Another Contender in the Online Music Field

K-tel International Inc., yet another entry into the increasingly crowded Internet music market, said it will launch its new online service, K-tel Express, effective May 1.

The site will feature “a wide spectrum of music products for purchase by the
public across the globe,” the Los Angeles-based company said.

K-tel Express will include more than 250,000 music titles through its online
shopping service at value prices. Competitors include CDnow Inc. and N2K Inc.

The company said K-tel Express’ strategy for Web site traffic will rely
heavily on newly developed direct-to-the-consumer marketing methods as opposed to the more traditional search engine relationships being used by its
competitors.

“We intend to bring online commerce to a new level by combining our rich history and sophistication in direct marketing expertise with the state-of-the-art technology and enhanced order capabilities,” said Mark Margiotta, vice president of K-tel Online. “We also have exceptional expertise in fine-tuned database management, which will create an additional stream of revenue from this new electronic commerce venture.”

K-tel International is a vertically integrated developer, marketer, and
distributor of entertainment and consumer products worldwide. The company
markets its product lines to retailers, wholesalers, licensees, and directly to the consumer.