Held in Oslo, with support from the Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and SAS. The seminar attracts several experts from the European music industry and IT R&D programmes as well as delegations of executives form the Chinese, Africa and Brasilian music industries. Keynote speakers: IRCAM, GEMA, NOKIA, AURA, China Record Corporation, MCSChina, IFPI (Brasil) and SFB Radio Berlin all help to make this event a very informative and educative for those attending.
 

A Joint Venture company (JVC) is negotiated with CAVA as a part of a long-term coop agreement with a view to establish )))AP in the Peoples' Republic of China as a broker for the export of Chinese music to the Rest of the World and the import of foreign music into the Chinese B2B market.
 

Former President of Iceland and currently UNESCO Ambassador, joins )))AP advisory Board.
 

Norwegian manager of Bertine Zetlitz, Noora Noor, and Bel Canto, joins the )))AP team.
 

VERDI - a project financed by EC in the INFO 200 programme with a view to establish an online model for licensing music, video, text and images. As a major contributor to identify user requirements from the music scene, )))AP is invited to the VERDI workshop to join the Verdi user group. This event also includes a joint presentation of new wireless services by )))AP and NOKIA Research Centre.
 

Leading IT consultant with clients such as MPA (Motion Pictures Association of America) and major collecting Societies such as GEMA, joins the )))AP team.
 

Andy Frankel is contracted by )))AP to carry out a Feasibility Study about extending )))AP service in Africa.
 

American ethnomusicologist and artist manager specialising in Africa (King Sunny Ade et al.) joins )))AP.
 

As a result of informal presentations for Music Industry during prototype phase, )))AP is invited to present the concept for the members of International Association of Music Information Centres at their annual GM in Sydney.
 

Invited by the Counsellor-Governor of the Brasilian Ministry of Culture, Dagfinn Bach presents )))AP for government representatives and a selection of key players in the Brasilian arts community in Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro. Feedback gives a clear indication of a real need for a service like )))AP in Brasil.
 

The prototype and comprehensive business plan are informally presented for Vulcan Venture in Seattle and a selection of Norwegian VC companies.
 

As a first concrete result after )))AP seminar in Beijing in December 1998, CAVA agrees to sign a Letter of Intent with )))AP with a view to go into a joint venture for establishing B2B services in the Chinese market.
 

Whilst in Australia, Dagfinn makes another trip to China to meet CAVA and other Chinese arts operatives.
 

Conducted by Dagfinn Bach based in Brisbane, Australia, with contributions from BMG China and various Chinese & Australian independent labels; implementation by IT consultant Bala Periaswamy with ORACLE Melbourne.
 

Funded by Norwegian Regional Development Fund a pilot project for defining key services and features is started in Norway and is continued in Australia through to May 1999.
 

Icelandic language engineer and IT consultant working with Dagfinn Bach since 1993 on various EU R&D projects joins )))AP.
 

British producer and performing artist working with Dagfinn Bach since 1993 on various EU R&D projects joins )))AP and begins to write the user requirement 1.0 for )))AP
 

Feasibility Study completed, was delivered to NOKIA and a MoU was signed between )))AP and NOKIA for further exchange of knowledge.