Disney, Music Boulevard team up
The entertainment giant begins marketing its music on N2K's retail site, a sign of Disney's continuing expansion on the Web.
This seems to be another sign of Disney expanding its distribution on the Web, and a coup for N2K, which competes in a cutthroat industry. "We will have an announcement forthcoming," said N2K spokeswoman Lauren Hackett, but she declined to elaborate. "What are you doing shopping on the Disney site? I didn't realize that anything was up."
A Disney representative could not immediately be reached for comment.
The cross promotion already is operational on the Web. The arrangement appears to closely resemble one that Disney struck with Barnes & Noble in January to become the exclusive bookseller on Disney's popular Web site.
In the music deal, the Disney site shows an icon that reads "Disney Music at Music Blvd." Users who click on the icon are redirected to a Music Boulevard site selling Disney music. It lets users listen to music samples as well.
For example, it features the original soundtrack of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on CD for $12.59. It also lists categories such as "song albums," "sing-along albums," "read-along albums," and "soundtracks." Users buy the music with a credit card.
The left side of the Web site directs users to Music Boulevard's content.
Last week, Disney bought a 43 percent stake in Infoseek in exchange for Disney's ownership in Starwave plus $70 million in cash--ending a week of speculation that the two would combine forces.
In April, the entertainment giant bought the remaining stake in Starwave that it didn't already own.