Music wars: battle of the brands

It's been a big spring for duets in the world of online music sales. First came the merger of CDnow Inc. and N2K Inc., completed March 17. The two retailers, which rang up sales to the tune of $98.5 million in 1998, have combined their resources under the CDnow moniker and face their stiffest competition from Amazon.com, which rushed the stage with its music offerings last summer and posted fourth-quarter music sales of $33.1 million. But now the big boys want to play. BMG Entertainment and Universal Music Group, which together control 45% of the domestic music market, announced in April that they would join forces to create the No. 1 music destination on the Web-getmusic.com, which will be up and running by summer.
  It's a significant move for Montreal-based Seagram, whose recent $10.4 billion acquisition of PolyGram NV vaulted Universal to the top of the charts with annual sales of about $5 billion and a 23% share of the global music business. But the company didn't have an established Web selling presence-unlike BMG, which created getmusic.com last year as an e-commerce extension of five online music communities devoted to R&B/hip-hop, alternative, country, rock, and adult contemporary.
  While getmusic.com will sell music in all genres from all six major music companies, Universal and BMG will have access to special extras from their own talent rosters, which include such popular acts as Backstreet Boys, Dave Matthews Band, N'Sync, Shania Twain and U2. Since the companies plan to sell their music at full retail price-unlike Amazon.com and CDnow, which typically knock up to 30% off the manufacturer's suggested list price-the service expects to win over fans by equipping the sites with chat rooms, interactive Web casting, and message boards.
  Such exclusive offerings are shaping up as essential marketing tools to distinguishing one site from another. CDnow is building on its alliances with MTV, VH1 and CBS Cable-owned TNN and CMT. And Amazon.com is trying to lure customers with such exclusives as a Cheap Trick CD and free digital downloads of two tracks from the forthcoming live album by Lilith Fair chanteuse Sarah McLachlan - who records, curiously enough, for BMG-owned Arista.