HOLLYWOOD, CA -- (February 25, 2000) -- With help from Seagate Cheetah disc drives, superstar record producer Walter Afanasieff has added another Grammy Award to his collection; Wednesday night he was named Producer of the Year for his work on I Knew I Loved You (Savage Garden), Am I The Only One (Marc Anthony), Christmas With Babyface (Babyface), Classics in the Key of G (Kenny G), I Count the Minutes (Ricky Martin), and The Island (Barbara Streisand).

The digital hits just keep on coming at WallyWorld Studios in San Rafael, California, where Afanasieff turns to Seagate drives for top audio performance. At his all-digital studio, computers flank the 80-channel mixing board, and three digital editing systems house nine Seagate Cheetah 36LPs.

"Digital recording is not only faster because I don't have to wait for tape to locate the track, but it's also more productive," said Afanasieff, who won another Grammy last year for his part in the Celine Dion Titanic smash, My Heart Will Go On. "It's also more creative. With Seagate drives I have never-ending storage. I can go crazy and become more proficient."

When the producer leaves his compound to record in another location, he records only at digital studios. "I travel with our drives now," said the soft-spoken Afanasieff. "We plug in our Seagate drives and it's like the coolest thing in the world. We rely on our drives 24 hours a day."

Luminaries such as Celine Dion, Barbara Streisand, Mariah Carey, Luther Vandross, Michael Bolton, Kenny G and chart-topping Australian group Savage Garden all record using Afanasieff's digital sound techniques on Seagate disc drives. Afanasieff is currently using Seagate digital technology to help him produce a song he co-wrote for Michael Jackson's coming album and for projects by Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Jessica Simpson, Train, Julio Iglesias, and Marc Anthony.

Afanasieff, who cut a No.1 hit with Mariah Carey the first time he stepped into the studio as a producer a dozen years ago, is one of the most successful record producers of the past decade. His records have sold more than 300 million copies and have helped shape the sound of American pop music. He is involved in all stages of the records he makes. He writes, co-writes and arranges songs, and often records most or all instrumental background tracks on his digital system before bringing a singer in.

Afanasieff once told Billboard magazine that while it's great to earn a platinum album or to be nominated for awards, "the greatest part of what I do is when I record something and give it back to [the artists] and they hear it for the first time. When I get back 'Oh, my God, that sounds so great,' that's it for me. Or when the record company calls me back and says, 'Man, this sounds amazing.' That's it. Starting with the artist and then the record company -- to get their approval is my applause."

Seagate is proud to provide some of the tools Afanasieff uses to create his amazing recordings, and to join in the applause as Walter Afanasieff earns his first Producer of the Year award.

Seagate has long been the leading provider of storage to the professional audio and video markets, and has drawn on its expertise to become the number one supplier of disc drives for digital video recorders (DVRs), TV set-top boxes and the entire consumer electronics market.

Seagate Technology, Inc. is a leading provider of technology and products enabling people to store, access, and manage information. The Company is committed to providing best-in-class products to help people get information when, where and how they want it. Seagate is the world's largest manufacturer of disc drives, magnetic discs and read-write heads, an innovator in tape drives, and a leading developer of Enterprise Information Management software. Seagate can be found around the globe and at http://www.seagate.com. For automated news, stock and financial information by phone, dial toll-free 877-SEG-NYSE. Outside the U.S. and Canada, dial 760-704-4368.

NOTE: Seagate and Seagate Technology are registered trademarks of Seagate Technology, Inc. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Seagate Technology, Inc. Web Site: http://www.seagate.com