Music For All: The Next Evolution of V CAST Music from Verizon Wireless

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Verizon Wireless, the wireless company that's breaking down barriers in the world of mobile music, announced today the next evolution of V CAST Music. In conjunction with the launch of Chocolate by LG — the highly anticipated mobile music phone that is taking the world by storm — Verizon Wireless announced today that its customers have everything they need to have an extraordinary V CAST Music experience, including access to more than 1.3 million songs, a full line of music accessories that includes a 2GB microSD^TM card that can hold up to 1,000 songs, the elimination of the V CAST VPak monthly charge for its V CAST Music customers and the ability to play their mp3 files with V CAST Music.

Verizon Wireless' V CAST Music is the world's most comprehensive, over-the-air mobile music download service, and the new V CAST Music-enabled Chocolate by LG is this year's must-have mobile music device. With its sleek slider design, powerful speaker and dedicated music keys for easy access to V CAST Music, Chocolate is the perfect choice for Verizon Wireless customers that want to maximize their music experience. With Chocolate, customers can browse, preview, download and play high-quality digital music from the V CAST Music catalog that boasts more than 1.3 million songs from thousands of artists from top labels and independent providers.

In an effort to give its customers unfettered access to the best mobile music service in the nation, Verizon Wireless has eliminated the need for customers to subscribe to the V CAST VPak for $15 per month to use V CAST Music. Now, anyone with a V CAST Music-enabled phone can pay-as-they-go to download songs on their phone for $1.99 per song plus airtime, download songs to their Windows XP® PC for as little as $0.99 and transfer their existing compatible digital music collection to their V CAST Music-enabled phone or memory card for free from their PC. Purchases from the phone include two copies of every song — one for the phone and one for the Windows XP PC. In addition, V CAST Music customers with Chocolates can listen to their existing mp3 files, a new functionality enabled by new V CAST Music software on the phone.

John Harrobin, vice president of marketing and digital media for Verizon Wireless, said "Verizon Wireless is launching the next phase of V CAST Music with the exclusive launch of Chocolate by LG that marries breakthrough industrial design and music functionality with the best of a wireless phone. With the new V CAST Music pay-as-you-go pricing structure, Verizon Wireless' millions of customers with V CAST Music-enabled phones can now call their music whenever the urge strikes, giving them easy access to mobile music."

Chocolate by LG and V CAST Music from Verizon Wireless have changed the mobile music landscape, offering music customers the ability to personalize their music — either by selecting full-track downloads, ring tones, Ringback Tones, music videos and more — and play their music for others. Verizon Wireless' V CAST Music runs on Verizon Wireless' broadband network.

With the launch of Chocolate and enhancements to V CAST Music, artists can reach a larger, targeted and more engaged audience than ever before with traditional media, such as television and radio. Artists including the Fugees, Shakira, Green Day, Black Eyed Peas, John Legend, Sean Paul and Nelly Furtado have selected Verizon Wireless to give their fans unprecedented exclusives because they recognize that mobile music can bring their music to fans quickly and offers a unique opportunity to promote their music. For example, in March 2006, Verizon Wireless unveiled the simultaneous world premiere of the full-length song, music video, ring tone, Ringback Tone, wallpaper and behind-the-scenes footage of the video shoot for "Hips Don't Lie," the song that marked the unique collaboration of global artists Shakira and Wyclef Jean. The "Hips Don't Lie" single and other content became available for purchase exclusively on V CAST — two months prior to being sold at any Web retailer, music store or other music distribution channel. Immediately after the Verizon Wireless exclusive of "Hips Don't Lie" was over, the single jumped to number one and continues to break records.

Harrobin continued, "V CAST Music lets artists get their music in the palms of their fans' hands quickly — while driving traditional music sales rather than cannibalizing them — and lets their fans choose the ways they want to personalize their music experience. With the combination of artist exclusives, true mobile music players such as Chocolate, and the immediacy of V CAST Music, we are now way beyond ring tones and Ringback Tones on phones."

Chocolate by LG is available today for $149.99 after a $50 instant rebate and new two-year customer agreement online at www.verizonwireless.com and will be available in more than 2,100 Verizon Wireless Communications Stores including those within Circuit City on August 7 for $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and new two-year customer agreement. V CAST Music songs cost as little as $0.99 if purchased from the PC or $1.99 if purchased and downloaded over the air onto a V CAST Music phone. The compatible microSD memory cards that can hold up to 1,000 songs are available for $99.99 online and at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores.

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

(EDITORS NOTE: Broadcast-quality B-Roll and high-resolution stills of V CAST Music from Verizon Wireless are available online. Log on to Verizon Wireless' Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia to preview and request video segments, which can be received in newsrooms digitally, by tape or via satellite, or to request images.)

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation's most reliable wireless network, serving 54.8 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

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