Universal Music and L4 Mobile Make Classical Music Accessible with New iClassics iPad Application

Consumers Can Search, Mix, and Match Composers, Instruments, and Moods to Discover their Personal Music Preferences

NEW YORK, NY — August 24, 2011 — Universal Music Group’s classical music record labels, Deutsche Grammophon, and Decca Records, announced today that they have selected L4 Mobile, a leader in interactive mobile application development, to create the company’s new classical music discovery application, iClassics. Developed exclusively for Apple's iPad, iClassics allows consumers to explore the recordings from Universal Music Group’s vast and prestigious classical music catalogs, which include such lauded artists as Luciano Pavarotti, Cecilia Bartoli, Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel, Leonard Bernstein, Anna Netrebko, and Renée Fleming. iClassics is the first classical music application for the iPad that utilizes a unique music discovery “tagging” interface to help consumers search, mix and match composers, instruments and even moods to find classical music to match their personal preferences.

iClassics successfully caters to classical music beginners and established fans alike guiding them to music that appeals to their individual tastes. Consumers can narrow down their music options by choosing personal preferences from eight categories of selection criteria which include:

• Characteristic – e.g. Elegant, Patriotic, Seductive
• Event – e.g. Wedding, Birthday, Vacation
• Genre – e.g. Lullaby, Opera, Instrumental
• Instrument – e.g. Piano, Flute, Violin
• Mood – e.g. Happy, Angry, Peaceful
• Role – e.g. Baritone, Soprano, Tenor
• Composer – e.g. Beethoven, Gershwin, Vivaldi
• Period – e.g. Medieval, Classical, Contemporary

"Classical music is an incredibly rich experience, but the sheer variety of composers, performers and interpretations can be daunting for some,” said Max Hole, Chief Operating Officer, Universal Music Group International, who is responsible for UMG’s market-leading classical music labels worldwide.  “This new, exciting iClassics app simplifies this complex world and guides music lovers to the finest recordings of the masterpieces performed by the world's top performers in an enjoyable, user-friendly way. Our goal is to help more people discover this extraordinary world.”

In addition to the unique tagging interface, key iClassics application features include:

Free classical music streaming - The iClassics application includes classical music content from the world’s longest-standing recording company, Deutsche Grammophon, and the legendary Decca Records, which owns and controls the greatest opera catalog in the world. iClassics users have instant access to Deutsche Grammophon & Decca Classics radio as a free streaming service within the application. Music lovers can enjoy listening to streaming audio samples and purchasing classical music songs and albums from the iTunes Music Store directly within the application. The application is Apple Airplay™ enabled so users can also stream music through Apple TVs and Airplay supported speaker docks, AV receivers, and stereo systems.

Interactive music timeline - iClassics also includes an interactive composer timeline featuring over 100 composers ranging from the Medieval time period through the present.  Consumers can use the timeline to learn more about each composer and quickly access their music.

Favorites list and Facebook/Twitter music sharing – iClassics users have the ability to create a list of “favorite” albums and songs which can be easily accessed from the main menu. They can also share their classical music discoveries with friends through Facebook and Twitter. Free updates will include new recordings along with new features as they roll out.

“iClassics raises the bar for other iPad music applications today by making the search and discovery process incredibly simple,” said Keith O’Neill, CEO of L4 Mobile. “With a deep catalog of wonderful music, an intuitive user interface, and tons of interesting content, this application is taking the fear factor out of classical music and making it entertainment that everyone can enjoy. We look forward to continuing to work with Universal Music Group to add more innovative features to the application in the future.”

To download the FREE iClassics application on iTunes please visit: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/iclassics/id433799067?mt=8

www.iclassics.com        www.facebook.com/iclassics      www.twitter.com/iclassicsapp

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About Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group (UMG) is the world’s leading music company with wholly owned record operations or licensees in 77 territories. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, the industry's leading global music publishing operation.
Universal Music Group's record labels include A&M/Octone, Decca, Def Jam Recordings, Deutsche Grammophon, Disa, Emarcy, Fonovisa, Geffen Records, Interscope Records, Island Records, Lost Highway Records, Machete Music, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Motown Records, Polydor Records, Show Dog–Universal Music, Universal Music Latino, Universal Republic and Verve Music Group as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world. The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalog of music in the industry, which includes the last 100 years of the world's most popular artists and their recordings. UMG’s catalog is marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and Universal Strategic Marketing (outside the U.S.). Universal Music Group also includes eLabs, its new media and technologies division; Bravado, its merchandising company; and Twenty-First Artists, its full service management division.
Universal Music Group is a unit of Vivendi, a global media and communications company.

About L4 Mobile
L4 Mobile, a leader in interactive mobile applications, offers media companies the mobile development services they need to build a community around their brand. Unlike most mobile application development companies, L4 Mobile combines deep mobile expertise with interactive media insight.

The company has assembled the turn-key mobile applications today’s top consumer brands need to get their services to market quickly and the professional services to customize the applications for their specific audiences. L4 Mobile also delivers the back-end content management systems so companies can directly manage and maintain their applications into the future.

Headquartered in Seattle, WA, L4 Mobile works with some of the leading hardware and media companies today. Additional information is available at http://www.l4mobile.com, +1 (425) 605-7030, info@l4mobile.com, Twitter: http://twitter.com/L4Mobile, Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/L4Mobile, and LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/l4-mobile.

L4 Mobile™ is a registered trademark of L4 Mobile. All Rights Reserved.
Other product or service marks mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

Press Contacts:

For Deutsche Grammophon & Decca Classics U.S.:
Olga Makrias
+ 1 (212) 333-1485
olga.makrias@umusic.com
www.universalmusic.com

For L4 Mobile:
Anne Baker
+1 (425) 442-1806
abaker@bluecreekmarketing.com
www.l4mobile.com

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