N2K's Music Boulevard to Offer Customer-Created Miles Davis CDs, Free Digital Download and Audio Email Promotion
PR Newswire - August 03, 1998 07:15
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Online Music Superstore Teams with Music Connection (musicmaker.com), Liquid Audio, Apple Computer and AT&T's a2b music to Bring the Music of Miles Davis to Music Fans in A Choice of Formats
NEW YORK, Aug. 3, /PRNewswire/ -- N2K's Music Boulevard (www.musicblvd.com), the online music superstore, has teamed up with the Music Connection's musicmaker.com, Liquid Audio, Apple Computer and AT&T's a2b music to offer online music fans the most complete and entertaining Miles Davis experience. With the launch of this service, Music Boulevard becomes the world's only Internet destination to offer its customers music retailing, customer-created CD compilations, and digital downloading all within one complete shopping environment.
Now fans of Miles Davis, who is regarded as perhaps the greatest jazz musician of his time, can create their own custom CD compilation of legendary Miles Davis performances courtesy of Music Connection's musicmaker.com the leading provider of customer-created CD compilations, and Fantasy Records. Music fans who point their browser to www.musicblvd.com/makeCD can hear sound clips from more than 100 tracks, and choose up to 10 tracks or 70 minutes of music to create their own CD compilation. The cost of $15.95 includes shipping of the completed disc to anywhere in the U.S.
Celebrities such as Sting, Dave Grusin and Wallace Roney have chosen their "customized" Miles CDs and their choices will be posted on the site along with other fan's compilations. The custom CD compilation area of Music Boulevard will also include a customer community feature allowing Miles Davis fans to communicate with one another.
As a special bonus, Music Boulevard is offering a track from the upcoming N2K Encoded Music tribute CD "Endless Miles: A Tribute to Miles Davis" as a direct digital download (e-mod) for every customer who purchases a custom compilation. Music Boulevard's e-mod digital download system is powered by Liquid Audio. The album was recorded live during a celebration to launch N2K's MilesDavis.com, the official Miles Davis web site.
"This multi-faceted project clearly illustrates the vision of N2K's Music Boulevard to provide our customers with the most complete music entertainment experience on the Internet," said Larry Rosen, chairman and CEO of N2K Inc. "N2K's Music Boulevard is firmly positioned as the Internet's premier music platform delivering the greatest choice to consumers, in both breadth of catalogue and choice of format. We are particularly proud to be associated with the music of Miles Davis via the musicmaker.com custom compilation service, N2K's MilesDavis.com and our own N2K Encoded Music release."
As part of the Miles Davis promotion, Music Boulevard will utilize AT&T's a2b MAIL, an enhanced email software application, to send high-quality music samples from the new Miles Davis tribute CD directly to a targeted group of consumers via email. Since the a2b MAIL system requires no downloads or plug-ins, recipients simply open the email and click one button to hear a 15-second high-quality audio sample from the upcoming "Endless Miles" release on N2K Encoded Music. Consumers who click on the album graphic in the email will be seamlessly linked to www.musicblvd.com/makeCD for easy music purchasing.
Chris Bell, senior vice president, Product Architecture added, "This initiative illustrates our commitment to lead the industry with a vision for on-demand custom music products and services including new categories of both physical and digital distribution. The technology platform used to develop the Custom Compilations area within Music Boulevard is built on top of Apple Computer's WebObjects framework. Through our partnerships with Music Connection, AT&T's a2b, Liquid Audio and Apple, we are always working at the cutting edge of technology to provide the best possible customer experience." "N2K is driven on all levels by the desire to create a closer relationship between the fan and the music, by offering the ultimate in music choice and formats, shopping convenience and catalog depth. This partnership with musicmaker.com gives us the ability to offer our customer's even greater choice and the most complete and entertaining Miles Davis experience," said David Pakman, vic!
e president, Business Development.
Music Boulevard was the top online music retailer for June 1998 with a 2.5% reach, according to Media Metrix, the PC Meter Company, and was named the fastest growing music site on the Internet, according to the Media Metrix 1997 Web In Review. Recently named the Best Online Music Retailer by USA Today in a reader's poll, Music Boulevard allows shoppers to browse for music by genre, or search by album name, artist or song title. Music Boulevard customers enjoy low prices, easy ordering through a secure online transaction system, quick delivery, online tracking of orders, gift certificates and gift shipping. Repeat shoppers earn credit toward free CDs with the Frequent Buyers Club.
