five million songs in your pocket – every one is yours to DISCOVER, play and enjoy

Verizon Wireless Teams Up with Rhapsody to Enhance the Leading Mobile Music Service with Unlimited Subscription Music for $15 a Month and the Simplicity of Digital Rights Management-Free Songs

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., and SEATTLE – Mobile music enters a new era today as Verizon Wireless and Rhapsody®, the digital music service from RealNetworks® (Nasdaq:RNWK) and MTV Networks, launch V CAST Music with Rhapsody. Combining Verizon Wireless’ world-class, over-the-air mobile music service with Rhapsody’s leading desktop solution, V CAST Music with Rhapsody delivers unlimited monthly access to music on up to three Rhapsody-compatible mobile phones and players and online on multiple PCs and web browsers, for less than the cost of a single CD. In addition, customers who purchase music over-the-air are able to download the master copy of the songs or albums to their PCs free of digital rights management (DRM) software that restricts how and where music can be played.

With V CAST Music with Rhapsody, Verizon Wireless customers are still able to purchase songs over-the-air for $1.99 and get two copies of the song: the first for their phones, the second for their PCs in the DRM-free MP3 format. When customers download the V CAST Music with Rhapsody Software to their PCs and sign up for the monthly subscription, they have the ultimate music management service, including:

o Unlimited subscription syncing with access to more than five million songs







o Creating and accessing playlists, viewing playlists of other users, including celebrities







o Burning, importing and converting CDs to play anywhere







o Managing an existing digital music collection for free and syncing it to their mobile phones







o Buying non-protected MP3s of songs on the PC for 99 cents per song







o Buying songs on the phone, over-the-air – get two copies of the song for just $1.99 (one is over-the-air, the second master copy is the MP3 file customers download onto their PCs)

By subscribing to V CAST Music with Rhapsody, customers can discover new music from millions of songs, without breaking the bank. Whether a hard core music fan or a casual listener, customers of all music appetites will love the flexibility that 5 million songs give them to discover new music, listen to old favorites and find just the right song to suit their mood.

While Verizon Wireless customers continue to have the ability to get their favorite music while on-the-go via full song over-the-air downloads, ringtones and ringback tones, V CAST Music with Rhapsody also provides them with an award-winning desktop music application, allowing them to sync their favorite music quickly and easily, directly to their mobile phones. Now music lovers will be able to manage their collections with the most comprehensive music management tool and take their music with them anywhere.

John Harrobin, senior vice president of digital media and marketing for Verizon, said, “V CAST Music with Rhapsody fulfills Verizon’s promise to deliver the best mobile experience to our customers. Now, music fans can not only get the benefit of immediate access to music over-the-air, but also – in partnership with Rhapsody – customers can seamlessly integrate the leading mobile music service, available on a choice of devices they carry with them everyday, with the ultimate desktop experience.”

Rob Williams, senior vice president of music products for RealNetworks, noted, “Working with Verizon Wireless, we are able to extend the reach of the award-winning Rhapsody service to millions of mobile phones. V CAST Music with Rhapsody gives mobile phone users the best experience of any music service on the market while also giving them access to unlimited music, whether at home or on-the-go.”

Verizon Wireless customers who simply want to manage or buy music can download the V CAST Music with Rhapsody software for free at www.verizonwireless.com/music. Customers interested in a subscription may sign up for $14.99 monthly subscription online or by visiting a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, including those in Circuit City, or by calling Customer Service at 1-800-2-JOIN-IN.

V CAST Music with Rhapsody will be available on the marquee V CAST Music with Rhapsody device, the Chocolate 3 by LG, when the phone becomes available in July; the service is also available today on select phones, including the LG Decoy™ and LG Dare; MOTO™ W755; Samsung SCH-u550, Samsung Glyde™ and Samsung Juke. Customers using the MOTORIZR Z6tv, MOTORAZR² V9m or LG VX8700 may bring their phones into a Verizon Wireless Communications Store to receive a free software upgrade on their phones to access the service.

For more information about Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.

Rip-Off Of This campaign—which also features dazzling performances from the likes of Will and Jada—appears explicitly designed for YouTube, where similar feats of dancing wizardry are regularly displayed. I also couldn't help but think of the surprisingly tolerable You Got Served, a hyper-caffeinated, message-free version of Save the Last Dance.

The Spin We've been predicting this for years, but looks like we're about to witness the death of low-gig, standalone MP3 players—at least if Samsung and Verizon have their druthers. If the venerable Charles can flourish with a combo phone in lieu of a digital audio player, so can you, right? Beyond that, this commercial's notable for its surprising cultural awareness, albeit an awareness that may irk music snobs. Verizon's ad agency, McCann Erickson, was trying to create an obvious link between the Juke and Chicago Juke, the Windy City's latest take on house music and its attendant footwork. Alas, as several YouTube commenters have pointed out, Hardnox doesn't really make pure juke—not enough electro zing—and they're not from Chicago. This will, of course, only bother about 0.005 percent of viewers—the overwhelming reaction to the music seems to be, "Great song, can I buy it?" Moral of the story: sometimes it doesn't pay to be 100 percent authentic.

Counterspin Contrast this ad with Samsung's relentlessly mainstream pitch for the Juke, which features Foreigner's geezerific "Jukebox Hero." The Samsung spot also ladles out the product porn, with the camera sweeping across the phone's screen to reveal the sound meter a-pulsing, and some nice action shots of the Juke's switchblade-like opening mechanism. Meanwhile, you can't even really tell what's in Charles' hand while he's juking—it's only the ad copy that gives it away. It's always a gamble when you refuse to highlight the very thing you're supposedly peddling: Do it well and you're a creative genius, do it poorly and you might as well have tossed your client's money in a bonfire.

Takeaway McCann Erickson succeeds here precisely because it trusts the sophistication of younger consumers. The site tease at the end is sufficient to drive intrigued viewers to Verizonwireless.com for further info. And bet on lots of folks being intrigued, given the lure of Hardnox's music (available as an exclusive Verizon ringtone, natch) and Charles' gobsmacking agility (which inspired me to seek out other examples of juke brilliance). But caveat emptor on at least one important point: the Juke can't play DRM-protected songs, which means you'll have to hold on to your shuffle if you've got an iTunes-heavy music library.

Hype-O-Meter 9 (out of 10). A handful of snobs may grumble, but it's impressive to see Verizon promoting Chicago Juke, a creative phenomenon that's deserving of a much wider audience. Hope it's not long 'til Alltel or its peers fight back with ads featuring Baltimore club—perhaps on behalf of the ROKR Z6? Lord knows that phone could use some help.

Brendan I. Koerner is a contributing editor at Wired, a columnist for Slate, and author of the forthcoming Now the Hell Will Start. His Hype Sheet column appears every Thursday on Gizmodo.

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Definitely aimed to take on Sansas, Zens and nanos, the little scroll-click wheel phone has a few other charms, such as GPS with VZ Navigator, a VGA camera with "Nightshot," a built-in speaker and Bluetooth stereo output. The only physical downside is that, as crazy narrow as it is, it's a bit too thick.

It's set to arrive sometime this month. And yes, I know "funnest" is not a real word. [Verizon Wireless]