news tidbit
Dbfan
It's a bananza on Reuters lately, another Bowie mention:
NEW YORK--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--July 16, 1996--N2K Inc., a leading online
music entertainment company, today moved closer to fulfilling its goal of
creating the most comprehensive music resource on the Internet.
The company announced the redesign of its Music Boulevard online music
"mega-store," its acquisition of Rocktropolis, the award-winning rock
music site, and its entry into the Japanese market with Jazz Central
Station.
Under the direction of N2K's executive team of Larry Rosen, Dave Grusin
and Jon Diamond, Music Boulevard's redesign will enable music lovers
around the world to more easily browse N2K's full complement of catalog
titles and other musical resources, as well as link them to N2K's
genre-based sites on the World Wide Web. The breadth of Music Boulevard
is augmented by its link to Rocktropolis
(http://www.rocktropolis.com),the hugely popular rock music site just
acquired by N2K Inc. The company is also building a classical music site
which will be spearheaded by a special section devoted to the life and
music of Leonard Bernstein.
"N2K's Music Boulevard and our genre sites have become the single
resource for international music fans to congregate and chat about their
favorite artists, monitor the latest industry news, sample audio files
and purchase CD's of the latest releases, as well as from our extensive
music catalog," said Larry Rosen, Chairman, N2K Inc. "Music Boulevard
will continue to solidify the natural convergence of the online and the
music communities by providing information, education and entertainment
to music fans via the Internet."
The New Music Boulevard (http://www.musicblvd.com)
Music Boulevard, the Web's ultimate online music store, is a complete
musical Web resource which stocks more than 150,000 CD's and cassettes,
allowing music lovers around the world to quickly and easily purchase
products and learn about their favorite artists in an exciting and
entertaining multimedia environment. Users can browse through a massive
catalog of music titles, read artist biographies and discographies, check
out album reviews, view cover artwork and listen to the Internet's
largest selection of audio samples.
In addition, Music Boulevard provides the latest music charts from
Billboard magazine as well as reviews from publications such as SPIN,
Blues Revue, Fanfare, Dirty Linen, and Puncture. N2K has also created a
"frequent buyer" program, which awards customers with one free CD for
every 10 purchased.
Visitors to Music Boulevard can register to receive Music Wire, N2K's
exclusive daily music publication written by professional music
journalists and delivered by e-mail featuring up-to-the-minute music news
and album reviews, editorial stories and milestones covering all music
genres.
N2K Establishes Los Angeles Presence with Rocktropolis
Rocktropolis will be based in N2K's new Los Angeles office, which will be
headed by Rob Lord, the new Vice President of Rock Sites for N2K
Entertainment. Lord is the music Internet prodigy who founded the
award-winning Internet Underground Music Archive (IUMA) in November 1993.
Lord will oversee the online site Rocktropolis, a rock and roll fantasy
theme park, devoted to bringing high-quality music, film, entertainment
and pop culture information to rock enthusiasts. Nick Turner, founder of
Rocktropolis will continue with N2K as a full-time consultant
concentrating on developing key relationships for Rocktropolis and
working with Rob Lord on furthering Rocktropolis' universal appeal.
Visitors to the city can meet other visitors from around the world, visit
with music superstars through videos and interviews and chat with artists
during one of the many special events hosted on the site. Rocktropolis
features artist sites for Sting, Prince and Soundgarden, and will become
the future home to N2K's Stones World and Outside sites devoted to the
Rolling Stones and David Bowie, respectively.
Lord developed the IUMA Web site as an open, low-cost forum for
musicians, unsigned artists and fans. It has received more than 250,000
hits daily and been recognized by the Smithsonian Institute and the
National Information Infrastructure for leadership and vision.
Jazz Central Station Launches in Japan
(http://www.jazzcentralstation.com.jp)
N2K Inc. has also debuted a new Kanji, Japanese language version of Jazz
Central Station aimed for Japan, where jazz has long been an extremely
popular art form. In both the English and Japanese versions, Jazz
Central Station, America Online's #1 jazz cybersite, covers the gamut of
Jazz styles, from the most traditional to the outer reaches of the
avant-garde, presenting a constantly evolving multimedia environment of
live music, video, photography, graphics and text. Bringing together
Jazz fans, musicians, educators and industry leaders, the site features
extensive audio samples, album reviews, videos, photos, liner notes and
artist biographies and spotlights a rotating roster of Jazz artists.
Jazz Central Station also publishes listings of current and upcoming
releases, tour schedules, concerts and festivals worldwide and hosts
online chats with famous Jazz artists and producers.
"Because we reach such a broad, yet targeted and self-selected base of
music fans, we believe that Music Boulevard, Rocktropolis and Jazz Central
Station represent a new model of electronic commerce providing
information, entertainment and education for music fans," said Rosen.
"There's been much talk about the convergence of music and information
technology on the Web, but this is the place where it is really
happening."
Based in New York City, N2K Inc. is the first music entertainment company
to successfully merge online technology with original music and
entertainment content. With a wealth of experience in the music and
technology industries, N2K Inc. is creating a new model for entertainment
companies, utilizing all forms of interactive media and the Internet to
create compelling music programs and retail opportunities.