• download music lessons, MIDI files or musical notation
• learn about a chosen instrument of their choice
• find songbooks or instructional products with accompanying software and accessories
• consult with experts

Seiichi Yamaguchi (R), Chief Operating Officer of Yamaha Music Interactive, Inc., discussing Yamaha's committment to the new YMH Digital Music Publishing alliance during a press conference at Winter NAMM 2001, Anaheim, CA, on Jan. 18.

Free demos will encourage first-time visitors to explore the variety of exciting new offerings. An initial product launch is planned for summer 2001.

Hal Leonard and Music Sales both offer the new partnership a strong sales expertise in the area of music content, from in-house development, to sales and marketing, to securing legal rights for YMH Digital Music Publishing's offerings. Yamaha, an internationally renowned brand name with a huge existing customer base of musicians and multimedia enthusiasts, will provide the technology know-how to bring these new initiatives successfully to the Web.

"Yamaha is fully committed to this new alliance, and views the growing digital content market as vitally important," states Seiichi Yamaguchi, Chief Operating Officer of Yamaha Music Interactive, Inc., which is Yamaha's subsidiary to move this project forward. "The content we develop together will not be just an adjunct to our hardware manufacturing. Indeed, as digital and Web-delivered formats grow in importance, YMH Digital Music Publishing will influence the direction of our future hardware development. Having Hal Leonard and Music Sales as our partners makes us extremely confident."

"Digital delivery is a rapidly growing market that represents a new direction for our industry," notes Hal Leonard Chairman and CEO Keith Mardak. "Customers of YMH can always expect a full selection of products, delivered using the most up-to-date methods. When they purchase our music or instructional materials on-line, they can have complete peace of mind when it comes to quality and legality."

Music Sales Group Chairman Bob Wise adds, "As technology changes the way we deliver music products to the public, trusted names become more important than ever. YMH Digital Music Publishing marries the newest technology with three experienced, highly respected companies people can be confident doing business with."

Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation and Yamaha have enjoyed 30-year bilateral business relationships in which Hal Leonard develops custom support products for Yamaha instruments and is the North American manufacturer and distributor of Yamaha MusicSoft performance software for Yamaha Disklavier digital pianos, Clavinova digital pianos and PSR portable keyboards. Music Sales has had a similar business relationship with Yamaha and is the European manufacturer and distributor of the Yamaha MusicSoft catalog. In 1996, Hal Leonard and Music Sales formed a joint venture called Hal Leonard Europe, a leading print music publisher and distributor within the European Union.

Yamaha, the world's largest manufacturer of musical instruments, offers a wide range of products including grand pianos, keyboards, synthesizers, drums, band instruments and professional audio equipment.

Hal Leonard Corporation is a world leader in the music print industry. With more than 40,000 titles in its catalog, the company produces sheet music, songbooks, and method books for piano, voice and all instruments, as well as band and choral arrangements, music reference publications, accompaniment audio CDs and cassettes, instructional videos, CD-ROMs and other music software. Hal Leonard is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA and also has offices in Winona, Minnesota; New York City and Hong Kong.

The Music Sales Group is Europe's largest printed music publisher and a major copyright owner of classical and popular music. With headquarters in London's Soho, Music Sales publishes a vast range of music-related titles ranging from tutors and songbooks to books about musicians and a wide range of related software.