Stage.cz: More than 500 bands and solo artists already registered

• Rock, hip-hop, punk and metal dominate on the portal; musicians are mostly from Prague and North Moravia
• The first vouchers for a recording session in a professional recording studio have already been distributed
• The opening round of the regular monthly contest is already underway

Prague, 18 July 2007 - The new Stage.cz portal for unsigned musicians launched by T-Mobile on 18 June has already gained popularity among musicians. Over 500 bands and solo artists have created their profiles during the portal's first month of existence. The most popular genre is rock, followed by hip-hop and punk. There are now a total of 560 bands and solo artists registered at Stage.cz.

"We are really pleased that the new portal met with great interest not only from amateur musicians. We hope that we can soon announce the 1,000^th musician registered at Stage.cz. The very positive response from the music world confirms that we are on the right track," says Michal Němec, Vice President Mobile Portal and Content Services at T-Mobile.

The majority of artists are from Prague, North Moravia and South Moravia. Musicians from Slovakia have also registered.

Recording with professionals
The monthly contest for the most popular star of Stage.cz continues. The performers of the most popular songs can win three recording days in the Chicsound studio free of charge, provided that they have not so far released an album with any label. The end of the first (July) round is approaching. Currently, the thrash-metal band Scandal Kodex has the greatest chance to become the winner. They are followed by ZakazanÝ ovoce, a punk band, in second place and by the hip-hop act CI5 in third place, which already proved last month (in the trial round) that they've got what it takes. But the Stage.cz portal is also an opportunity for professional musicians. Their profile will be placed with their songs that T-Mobile offers in the form of fulltracks, Caller Tunes and ringtones.

In addition, the performers of the ten most popular songs or clips can place their hits in the T-Mobile music offer. Fans will thus be able to buy the whole song at the t-music e-shop, PLAY!, or download it as a ringtone or Caller Tune. T-Mobile is thus the first operator in the Czech Republic to offer the music of unsigned musicians to its customers.

Stage.cz has already distributed four vouchers for a recording session in the Chicsound studio to the 30^th, 100^th, 250^th and 500^th artists to register.

What next?
In the next couple of weeks, the portal will introduce a number of new services. In addition to enhancing the popular concert-location tools, it will offer profiles of music clubs throughout the Czech Republic. The Stage.cz homepage will also offer a player that will randomly choose and play songs from all artists registered at Stage.cz. The new tool will also enable the selection of genres - each visitor will thus be able to listen to only what he/she likes.

All music fans will thus be even closer to the bands they like. The profiles of each band or solo artist will soon include discussion forums, on-line chat with the musicians and many other social-networking tools. Fan clubs will also be given space on the portal. Moreover, the fan clubs of Czech stars will have a unique opportunity to create special profiles of their favorite stars.

t-music
t-music represents all music-related activities of T-Mobile intended particularly for young people for whom music comprises an important part of their lives. t-music is the most-visited music portal offering TV and radio charts and the largest e-shop with digital music, PLAY!. Through t-music, T-Mobile presents concerts of leading Czech and foreign artists, supports music festivals and events, new singers, bands and amateur artists.

For more information, visit www.t-music.cz.

T-Mobile Czech Republic, a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom, has almost 6.2 million customers, the number-one operator in the Czech market. T-Mobile is an integrated operator: in addition to telecommunications services, it offers comprehensive ICT solutions not only for companies, but also for other organizations and individuals. It provides outstanding services in the high-speed network, which was proved repeatedly by benchmark testing performed by umlaut (former P3) with Best-in-Test seal.

T-Mobile Czech Republic places emphasis on taking a responsible approach to the environment and society. It adheres to fair business practices, helps beneficial applications and services to see the light of day, supports non-profit organizations, small businesses and individuals, and lends a helping hand whenever crisis situations arise. The company’s employees serve as volunteers in many places across the entire Czech Republic.

More information about the company is available at www.t-mobile.cz, www.t-press.cz (the portal for journalists) and www.t-mobile.cz/pomahame (information on the company’s CSR activities).

Contact details of the press unit: press@t-press.cz.