Wachovia and BMG Entertainment Launch the BMG Visa Credit Card, Offer Consumers Exclusive Music-Related Rewards and a Low Rate

Business Wire, Sept 30, 1997

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 1997--Wachovia Bank Card Services and BMG Entertainment North America announced today the launch of the BMG Visa credit card with InMusic(tm) rewards, the first co-branded credit card to combine a low interest rate with exclusive, easily attainable BMG music rewards.

Cardholders earn one point for every dollar charged on their BMG Visa card and three points for every dollar charged for member purchases from BMG's music club, the BMG Music Service. In addition, cardholders will have special opportunities to earn bonus points throughout the year by making purchases at select retail partners. The points can be redeemed for a variety of BMG Visa InMusic(tm) rewards, which include CDs by BMG's top artists, concert and award show tickets, portable and home electronics, autographed memorabilia and other exclusive rewards.

The BMG Visa, Wachovia's first co-branded credit card, features an introductory annual percentage rate of 7.9 percent for the first six months and prime plus 7.9 percent (currently 16.4 percent) thereafter. There is no annual fee.

"Wachovia welcomed the opportunity to partner with BMG Entertainment to launch our first co-branded card program," said Charles M. Hegarty, head of Wachovia Bank Card Services. "BMG Entertainment commands tremendous respect in the music and entertainment industries, and combining the exclusive InMusic(tm) rewards with a low interest rate allows us to provide consumers great value for their money. We look forward to establishing additional partnerships with a select group of companies that, like BMG Entertainment, share common objectives with us - the most important of which is offering real value to consumers."

Added Kevin Conroy, senior vice president of Marketing, BMG Entertainment North America, "We intend to make the BMG Visa the credit card of choice for music fans. Our InMusic(tm) program will provide cardholders with easily attainable and truly exclusive rewards. Wachovia's reputation for providing consumer value through low-rate credit cards and its recognized excellence in customer service will combine with our exclusive rewards program to make the BMG Visa a genuinely valuable, lifestyle-specific credit card for the vast number of consumers who enjoy music."

In addition to all of BMG's labels and business units, the BMG Visa is partnering with the American Music Awards, Bantam Doubleday Dell, the Country Music Association and Kenwood Electronics, among others, who will be tying their products and services into the BMG Visa InMusic(tm) Rewards program.

BMG's InMusic(tm) rewards range from easily attainable "Quick Hits," which include full-length CDs from today's hottest stars, as well as special video collections and books, all the way to "Pure Platinum," which include signed lithographs, home stereo and theater speaker systems, autographed instruments and trips to music award shows around the country - and around the world.

Cardholders receive a tally of accumulated points on every account statement and can easily redeem the points for the rewards listed in the InMusic(tm) catalog. In addition, they receive a special newsletter with up-to-the-minute entertainment news, as well as special offers, artist profiles, concert information and reward updates. And they receive exclusive access to a members-only area of the BMG Visa web site.

To apply for the BMG Visa, consumers can call 1-888-BMG-VISA or apply directly on-line through the BMG Visa web site at www.bmgvisa.com .

Note to Editors: Four-color artwork of the BMG Visa card is available by calling John Marsh at 404-332-4237.

Wachovia Bank Card Services is among the nation's top 20 issuers of Visa and MasterCard credit cards, with a portfolio of more than $5 billion in outstandings and more than three million accounts. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wachovia Corp. (www.wachovia.com), a $48.5 billion-asset interstate bank holding company with dual headquarters in Atlanta and Winston-Salem, N.C. Wachovia credit cards are issued by Wachovia Bank Card Services, Wilmington, Del.

BMG Entertainment North America (www.bmg.com) is a unit of BMG Entertainment, the $6.3 billion-a-year entertainment division of Bertelsmann AG, the world's third-largest media company. BMG Entertainment North America includes the Arista, RCA and Windham Hill record labels, BMG Canada, BMG Distribution, BMG Direct, BMG Music Publishing, BMG Special Products, BMG Television, BMG Video and Nice Man Merchandising.

CONTACT: Wachovia

John D. Marsh, 404-332-4237

or

BMG Entertainment

Maury Rogoff Public Relations

Shoshana Dichter, 212-246-6777