Toronto, Canada
Patented Canadian Technology to Allow Secure Digital Judging
YANGAROO Inc., (TSX-V: YOO, OTCBB: YOOIF) the industry's leading secure digital media distribution company, has entered into an agreement with the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), the organization responsible for the JUNO Awards. CARAS will utilize YANGAROO’s patented Digital Media Distribution System (DMDS) to distribute all music and related promotional materials submitted for JUNO Award consideration to both the judges and CARAS’ members.
In past, music has been submitted by artists and record labels for JUNO Award consideration by the physical shipment of 12 CD copies, for each category, of their album and/or single complete with bio and a publicity photo to CARAS, who in turn would package the submissions and ship them out to the 300+ judges across the country. Using DMDS to streamline the process, submitted music will be digitally ingested into DMDS and CARAS will then use DMDS to securely distribute the music and related promotional materials to the 300+ judges and more than 1700 members. These people will then be able to stream the music online or download it to be burned to CD or transferred to their iPods for review. Digital delivery protects the environment by eliminating the waste created by CD's and their packaging, which are made from many non-renewable materials, as well as the greenhouse gas emissions caused by the delivery of those packages.
“Integrating DMDS into our evaluation process was an easy decision,” said Melanie Berry, President of CARAS. “The technology is not only more efficient and less expensive, but it also poses clear environmental benefits. The Canadian Music Industry was the first in the world to embrace digital delivery for their promotional releases to radio and other destinations, and it just follows that the JUNO Awards should be the first major televised awards show to adopt this same technology.”
The development work will begin immediately and will be in place for this year’s JUNO Awards, one of the most watched television events in Canada, scheduled to take place in Vancouver, British Columbia on March 29, 2009.
“We are proud to have been chosen by CARAS for this process,” said Cliff Hunt, Chairman and COO of YANGAROO. “We expect that with the JUNO Awards taking the lead, the many other award shows throughout the world will soon follow in their footsteps, creating an entirely new revenue opportunity for the company ”
About CARAS:
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences/L’academie canadienne des arts et des sciences de l’enregistrement (CARAS) is a not-for-profit organization created to preserve and enhance the Canadian music and recording industries and to contribute toward higher artistic and industry standards. The main focus of CARAS is the exploration and development of opportunities to showcase and promote Canadian artists and music through vehicles such as The JUNO Awards. The CARAS board is made up of prominent individuals representing the record industry, including the presidents of the four major record groups in Canada, EMI, Sony BMG, Warner and Universal. For more information on the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences’ (CARAS) visit www.carasonline.ca and www.junoawards.ca.
About YANGAROO:
YANGAROO's patented Digital Media Distribution System (DMDS) is a leading secure B2B digital delivery solution for the music and advertising industries. DMDS is a web-based delivery system that pioneers secure digital file distribution by incorporating biometrics, high-value encryption and watermarking. DMDS replaces the physical distribution of musical recordings and advertising to radio, media, retailers and other authorized recipients with more accountable, effective and far less costly digital delivery of broadcast quality media via the Internet.
YANGAROO's DMDS has made over five million deliveries of over 11,000 songs from more than 600 record labels to destinations which include radio stations representing over 35 US broadcast chains and all major and secondary broadcasters in Canada.
DMDS is the only system that can digitally deliver music across the U.S., Canada and the UK. YANGAROO has offices in Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, and London, UK. YANGAROO trades on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V) under the symbol YOO and in the U.S. under OTCBB:YOOIF. For further information, please contact John Heaven at 905-763-3553 or visit www.yangaroo.com.
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Contact:
Matthew Caldecutt / Gina Preoteasa
Trylon SMR
212-725-2295
matthew@trylonsmr.com / gina@trylonsmr.com
For general information about The JUNO Awards contact:
Media Contact: Tiffany Astle
Holmes Creative Communications
tastle@hccink.com / (416) 628-5603
www.hccink.com
The statements contained in this release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause such statements to differ materially from actual future events or results. Such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.