Linkin Park, Warner Bros. Records and Artificial Life Sign License Deal to Bring Linkin Park Games to the iPhone
Tuesday April 21, 2009, 8:00 am EDT
LOS ANGELES & HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Artificial Life, Inc., (OTCBB:ALIF) (www.artificial-life.com), today announced a three-year agreement with multi-platinum two-time Grammy-winning rock band Linkin Park and Warner Bros. Records to produce a series of official applications for the iPhone and iPod touch platform. The company plans to release two interactive applications per year, featuring the band’s likeness and music in unconventional styles; the first launch is tentatively scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2009 pending approval.
One of the most successful rock bands to emerge this decade, Linkin Park has amassed more than 45 million worldwide sales, a remarkable string of chart-topping hit singles, a pair of Grammy wins, and an international fanbase whose members number in the millions. The band (vocalists Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda, drummer Rob Bourdon, guitarist Brad Delson, DJ Joe Hahn and bassist Dave "Phoenix" Farrell) is currently working on the follow-up to blockbuster hit MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT (Machine Shop Recordings/Warner Bros. Records), which sold more than 6 million copies internationally.
Linkin Park is also gearing up for an international tour that will see them headlining stadiums and festivals in Austria, Germany, Istanbul, Finland, Russia, Japan, China, Taipei and the UK, solidifying their status as one of the world’s biggest concert attractions. The band recently made history overseas as the first-ever international rock group to perform at a stadium in China, playing to a sold-out crowd at the prestigious Shanghai Hongkou Stadium. That show followed a string of sold-out European, Asian and Australian dates along with a sold-out summer U.S. tour. Over the course of the past year and a half, Linkin Park has played live to almost two million people around the world, topping an elite shortlist of rock bands capable of filling stadiums planet-wide.
“We want to offer our fans every opportunity to enjoy our music,” says Linkin Park’s Joe Hahn, who helped design the initial game. “We’re excited to be working with Artificial Life to develop a new and unique way for them to experience Linkin Park.”
Warner Bros. Records is one of the most successful recording companies in music history and home to some of the most influential and innovative artists of our time. Its reputation and extraordinary roster of new and established recording artists is unparalleled, and its collective influence on pop culture is without precedent.
Warner Bros. Records was founded 50 years ago by Jack Warner, the last of the original pioneering Warner brothers, as an offshoot of Warner Bros. Studios, which, thirty-two years earlier, had introduced its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system for feature films. The acquisition of Frank Sinatra's Reprise label in 1963 catapulted the company into one of the most dynamic organizations in popular music and throughout the next five decades built a family of labels that today represent a full spectrum of musical genres.
With a visionary approach toward discovering and nurturing musical talent, the Warner Bros. family of labels is currently home to an impressive generation of major artists. The roster includes Avenged Sevenfold, The Black Keys, Michael Buble, Cher, Eric Clapton, Disturbed, Emmylou Harris, Enya, The Flaming Lips, Fleetwood Mac, Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day, Josh Groban, Faith Hill, Linkin Park, The Raconteurs, Robert Randolph, Red Hot Chili Peppers, R.E.M., Damien Rice, Rilo Kiley, Seal, Blake Shelton, Taking Back Sunday, Ashley Tisdale, The White Stripes and many others.
The rich and diversified catalog on the Warner Bros. family of labels includes a lineup of recordings by Black Sabbath, Miles Davis, Dire Straits, The Grateful Dead, The Kinks, Madonna, Randy Newman, Prince, The Ramones, Talking Heads, James Taylor, Frank Sinatra, Van Halen, Van Morrison, and others.
As Warner Bros. Records begins its sixth decade, its commitment to presenting the world's best music, maintaining the highest standard and attracting the most exciting and original artists of our time will keep the name Warner Bros. Records synonymous with excellence.
"At Warner Bros Records, we have the privilege of working with incredibly creative and innovative artists such as Linkin Park," said Andie Simon, Warner Bros. Records’ VP Interactive/Brand Partnership. "When Linkin Park introduced us to Artificial Life, we agreed that combining all of our strengths could result in something really exciting for Linkin Park fans around the world."
“It is both an honor and privilege to have the opportunity to partner with Linkin Park and Warner Bros. Records. The applications we expect to produce will have exceptional potential in the mobile market. The unique and alternative music style of Linkin Park make them the best fit to be ported into the iPhone platform. We would like to thank Warner Bros. Records for their co-operation to provide us with the necessary IP rights for this project,” said Eberhard Schoneburg, CEO of Artificial Life, Inc.
(iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc. iPod is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the US and other countries. App Store is service mark of Apple Inc.)
About Artificial Life, Inc.
Artificial Life, Inc. (OTCBB:ALIF) is a public U.S. corporation headquartered in Los Angeles, with its production center in Hong Kong and additional offices in Berlin (EMEA headquarters) and Tokyo. As a leading, full-service provider of mobile broadband 3G technology, mobile participation TV, mobile gaming, content and business applications, Artificial Life provides 2D and 3D multi- and single-player rich-media applications for 3G, 3.5G and 4G network-enabled mobile phones. Recognized internationally for outstanding content quality and technology, Artificial Life transcends traditional modes of mobile communications and interactive gaming. For more information, please visit www.artificial-life.com or the company’s m-commerce portal at www.botme.com.
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding our future results of operations, financial condition and business prospects. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential”, “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Although such statements are based on our own information and information from other sources we believe to be reliable, you should not place undue reliance on them. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual market trends or our actual results of operations, financial condition or business prospects may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward looking statements for a variety of reasons. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, our ability to obtain additional funding to operate and grow our business; the unproven potential of our mobile gaming business model; changing consumer preferences and uncertainty of market acceptance of our products; timely adoption and availability of 3G mobile technology; market acceptance for use of mobile handheld devices to play the interactive games; unpredictable mobile game development schedules; our reliance on a relatively small number of brands; our ability to license brands from others; our dependence upon resellers and telecommunication carriers and operators to distribute our products; our ability to successfully develop, introduce, and sell new or enhanced products in a timely manner; and the timing of new product announcements or introductions by us or by our competitors. For additional discussion of these risks and uncertainties and other factors, please see the documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-KSB filed on February 9, 2009. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this press release.
Contact:
Artificial Life IR
Annie Lau, +852-3102-2800
ir@artificial-life.com
or
BWR Public Relations (for Linkin Park)
Michael Moses, 310-248-6171
mmoses@bwr-la.com
or
Warner Bros. Records
Luke Burland, 615-214-1490
Luke.Burland@wbr.com
