DDEX Press Announcements
28th January 2009
The Orchard Selected To Join DDEX Board
Digital Data Exchange (DDEX) announced today that
The Orchard has joined DDEX as a Charter Member and
has accepted a seat on the DDEX Board. The Orchard
joins existing DDEX Board members including music
content companies EMI Music, Sony Music
Entertainment, Warner Music Group and Universal
Music Group; music rights societies The American
Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
(ASCAP), The Harry Fox Agency Inc. (HFA), The
MCPS-PRS Alliance Limited, Sociedad General de
Autores y Editores (SGAE) and Société
des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Editeurs de Musique (SACEM); and
digital and mobile service providers Apple Inc.,
France Telecom, Microsoft Corp., RealNetworks Inc®,
and Telefónica Servicios de Música S.A.U.
Dan
Pifer, EVP Operations & Technology at The Orchard,
will sit on the DDEX Board as Orchard's
representative.
"DDEX is delighted that The Orchard has agreed to join DDEX as a Charter Member. Their outstanding track record in the digital marketing and distribution of independent label content is second to none," said Chris Amenita, ASCAP, the chair of DDEX. "We are all looking forward to working on DDEX's technical specifications with the experts that The Orchard will be able to make available."
"We are pleased at the opportunity to contribute to DDEX and also, ensure that the independent music sector has a seat at the table", said Pifer, "The adoption of standards is crucial for the continued growth of our industry and for the adoption and propagation of new technologies that support the marketing efforts of labels and artists."
To this end, The Orchard will be taking a lead role in looking at how DDEX might apply standards in the exchange of digital data in the web 2.0 space as it relates to marketing and promotion of artists on social networking sites and other platforms.
In October 2008, DDEX announced a wave of implementations of its digital communication standards. Implementations have been completed by digital music service providers including iTunes, Muzak, Real Networks, SFR and Telefónica Servicios de Música S.A.U., music content companies Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group, and music rights societies, ASCAP, BMI, HFA, MCPS-PRS, SACEM and SGAE. Since October a number of other implementation partnerships have been announced and the existing implementers continue to roll out use of the DDEX standards with the rest of their business partners.
About The Orchard®
The Orchard (NASDAQ: ORCD) controls and globally distributes more than 1.3 million songs and over 5,000 video titles through hundreds of digital stores (e.g. iTunes, eMusic, Google, Netflix, V CAST) and mobile carriers (e.g. Verizon Wireless, Vodafone, Bell Canada, 3). With operations in 29 regions around the world, The Orchard drives sales for its label, retailer, brand, and agency clients through innovative marketing and promotional campaigns; brand entertainment programs; and film, advertising, gaming and television licensing. A pioneer in digital music and media services, The Orchard fosters creativity and independence.
The Orchard is a registered trademark and The Orchard logo is a service mark of Orchard Enterprises NY, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
About DDEX®
The Digital Data Exchange, LLC ("DDEX") is a standards development organisation incorporated in 2006 to design (for voluntary adoption) standardised XML message formats for the exchange of metadata across the digital content value chain, develop common protocols for the automated communication and management of messages and to originate material to promote its standards and assist companies in their implementations. The end result of implementing DDEX standards for digital content businesses is faster time to market, improved operational quality and efficiency, improved data quality, reduced transaction management costs, reduced communication costs and reduced development costs.
DDEX is a membership organisation, incorporated as a limited liability company operating under the laws of Delaware. DDEX is governed by a Board of Directors the members of which are representatives of the Charter Members of DDEX. Membership of DDEX is open to any organization with an interest in the legal distribution of digital content.
DDEX is a registered trademark and the DDEX logo is a service mark of Digital Data Exchange, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Contact for The Orchard
Contact for DDEX
Mark Isherwood - mark.isherwood@rightscom.com - +44 (20) 7620 4436
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The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
