway's World Wide Web site (http://www.audiohwy.com) and its proprietary software and hardware. Audio Highway is initially targeting the more than 60 million Americans who commute to work, and projects sales of 43,000 of the hand-held audio units by 1999.

Muzak joins many other noteworthy companies in providing content for Audio Highway including Associated Press, Newsweek and Time Warner Books, Investor's Business Daily, Berlitz, PR Newswire, MCA Records, IDG Communications and CMP Media Inc.

"Our music resources are a wellspring of content for companies that need the highest quality digital programming served on demand, and we're adding these reviews to enhance the Listen Up listening experience," said Enso President Bill Koenig. "Our industry expertise puts us in the enviable position of being able to provide digital content for all kinds of futuristic applications."

The Audio Highway collaboration is another in Muzak's continuing drive to convey its formidable music industry programming and production aptitude into new applications. Last year Muzak launched its Enso Audio Imaging Division with a service called MusicServer(SM) that allows consumers to sample music from the Internet web sites of major music retailers, including Tower Records, CDnow and Microsoft Music Central, and provides digital content for many applications.

Seattle-based Muzak delivers business music, videos, advertisements, data and information to businesses around the world via satellite, the Internet, private radio signal and on-site systems.

CONTACT: WHaM Communications

Melanie Wilhoite, 206/223-1606

or

Enso Audio Imaging Division

Erika Leber, 206/633-3000