IUMA Acquired and Re-Launched by Vitaminic

Posted on March 23, 2001

IUMA, an artist community on the web, has signed an agreement to be acquired by Vitaminic, a European digital platform for the promotion and distribution of music over the Internet. The acquisition will allow IUMA to relaunch all suspended services within the week. EMusic, the previous owner of IUMA, suspended IUMA operations in February of this year because of funding problems.

``IUMA cannot be stopped,'' ranted Jeff Patterson, IUMA founder. ``We were here first and we are going to be here forever. When we ran out of cash the staff volunteered -- when the staff became overwhelmed, the artists volunteered. We're supported by a community of 25,000 artists with a voice that grows stronger every day, and we are simply too passionate to let this community die.''

Within a week, IUMA is scheduled to begin accepting new artists and relaunch all IUMA services including new submissions, site stats, charts, features, the IUMA A&R affiliate network and all revenue-sharing programs. Over the next few months, Vitaminic will allow IUMA to extend its functionality with ecommerce, subscription, syndication and mobile features, providing the artists community with new opportunities to reach a wider audience and earn additional revenues.

``The passion of the IUMA artist community is rare and Vitaminic is pleased to join forces with IUMA,'' said Gianluca Dettori, CEO, Vitaminic. ``This acquisition will give Vitaminic's artists broad exposure in the United States, give IUMA artists broad exposure across Europe, and provide a more valuable set of services for all.''

``IUMA provides musicians with an excellent way to get their music heard and reach new fans,'' added Gene Hoffman, president & CEO of EMusic, IUMA's former parent. ``We're very pleased that the IUMA artist community has this new opportunity to succeed and grow.''

Created in 1993, IUMA hosts over 25,000 artists and over 100,000 tracks. IUMA provides these artists with promotional and community tools, and showcases their music to music fans through the IUMA website, syndication partners, national events, and promotional partners which included Listen.com and Jenny Jones. IUMA is based in Redwood City, California. Founded in April 1999, Vitaminic combines content from major record companies, from independent labels and from unsigned artists, offering them the opportunity to promote and sell their music.