Avid's Sibelius 6 Software Advances Music Notation by Cutting Score Preparation Time in Half

TEWKSBURY, MA, May 19 (MARKET WIRE) --
Avid(R) (NASDAQ: AVID) today unveiled version 6 of Sibelius(R), the
world's best-selling music notation software, which includes an
innovative toolset designed to provide aspiring and professional
musicians with a more efficient approach to music composition. Designed
by musicians, Sibelius 6 offers a number of new features including a
unique Magnetic Layout tool that cuts score preparation time in half.
Students, educators, academic institutions and composers can also take
advantage of Sibelius 6 workflow improvements that facilitate greater
collaboration, classroom management, and creative control, through the
ability to track progress during review cycles and deliver smooth
integration with Digidesign(R) Pro Tools(R) systems and other Digital
Audio Workstations (DAWs).

"As a company comprised of many musicians and composers, Avid understands
the value of identifying and addressing the specific needs of those
working in the classroom, home office and professional studio
environments. Today's release of Sibelius 6 reflects specific feedback
from thousands of customers," said Tex Schenkkan, Avid's vice president
and general manager, audio. "This version delivers unique features which
will help composers and arrangers realize their creative dreams and save
time as they make music for listeners and performers everywhere -- from
television and movie screens to live concert performances."

What's New in Sibelius 6?

-- Magnetic Layout - dramatically cuts the
writing time in half between the moment of inspiration and the final
printed score -- delivering the added assurance that all individual
objects are positioned conventionally on the score where musicians expect
to find them. The software automatically spaces and lays out scores to
look professional and clear from the very first note. Previously,
aligning individual score objects required time-consuming manual
adjustments which now occur transparently to the user.

-- Versions -
enables educators to efficiently track student progress, spot plagiarism
and promote collaboration. Students can record progress and submit
creative commentary with their final coursework. Professionals now have a
robust, effective way to track changes or collaborations with copyists,
orchestrators and publishers by saving, manipulating and comparing
revisions of a work piece within a single file.

-- Keyboard and
Fretboard Windows - provide a visual approach to the music education
process, allowing aspiring musicians and composers to follow lighted key
and finger positions as a score plays back -- reinforcing the
relationship between staff and tab notation with real instruments. These
windows also create a new way for customers to input music directly from
an on-screen piano keyboard or guitar fretboard, as opposed to using
conventional methods such as clicking on the staff of the note or typing
the note names on the computer keyboards via a separate MIDI keyboard.

-- Classroom Control - offers a simple and single window for common
classroom management tasks. This enables educators to keep students on
subject by creating a streamlined approach for sharing files across the
network during review cycles and facilitating daily classroom instruction.
Messages sent by the educator appear on the student's workstation screen.
Now, educators can easily attract attention despite any challenges in the
teaching environment, such as students wearing headphones.

-- ReWire Support - simplifies the once challenging process of
incorporating audio tracks into notation-focused projects, making it an
ideal tool to facilitate a film's orchestral session. By synchronizing
Sibelius software with Pro Tools software (or other DAWs running on the
same computer,) customers can start real-time playback in Sibelius and
the DAW will follow, or vice versa. Further, composers or orchestrators
can easily add a vocal to a song created with Sibelius or augment an
existing recording for enhanced creative options.

What Customers are Saying

"I remember the day I made the change from Finale to Sibelius notation
software. With a 10 minute demo of Sibelius, I was able to learn things
that took me six years to figure out in Finale. I'll never go back," said
Bryan Harmsen, Kentucky-based marching band composer and arranger. "The
Versions feature in Sibelius 6 is going to revolutionize the way we work.
In a field band, we are constantly tweaking scores throughout a season --
so to be able to easily reference any changes made along the way will save
an incredible amount of time and enhance the collaboration process."

Ron Vermillion of Universal Studios Music Library, adds, "When I first saw
Sibelius 6, I knew it was the program of the future. In the rapid-fire
world of film scoring, the Magnetic Layout tool alone will save hours
moving dynamics and text out of the way of collisions. We have used
Sibelius exclusively for years now and have never looked back."

Availability and Pricing

Sibelius 6 is now available for $599 USD. Avid also offers educational
pricing of $329 USD per copy with additional discounts when purchasing
bundled multi-seat licenses. Current Sibelius customers may take advantage
of upgrade options of $169 USD per copy or $129 USD per copy for current
customers who are educators and students. To learn more or to watch a
video overview of Sibelius 6, visit Sibelius online. For purchasing
inquiries, please visit www.sibelius.com/buy or call 1-888-4-SIBELIUS.

To try Sibelius 6, download a demo version of the software.

About Avid

Avid creates the digital audio and video technology used to make the most
listened to, most watched and most loved media in the world -- from the
most prestigious and award-winning feature films, music recordings,
television shows, live concert tours and news broadcasts, to music and
movies made at home. Some of Avid's most influential and pioneering
solutions include Media Composer(R), Pro Tools, Avid Unity(TM),
Interplay(R), Oxygen 8, Sibelius(R) and Pinnacle Studio(TM). For more
information about Avid solutions and services, visit www.avid.com,
del.icio.us, Flickr, Twitter and YouTube; connect with Avid on Facebook;
or subscribe to Avid Industry Buzz.

Copyright 2009 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product
features, specifications, systems requirements and availability are
subject to change without notice. All prices are USMSRP for the U.S. and
Canada only and are subject to change without notice. Contact your local
Avid office or reseller for prices outside the U.S. and Canada. Avid,
Digidesign, Pinnacle Studio, Avid Unity, Interplay, Media Composer, Pro
Tools and Sibelius are trademarks or registered trademarks of Avid
Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other
countries. The Interplay name is used with the permission of Interplay
Entertainment Corp., which bears no responsibility for Avid products. All
other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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Contact:
Taryn Unruh
Avid
978-640-5167
Email Contact

Copyright 2009, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

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