If You Can Hum It, You Can Find It

 

Nayio Media unveils first Internet melody-based search tool; humming search mines songs from Napster

 

 

SAN MATEO, Calif. – Dec. 13, 2006 – Nayio Media, Inc. today launched the first melody-based Internet search tool on its website, Nayio.com.  Nayio’s humming search tool guides consumers to songs even when they don’t remember the words; on Nayio.com, if you can hum it, you can find it.

 

Nayio’s revolutionary and proprietary service can identify tunes consumers hum into their computer’s microphone. Through a strategic partnership with Napster (Nasdaq: NAPS), the digital music pioneer, the service cross-references the hummed melody with Napster’s massive library of more than three million songs and delivers a list of potential matches. In addition, each potential match is accompanied by a NapsterLink, a direct link to the song on the Napster.com Web site. Napster’s Web-based service allows users to listen to the song for free or purchase it for downloading.

 

Nayio’s humming search technology is groundbreaking. “To date, digital music technology development has focused on compression and sound quality,” said Jay Bose, chief operating officer and general manager of Nayio Media, Inc. “Our patented muGene™ technology focuses instead on ascertaining the unique ‘genetic’ structure of any given piece of music. Napster’s enormous collection of music is the perfect platform to allow us to show off this technology.”

 

Humming Search: The Foundation for a Collection of Patented Internet Music Tools

 

Humming search is just the beginning for Nayio Media. This technology is the foundation for a collection of patented Internet music tools featured on Nayio.com – starting with Nayio Studio. Nayio Studio provides the chance for would-be divas and their male counterparts to find out once and for all if they can sing in tune. Select a song from Nayio Studio, which displays the melody and pitch graphically and put your voice to the “Pitch Test.” Grab a mike, start singing along and get feedback in real-time. At the end of the song, you will receive a percentage score on your pitch accuracy.

 

“It’s the perfect tool for people with ‘Idol Fever,’” said Bose. “Nayio Studio will allow you to keep practicing until you finally get it right. It’s one way to avoid Simon’s insults.”

 

Humming search is based on muGene, which extracts the melody and tempo of any given song. It is also the basis for providing visual displays of pitch and synchronized lyrics, as well as the pitch evaluation system that is used to score the user’s pitch accuracy. (The ability to sing in tune is a caveat for the accuracy of humming search results.)

 

While debuting today in the U.S., Nayio’s humming search technology has been available in South Korea since 2003 for SK Telecom mobile customers. “Koreans have been using humming search to find songs, downloading and sharing them with friends via their mobile phones for several years now,” noted Bose.  

 

Additional digital music applications are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

 

About Nayio Media, Inc.

 

Headquartered in San Mateo, CA with offices in Seoul, Korea, Nayio Media is a consumer media company that develops Internet music technologies and provides a platform for consumers to interact with digital music.

 

More information can be found at www.nayio.com.

 

About Napster

Napster, the pioneer of digital music, offers the ultimate interactive music experience. With an expanding roster of offerings including free, Web-based music listening and sharing, subscription and portable subscription services, and an advanced mobile music platform, Napster creates better ways to discover, share, acquire and enjoy music – anytime, anywhere. Napster is headquartered in Los Angeles, with offices in New York, London, Frankfurt and Tokyo.