N2K Inc. is a leading online music entertainment company and the Internet's complete resource for music content, community and commerce. The Music Boulevard Network, the company's online division combines Music Boulevard, the online music superstore and the award-winning music channels: Rocktropolis.com, JazzCentralStation.com, ClassicalInsites.com, and the Star Sites including StonesWorld.com, LeonardBernstein.com, MilesDavis.com and WyntonMarsalis.com. Music Boulevard (www.MusicBlvd.com), the world's largest online music superstore offers a choice of more than 300,000 music titles and over 350,000 sound samples. The Music Boulevard Network is the preferred or exclusive music partner for America Online (AOL Keyword: MB), AOL Japan, AOL Europe, Netscape, Excite, Disney.com, ABC.com, ABC Radio Networks, Infoseek, Ticketmaster, Microsoft Plaza, iVillage, WebTV, @Home, AT&T WorldNet, StarMedia, PointCast, iQVC, CBS Cable's TNN, CMT and country.com and MTV International sites in !
Europe, Japan, Asia and Brazil. N2K also owns N2K Encoded Music, an independent record label and provider of original music content. Traded on Nasdaq under the symbol "NTKI," N2K Inc. is based in New York at 55 Broad Street, New York, NY 10004. Internet address: n2k.com. Telephone: 212-378-5555.
The Music Connection Corporation, headquartered in Reston, Virginia, is the owner of www.musicmaker.com, the first and largest custom compilation music site on the Internet. Founded by major executives from the music, music marketing and high technology product businesses, www.musicmaker.com offers music lovers the opportunity to build their own CDs by selecting and organizing songs from a library of over 160,000 tracks. Powerful search engines help music lovers find selections by genre, artist, title, label and even sidemen. CDs can be personalized with unique labels as well as imprints on the jewel boxes. Orders are shipped within two business days.
The commercial trial of a2b music (www.a2bmusic.com) was launched by AT&T in November 1997. Based in New York City and co-founded by veterans of the entertainment industry and AT&T Labs, a2b music is creating new technologies for the delivery and marketing of music over the Internet. Using AT&T Labs compression and security technologies, a2b music was the first digital music delivery solution to combine physical and online retail options for the music industry. Its end-to-end system delivers the quickest and most secure digital downloads available to the music industry today. An independent study published in The Journal of Audio Engineering (March, 1998) found that the technology used in the a2b music platform offers the best quality sound on the Web. a2b music customers include Atlantic Records, BMG/RCA, N2K's Music Boulevard, Trans World Entertainment, Tower Records, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, which uses a2b music's platform to power a digital archive!
of 27,000 CD-quality songs.
Redwood City, Calif.-based Liquid Audio is the first Internet company focusing exclusively on the needs of the music industry, providing labels and artists with software tools and technologies to enable the secure online distribution of professional-quality music titles. Liquid Audio's technology allows consumers to preview and purchase CD-quality music over the Internet, while ensuring copyright protection and tracking royalties. Formed by veterans of the music industry and professional recording engineers and funded by leading software venture-capital firm Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Liquid Audio is leading the convergence of music and technology to establish the Internet as a new medium for music publishing.
Note: a2b music is a servicemark of AT&T Corp. All other names are the trademarks of their respective companies.
SOURCE N2K Inc.
/CONTACT: Paula Batson, of N2K Inc., 212-378-0331, or pbatson@n2k.com;
Evan Goetz, 212-352-3432, or evan@PR21.com, or Bennett Kleinberg,
212-352-3431, or bennett@pr21.com, both of PR21; or Sam Ostrow of Ostrow and
Partners, for Music Connection, 203 328-3018, or ceo@ostrowpartners.com; or
Kathy Stahlman of Niehaus Ryan Wong Inc., for a2b Music, 650-827-7094, or
Kathy@nrwpr.com; or Kelly Stremel of Waggener Edstrom, for Liquid Audio,
503-245-0905, or kellys@wagged.com/
/Web site: a2bmusic.com
/Web site: milesdavis.com
/Web site: musicblvd.com
/Web site: n2k.com
/Web site: http:// www.musicblvd.com/
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