Sonic Foundry Announces Partnership with Yamaha Pro Audio

Sonic Foundry[R], Inc. (Nasdaq: SOFO), the leading developer and marketer of digital media and Internet software tools, services, and systems, today announced a partnership with Yamaha Corporation of America to bundle three of its popular software products with Yamaha's AW4416 Digital Audio Workstation.

The AW4416 is compatible with the PC (Windows 95 or higher) platform and includes Sonic Foundry's popular ACID[TM] Style, a loop-based music creation tool; Sound Forge[R] XP4.5, a two-track audio editor; and SIREN[TM] XPress, an audio jukebox that provides unlimited WMA encoding and 10 free MP3 encodes.

"Yamaha is proud of our new relationship with Sonic foundry," said Wayne Hrabak, marketing manager, Professional Audio at Yamaha. "The packaging of superior software from Sonic Foundry, coupled with the hardware and functionality of the Yamaha AW4416, will provide users all the benefits of two of the most respected manufacturers in music technology."

"Sonic Foundry is excited to offer this compelling software suite to the AW4416 digital audio workstation," stated Jeff Conover, vice president of marketing for Sonic Foundry. "The power of Yamaha's AW4416 workstation combined with our award-winning software solutions will give audio professionals and hobbyists the best in audio creation options."

About AW4416 Digital Audio Workstation

The AW4416 contains full 32-bit DSP capabilities (similar to the Yamaha 02R), 44 fully-automated audio inputs, 17 motorized faders, four fader and mute groups, eight bus and eight aux sends plus stereo, and stereo cue busses. An integrated 16-track recording system—complete with sampling, editing and mastering capabilities—retains true 24-bit, 48 kHz resolution without compression of any type. Two 32-bit on-board effects may be routed to any bus or input channel directly, or re-routed during recording to create layered effects. Memory areas include scene, channel, EQ, dynamics and effects. Storage options include an internal hard drive and CD recorder and a SCSI interface for data backup to an external drive. Two rear-mounted card slots support future Yamaha products, and allow any or all of the 16 tracks, inputs and assigned busses to be output in digital form for further processing or transfer to external digital devices. The AW4416's FLASH ROM operating system enables software upgrades to be loaded from CD or the Internet.

About ACID Style

ACID Style, a light version of Sonic Foundry's ACID[TM] PRO loop-based music production software, offers an easy-to-use music creation application that brings unprecedented creative flexibility to loop arranging and editing. With a simple click and drag users can combine and mix loops, make real-time changes to pitch and tempo, and control the volume and pan envelopes for each track to create the perfect mix.

About Sound Forge XP 4.5

Sound Forge XP 4.5, a light version of Sound Forge[R] 4.5,is a powerful audio processing tool that allows users to create high-quality audio for their multimedia presentation or Web site by first recording the audio and then enhancing it with any of over 25 powerful digital audio effects and processes. Sound Forge XP also allows users to import a video file and add audio with complete frame accuracy.

About SIREN XPress

SIREN XPress, a light version of Sonic Foundry's SIREN[TM] Jukebox, transforms the PC into the ultimate music entertainment center, allowing users to store their CD collection on their hard drive, surf the net to find more music to add to their collection, create custom playlists, and upload their music to a portable MP3 player. MP3, WAV, and WMA files are all supported. SIREN XPress maximizes the audio experience with real-time computer animation that pulses and interacts with the music.

About Yamaha Corporation

Yamaha Corporation manufactures a complete line of professional audio products for sound reinforcement, project studio, commercial studio, post-production, and broadcast applications. For more information, write Yamaha Corporation of America, Pro Audio & Combo Division, Professional Audio, P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622; telephone (714) 522-9011; e-mail info@yamaha.com; or visit www.yamaha.com/proaudio on the Web.