K-tel Enters Major Agreement to Expand Its Music Library 550% by Adding More Than 30,000 New Titles
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 28, 1999--K-tel International Inc. (NASDAQ:KTEL) Monday announced that it has acquired control of more than 30,000 new music titles from U.K.-based Marathon Music International.
This five-fold increase in the number of music titles owned or controlled by K-tel has far-reaching impact on the company's e-commerce strategy.
"By acquiring control of over 30,000 additional titles, K-tel is positioned as the leader in Custom CD retailing. More importantly, we have the opportunity in the future to become a major force in offering this vast selection of music for digital download," stated Philip Kives, chairman and CEO of K-tel International.
Kives added: "This expanded music collection is expected to double our licensing income over the coming year. Our e-commerce customers, with whom our Custom CD Program has been so popular, will now be able to choose from a library which is considerably larger than our previous collection of 5,400 titles. We are confident that this will not only increase Custom CD sales at ktel.com, but it will also have a similar impact for our e-commerce partners who have adopted our turn-key Custom CD Solution."
This new music collection is also expected to have significant impact on K-tel's Special Products Division, which creates custom corporate CDs. With a selection of 35,000-plus titles, this division will have expanded opportunities to create additional revenues.
According to the agreement, K-tel has assumed mirror rights to all of Marathon Music's current library. The company will control these rights for a period of five years, after which K-tel will have the option to renew the contract.
About Marathon Music
Marathon Music International, a U.K.-based company, well established in the music licensing business, has sales offices in London and Thailand. The company owns, controls, or manages more than 30,000 music titles. Through its agreement with K-tel, Marathon has turned over control of its complete music library as well as its sales staff in the United Kingdom and in the growing Asian market.
About K-tel International
K-tel International is a vertically integrated developer, marketer, and distributor of entertainment and consumer products worldwide. The company markets its product lines either to retailers, wholesalers, distributors, or licensees throughout the world, or directly to the consumer via television and other forms of direct response media, including its Internet Web sites in the United States (www.ktel.com) and Germany (www.ktel.de). K-tel has active operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Finland.
K-tel, along with online music retailers such as CDNow (NASDAQ:CDNW), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Internet auction site eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), is a leader in Internet consumer products retailing.
The statements in this news release may contain forward-looking statements relating to future results of the company (including certain projections and business trends) that are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results and performance may differ materially from expressed forward-looking statements because of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, changes in political and economic conditions, demand for and market acceptance of new and existing products, the impact from competition for Internet content, merchandise and recorded music, dependence on strategic alliance partners, suppliers and distributors, market acceptance of the Internet for commerce and as a medium for advertising, technological changes and difficulties, availability of financing and other risks detailed in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements.
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CONTACT:
K-tel International Inc., Calabasas, Calif.
Scott Blum, 818/223-4255
or
Coffin Communications Group, Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Bill Coffin or Sean Collins, 818/789-0100 |
