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Tuesday December 16th, 2003

New Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox offers most comprehensive home music system available

Gibson's first consumer audio product sets new standard for home digital music with 1000-CD storage, wireless touch-screen remote, 100 channels of digital radio, direct download store, whole house music distribution and premium sound by Klipsch

Gibson Audio, the new consumer electronics division of Gibson Guitar, unveils its first product, a new line of "digital jukeboxes" designed specifically for the home, and to be sold under the world's most famous jukebox name - Wurlitzer. While the name Wurlitzer can conjure up images of bubbles, colored light tubes and '50s diners, the new Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox is in a different category altogether, featuring a sleek, contemporary design and cutting-edge functionality that makes it the most comprehensive digital music solution to date.

The Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox, which will be formally introduced at the 2004 Consumer Electronics Show (Jan. 8-11):

• Allows the user to store a huge CD collection in digital format (up to 1000 CDs), then control that music collection from a wireless touch-screen remote that features a remarkably elegant and simple user interface.
• Provides direct access to the Wurlitzer Music Service, a digital music service that offers 100 channels of digital radio plus a full download store where the user can purchase and download hundreds of thousands of major label songs directly to the jukebox.
• Allows the user to take any of this music and build personalized playlists, create "mix" CDs, export songs to a portable MP3 player, or distribute music wirelessly throughout the home to other Wurlitzer receivers.
Provides top quality audio with a custom-designed speaker and amplifier system from Klipsch Audio Technologies.

Non-tech consumers. While the cutting-edge functionality of the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox will certainly appeal to technophiles and early adopters, the product was developed specifically for the non-technical consumer. "We believe that there is a significant untapped market of folks who are aware of the power of digital music-or have a 'techie' friend who swears by it-but who continue to use physical CDs because they have yet to be offered a user-friendly digital music solution," said Kris Carter, President of Gibson Audio. "The Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox is just what they've been waiting for."

CD organization. One of the great advantages of the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox is its ability to instantly organize a CD collection. When a CD is inserted, the jukebox automatically captures and stores the relevant information including Artist Name, CD and Song Title, Genre, and most uniquely, digital Cover Art. Users can then sort and access music in any way they want from the wireless touch-screen remote. Perhaps best of all, they can take those hundreds of CDs that are cluttering their living room and box them up in the garage.

"Our goal in designing this line of products was to develop a digital music solution that not only harnessed the power of computing technology, but also placed it in a package that anyone could use," said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar Corp. "For most people, it has always been easier to put a CD in a CD player than to deal with music on a computer. Now, with the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox, I can effortlessly call up any CD in my collection from the wireless touch-screen, and if that's not enough, I can go to the Wurlitzer Music Store and instantly purchase and listen to new music without ever leaving my living room."

Audio quality. In addition to its powerful functionality and extreme simplicity, the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox also features high-end audio quality. CDs can be stored in various compression levels (160, 256, 320 kbps) as well as uncompressed digital format for the most discriminating audiophile. Even more important to the audiophile, however, is the speaker and amplification system.

The Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox features a premium speaker and amplification system by legendary audio company Klipsch Audio Technologies. Gibson Audio carefully selected Klipsch as a "best of class" partner to deliver true audiophile quality to the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox. "Gibson Audio is very excited about the opportunity to bring together the legendary Wurltizer and Klipsch brands," stated Carter. "Klipsch's audio engineers have delivered a customized speaker and amplifier system with sound quality that has exceeded even our own extremely high expectations."

Three models. The flagship model of the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox line is a floorstanding, all-in-one design that evokes the historical Wurlitzer look, but with a modern flair. It stores up to 1000 CDs, comes with a wireless touch-screen remote, and features a Klipsch speaker and amplification system with floorstanding loudspeakers and a subwoofer built into the base of the jukebox unit. For consumers who already have significant investments in stereo equipment, there is a component version, the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox "CP" that is functionally identical to the floorstanding device, but without speakers and in a "stereo rack" form factor designed to fit comfortably in existing home entertainment systems. Finally, for locations such as bedrooms or kitchens, there is a small tabletop version of the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox, which stores up to 500 CDs, has a built-in touch-screen interface, and also features Klipsch speakers and amplification.

Honors. The Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox line has already received several honors, including "Best of Audio" in the 2004 CES Innovations Design & Engineering Awards. Additionally, the tabletop version has been selected as one of two top audio products in the Consumer Electronics Association's "Technology is a Girl's Best Friend" Showcase, a showcase that features products designed with the female consumer in mind.

"Because Gibson is new to consumer electronics, we set out to make a statement with the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox. We knew that to establish Gibson Audio in this space as well as to do justice to the great Wurlitzer name, this product would have to be ahead of anything else on the market in terms of functionality, design, technology, sound quality, and most importantly, the simplicity of the user experience," stated Carter. "The Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox brings together the best of both of computing and consumer electronics . . . an entire world of music at your fingertips, instantly accessible and controllable from your living room couch."

Gibson Audio. Gibson Audio was launched in May 2003 as a convergence company to design, develop and bring to market consumer audio products at the point of convergence between cutting edge digital technology and traditional consumer electronics. With its slogan "PURE & SIMPLE," Gibson Audio products feature PURE audio quality combined with utterly SIMPLE user interaction.

"In keeping with Gibson's rich musical heritage, our consumer audio products will be all about the music," said Henry Juszkiewicz, chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar Corp. "Gibson Audio is most definitely technology-driven, but just as with Gibson Guitars, the technology is in service to the music, not the other way around."

To launch Gibson Audio, Juszkiewicz turned to Kris Carter, an entrepreneur and Harvard-educated lawyer with extensive experience in the development of digital audio convergence products. Prior to joining Gibson, Carter was founder and CEO of Ecoustix, Inc., a company that designed and built a high-end digital jukebox system for hotel guestrooms that delivered thousands of CDs of music licensed directly from the major record labels.

Gibson Guitar. Gibson has played a major role in American musical culture since the first Gibson instrument was handcrafted in Kalamazoo, MI, in 1894. Despite all of Gibson's success, the prestigious brand hit hard times in the 1970s due to the advent of cheap imported instruments and lack of vision on the part of the company's new owners. It took a passionate guitarist from New York state with an MBA from Harvard to get history back on track.

Henry Juszkiewicz, who purchased Gibson with his partners in 1986, is widely credited with creating one of the most important and dramatic turn-around success stories in the history of musical instrument manufacturers. Juskiewicz renewed commitment to the best specifications of vintage instruments and implemented a vigorous program to make each new Gibson the best it could be, and the turnaround began immediately. The market was ready to believe in Gibson and the new team was happy to provide Gibsons worth believing in. Gibson has enjoyed phenomenal growth under Juszkiewicz's leadership.

For more information about the Wurlitzer Digital Jukebox and Gibson Audio, go here, call 1-800 4GIBSON anytime or send us an email.