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Technology Stocks : CDNow (CDNW) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: wmj who wrote (458)	12/23/1998 4:03:00 PM
From: Mr. Miller	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1465

I think that CDNW had a nice day today. Our day is coming. In the meantime, I'll take these short strides, because in the long run we will be way ahead in the race. CDNW has been doing very well in the online music space. More press should cover the TWX story tonight. Our rise is coming. Miller

To: wmj who wrote (458)	12/23/1998 6:59:00 PM
From: Mohammad Khan	Respond to of 1465

More on the Time Warner stuff. Interesting to see a clear synergy between CDNow and Time Warner (its strong media presence and links to Columbia House, Sony,...) CDNow along with Time Warner makes a lot of sense to compete well with Amazon! They could form a small community where CDs, Videos, and Books could be sold! Why better than Amazon? It is the better margin that could give an edge to CDNow if it starts leveraging from the Columbia House buying/pricing power!!!! Barnes and Noble could join as well as an online book seller!. Anyway, here's more on it: post.messages.yahoo.com@m2.yahoo.com NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Shares of CDNow Inc. jumped Wednesday, and market sources attributed the rise, in part, to a report by a Web-based news service saying that the Internet music retailer has had talks with media giant Time Warner Inc. about a possible investment. Neither CDNow, of Jenkintown, Pa., nor New York-based Time Warner (TWX) would confirm that talks had taken place, ZD Network News reported. The story cited unidentified sources. Time Warner spokesman Ed Adler told Dow Jones the company doesn't have any comment on the report. He said the company's intention to increase its electronic-commerce business is common knowledge, adding, "We've been talking to a lot of people about our Internet business." In afternoon trading, CDNow's shares (CDNW) were up $4.188, or 20%, at $24.938. Nasdaq volume of about 5.8 million shares easily outpaced the daily average of 1.4 million. CDNow's partner in a planned merger, N2K Inc. (NTKI), was up $2.313, or 15%, at $17.563, on brisk volume of three million shares. But most of the Internet sector was rising, making it hard to say for sure that the report regarding Time Warner was behind CDNow's rise, market sources said. Most Internet retailers, including CDNow and N2K, have yet to show a profit because of start-up costs and heavy marketing expenses aimed at thwarting competitors. But investors are betting that rapidly increasing revenue and acceptance of the Internet eventually will translate into substantial earnings. The stocks have risen sharply lately on expectations of strong holiday sales online. One of the main threats to the Internet investment "bubble" is the vast amount of competition. Companies looking to survive must acquire significant marketing alliances and big-time investors. In October, CDNow and N2K, which owns the Music Boulevard Web site, said they would combine in an attempt to build the nation's largest cyberspace music seller, one able to fend off competitors such as Amazon.com Inc. Earlier this year, Amazon entered the music business, hoping to capitalize on the name it established selling books online. A partnership with Time Warner could be a big boost to CDNow's efforts to keep the encroaching Amazon at bay. It would also provide Time Warner, which owns the Warner Elektra Atlantic family of record labels, with a key investment in an online distributor. Barnes & Noble Inc., looking to bolster its online business in response to the threat posed by Amazon, in October sold a 50% stake in barnesandnoble.com to German media company Bertelsmann AG. Bertelsmann owns the Bantam Doubleday Dell and Random House publishing houses. Time Warner already owns half of Columbia House, a record club that has its own online music-selling business. But Columbia's online business doesn't have the name recognition that CDNow and Music Boulevard enjoy. Analyst Rob Martin, who follows CDNow for Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co., said he thinks CDNow and Time Warner have had talks, although they denied it to him as well. That doesn't mean the two sides will close a deal, he said.