Yahoo! Chooses CDnow for Global Sites

CDnow, Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. said today they are extending their e-commerce partnership to make CDnow the premier music e-tailer on a range of international Yahoo! sites.


Beginning this month, users will be able to tap into CDnow’s extensive music selection via Yahoo!’s U.K. & Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Australia & New Zealand, Korea, Singapore sites. CDnow is also Yahoo!’s premiere music retailer on its Chinese and Yahoo! en Espanol Web guides.


Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.


Per a previous agreement, CDnow said it will also continue to be incorporated into the My Yahoo!, Visa Shopping Guide by Yahoo!, Yahoo! Chat, Yahoo! Get Local, Yahoo! Message Boards and Yahoo! Mail areas.


Today’s deal follows Amazon.com’s move earlier this week to build out its music selection by adding thousands of classical CDs. The leading online book retailer officially announced its entry into the online music sales market earlier this summer.


While CDnow is widely considered the leading online music seller ahead of rivals such as N2K, Amazon.com will be hoping for the same success in the music sales arena that it has enjoyed in the online book selling space. But while the Seattle-based company may have the resources and cash to compete with CDnow, some feel Amazon’s brand and reputation as the premiere book seller will hurt its efforts in music sales.


It will also be interesting to see how the competitors fare when it comes to signing crucial deals with leading Web sites and portals. Yahoo!, for example, recently signed a worldwide deal with Amazon.com that makes it the portal’s premier bookseller on more than a dozen global sites. Today, CDnow gets the nod for music. Amazon for books, CDnow for tunes?


Jason Olim, CDnow President and CEO, acknowledged that Yahoo!
provides a powerful distribution platform for his company’s products internationally.


“Yahoo!’s dominant position and global presence will extend our reach and help us maintain our position as the leading online music retailer,” said Olim in a statement.


In an effort to further extend its reach worldwide, CDnow also sealed a significant deal recently with MSI of Miami Corp. to create an international distribution hub that will serve more than 37 countries in Europe and the Middle East.


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