LiveOne Announces Strategic Media Partnership With Empire Media Group For An Eight-Figure, Multi-Year Deal

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- LiveOne (Nasdaq: LVO) ("LiveOne"), a global platform for livestream and on-demand audio, video, and podcast/vodcast content in music, comedy, and pop culture, and owner of LiveXLive, PodcastOne, Slacker Radio, React Presents, Gramophone Media, and Custom Personalization Solutions, announced today that it has signed an eight-figure deal with Empire Media Group, Inc., (EMG), the privately-owned digital-first media company that includes Grazia™, RadarOnline.com™, OKmagazine.com™, Knewz™, Front Page Detectives™, The Royal Observer™, and a variety of other titles within its growing portfolio and subsidiary mix.

Under the terms of the partnership agreement, EMG will provide advertising and creative services to LiveOne to support the marketing and commercialization of LiveOne's consumer-facing brands and drive membership of LiveOne's new offerings. Likewise, LiveOne will support the growth of EMG brands throughout its media schedule and events calendar. The strategic cross-promotional partnership commenced Nov. 1, 2021 and will run for the duration of three years.

EMG expects to leverage the first of the advertising services provided by LiveOne at the FIBA 3x3 Americup + Music Lives Ballerfest and LiveXLive Presents: Miami Edition kicking off November 12, 2021. EMG brands will be featured on the LED screens and basketball court for the Celebrity 3X3 Basketball game featuring legendary boxing champion Floyd Mayweather (coach), Grammy-nominated artist Flo Rida (coach), Streetballers, and influencers Bone Collector, White Iverson, Hezi God, and Chris Staples. 

The lineup for Music Lives: Ballerfest is expansive, spanning across Afrobeat, EDM, Hip Hop, Latin, R&B, and country music, featuring live, in-person performances from rising stars Mariah Angeliq, Vintage Culture, Alvarado Diaz, Key Glock, DJ Irie, Shenseea, Tkay Maidza, and more. These artists join the already announced virtual performers Wiz Khalifa, Pitbull, Trey Songz, Trace Adkins, Nelly, Monsta X, Sk8, Lil Tjay, G Herbo, Olivia Lunny, Cannons, Bryce Vine, Marc E. Bassy, Gianni & Kyle, and Jake Miller. Music Lives: Ballerfest festival will have72 hours of live and virtual music performances from over 150 artists to be livestreamed on LiveOne's LiveXLive platform. 

Additionally, EMG brands will be featured sponsors and advertisers across PodcastOne's network which includes series from their growing female vertical-like award-winning Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe, the infamous LadyGang and true crime franchises like American Nightmare. For its part, LiveOne will receive prime placements across EMG's growing network of media brands.

In October 2021 alone, EMG brands were visited or read by more than 33 million users, ranging from the Premiere Edition of the print publication Grazia USA to the company's record-breaking month for highest ever digital consumption. 

LiveOne's CEO and Chairman, Robert Ellin, stated, "This agreement with EMG uniquely positions LiveOne for exponential growth backed by data. In EMG, we have found a modern media company that truly understands how a diverse and rich portfolio of brands can help deliver powerful marketing and – ultimately – revenue solutions. The pedigree of EMG and its reach will accelerate the growth of LiveOne."

Dylan Howard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Empire Media Group, Inc., added, "We are very excited to partner with LiveOne as EMG's vast and growing portfolio of brands is uniquely positioned to further influence the extraordinary growth potential and momentum of LiveOne. We look forward to our continued collaboration and success in this high growth media segment."

About LiveOne, Inc.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, LiveOne, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVO) (the "Company") is a global talent-first, interactive music, sports, and entertainment subscription platform delivering premium content and livestreams from the world's top artists. The Company has streamed over 1,800 artists since January 2020, has a library featuring close to 30 million songs, 500 expertly curated radio stations, 235 podcasts/vodcasts, hundreds of pay-per-views, personalized merchandise, released music-related NFTs, and has created a valuable connection between brands, fans, and bands. The Company's other major wholly-owned subsidiaries are LiveXLive, PPVOne, Slacker Radio, React Presents, Gramophone Media, Custom Personalization Solutions, and PodcastOne which generates more than 2.48 billion downloads per year and 300+ episodes distributed per week across a stable of hundreds of top podcasts. The combination of acquisitions and the expansion of products and franchises have secured LiveOne as a top-rated music, entertainment, and media services company. LiveXLive is available on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire, and through OTT, STIRR, Sling, and XUMO, in addition to its app, online website, and social channels. For more information, visit www.livexlive.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter at @livexlive.

About Empire Media Group:

Empire Media Group, Inc. (EMG) is the new media landscape, where bold and authoritative content meets innovative delivery for passionate audiences. An award-winning, global, and next-generation multi-platform media company, EMG encompasses a powerful portfolio of assets that serve highly engaged audiences through a rich assemblage of content delivery mechanisms: from magazines, live events, and digital media, to video, television, audio, book publishing, and more. EMG's suite of 12 vaunted brands makes it one of the world's largest and most diversified modern media conglomerates, with market share across entertainment, fashion and beauty, luxury, travel, and specialist consumer titles. At EMG, we do not just serve readers; we serve users. Divisions of EMG include television and movie production company Mystify Studios, podcast studio Audology, literary publisher Harland & Wolff Publishing, marketing firm Elevate Strategic, EMG Ventures, and the non-profit foundation, the Institute for Healthy Media Minds, which is focused on creating a positive culture of mental health across the journalism, media, and public relations industries. With these six distinct business units united under a mandate of preeminence in content quality and innovation, EMG is a 360-degree media business that is poised for the future — broadening the reach of storytelling into virtual and augmented reality, programming, e-commerce, immersive events, branded content, innovative advertising solutions, and beyond.

Forward-Looking Statements
All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are "forward-looking statements," which may often, but not always, be identified by the use of such words as "may," "might," "will," "will likely result," "would," "should," "estimate," "plan," "project," "forecast," "intend," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "seek," "continue," "no target" or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including: the Company's reliance on one key customer for a substantial percentage of its revenue; the Company's ability to consummate any proposed financing, acquisition, spin-out, distribution or transaction, the timing of the closing of such proposed event, including the risks that a condition to closing would not be satisfied within the expected timeframe or at all, or that the closing of any proposed financing, acquisition, spin-out, distribution or transaction will not occur or whether any such event will enhance shareholder value; the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; the Company's ability to attract, maintain and increase the number of its users and paid subscribers; the Company identifying, acquiring, securing and developing content; the Company's intent to repurchase shares of its common stock from time to time under its announced stock repurchase program and the timing, price, and quantity of repurchases, if any, under the program; the Company's ability to maintain compliance with certain financial and other covenants; the Company successfully implementing its growth strategy, including relating to its technology platforms and applications; management's relationships with industry stakeholders; the effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic; changes in economic conditions; competition; risks and uncertainties applicable to the businesses of the Company's subsidiaries; and other risks, uncertainties and factors including, but not limited to, those described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on July 14, 2021, the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2021, filed with the SEC on August 16, 2021, the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2021, filed with the SEC on October 29, 2021, and in the Company's other filings and submissions with the SEC. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company disclaims any obligations to update these statements, except as may be required by law. The Company intends that all forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Press Contact:
LiveOne
aileen@livexlive.com 
917.842.9653
aavidon@livexlive.com
516.522.1349

LiveOne IR Contact:
IR@liveone.com
310.601.2505

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SOURCE LiveOne, Inc.