To: REH who wrote (61 ) 1/15/1999 12:55:00 PM From: Tom Trivett Respond to of 167
Love to see 10 or 11 by next week. ------------------------------------------------------------------ PlatinumCD.com Web Traffic Nears Four Million During Holidays Business Wire - January 15, 1999 06:13 DOWNERS GROVE, Ill,--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 15, 1999-- Industry Veteran Brent Gordon Appointed To Head New Platinum Entertainment Sales And Distribution Center Holiday traffic at www.PlatinumCD.com, the retail Web site operated by Platinum Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTET), totaled 3.8 million hits in December 1998 -- up from 1.5 million in November and 16,000 in October when the site first opened, company officials announced today. To prepare for increased Internet sales in 1999, Platinum -- the nation's largest independent music company -- also named 30-year industry executive Brent Gordon to oversee expansion of the company's Atlanta-based sales and distribution facility. "Growing Web site traffic and longer user sessions indicate strong consumer interest in buying music online," said Steve Devick, Platinum president and chief executive officer. "With technologies in place that allow our customers to create custom CDs and download individual songs, we can now become more aggressive in building new alliances." PlatinumCD.com continues to attract strong media attention for being the only music Web site to offer both CD-quality Liquid Tracks from Liquid Audio, via its equity interest in The Music Connection Corporation, as well as promotional MP3 downloads of major artists including Taylor Dayne and the Beach Boys. "I can't stress enough that the increase in visitors to our Internet site was achieved with creative promotion, and virtually no cash resources spent on advertising," Devick said. The expansion of Platinum Distribution, formerly known as Intersound Distribution, will allow the company to provide fast and efficient fulfillment to both traditional retail outlets and global Internet sales, Devick added. With more than 30 years of experience in the recording and entertainment industries, Gordon comes to Platinum from Pacific Coast One-Stop, based in Simi Valley, CA, where he was president of the $100 million wholesale music and video distributor. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Gordon was a top sales and operations executive at Warner Elektra Atlantic Corporation, based in Los Angeles. "Continued consolidation within the entertainment industry, especially the merger between PolyGram and Universal, presents unique opportunities for a niche music company like ours," said Devick "We are open to signing artists and hiring talented personnel who may become available due to changes in the music business." Platinum Entertainment produces, licenses, acquires, markets and distributes high quality recorded music for a variety of music formats. Platinum's products include new releases from established artists, as well as compilations that enable Platinum to exploit its catalog of more than 13,000 master recordings. CONTACT: Platinum Entertainment Bill Paige, 630/769-0033 Ext. 236 bpaige@pt-ent.com