BARNES & NOBLE NEXT TO SELL MUSIC OVER THE WEB

Computergram International, Nov 4, 1998

Barnes and Noble Inc's internet subsidiary BarnesandNoble.com has now said it will be including music and movies to its online offerings. The company has signed an exclusive agreement with the All-Music Guide/All-Movie Guide - which it claims are the world's most comprehensive entertainment databases - making it the only online bookseller with rights to the data.

While the site will offer virtually every available CD, Barnes and Noble will actively promote classical, opera, jazz and show tunes. Regardless of its focus, the decision to sell music adds to an already competitive marketplace. The recent merger of online music retailers CD Now Inc and N2K Inc was seen by many as a deal done out of necessity due to increased pressure from competition such as online marketing giant Amazon.com. The stakes are high, though, with researchers projecting the US market for purchasing music online will be worth $4.5bn in 2002. Barnes and Noble has said it plans to spin out the internet business with an initial public offering later this year. In January, the company predicted $100m in sales for the web site.