Bertelsmann E-Commerce Group Announces New Management And Organization For Bemusic

Hamburg / New York (ots) - Veteran executive team to leadBeMusic, the world's #1 global music service company BeMusic brings together digital and physical worlds ofentertainment for all consumers Bertelsmann eCommerce Group (BeCG), a unit of Bertelsmann AG,announced today a new executive management team to lead BeMusic,the world's largest music services group with more than 23million subscribers and customers, and $1 billion in music sales.BeMusic also holds and is developing its strategic alliance withNapster, the popular person-to-person file sharing music servicewith more than 60 million registered users. BeMusic was formed July 1, consisting of CDNOW, the leadingInternet-based music retailer, BMG Direct, home of BMG MusicService, the largest record club business in North America, andmyplay, the pioneering digital music locker company, among otherassets. Effective immediately, BeMusic will be aligned into threedivisions -- BeMusic Direct, BeMusic Digital and BeMusicServices. Andreas Schmidt, 40, will serve as Chairman and ChiefExecutive Officer of BeMusic, while continuing his existingposition as President and Chief Executive Officer of BeCG. Thenewly organized divisions of BeMusic will report directly toSchmidt. "We have assembled an incredibly talented team to guideBeMusic, which is positioned as the one-stop shop for today's andtomorrow's consumer, covering the complete spectrum of how peoplebuy and enjoy music," said Schmidt. "As consumers demand easyaccess to music in a variety of digital and physical forms,BeMusic stands to deliver their music through any possiblechannel, including music club purchasing, e-tailing, digitaldownloads and streaming, and digital subscription services. Ourexecutive team will build on the already-long term relationshipwe have with consumers, drawing on the world's largest musiccustomer database." Schmidt appointed Stuart Goldfarb, 46, as President and ChiefExecutive of BeMusic Direct. He will also serve as a member ofthe Board of BeMusic. Goldfarb, most recently President and CEOof bol.com, will manage all operations of BMG Direct and CDNOW.BeMusic Direct has over 500 employees in New York andPhiladelphia, serving 12.2 million subscribers through theworld's largest music clubs and 4.5 million customers through theleading online music retailer, CDNOW. BeMusic Direct provides aunique consumer experience in delivering music online andoffline. Mike Krupit, President and CEO of CDNOW, will report toGoldfarb. George McMillan, 47, President and CEO of BMG Direct,will leave the company to become Chief Financial Officer atAndover, Mass.-based CMGI, the diversified Internet operatingcompany. Schmidt said "I want to personally thank George for hissignificant contributions to the development of BMG Direct and Iwish him the best in his next challenge." Tom Hoekzema, 47, has been named President and CEO of BeMusicServices, the online and offline fulfillment division of BeMusic.He will also serve as a Member of the Board of BeMusic. Hoekzema,who was Senior Vice President of Operations for BMG Direct, willlead BeMusic Services' 1,800 employees in Indianapolis, Ind. andDuncan, S.C., in addition to overseeing the Applications ServicesGroup and Customer Service departments. BeMusic Services deliversover 150 million CDs each year to the BeMusic Customers worldwidethrough its state-of-the-art services, distribution andfulfillment facilities. Schmidt will coordinate BeMusic Digital's operations until aPresident and CEO for the division is named. BeMusic Digital has100 employees and serves over 23 million customers through itsmyplay digital locker and subscription services and its worldwideleading music websites. BeMusic Digital is also charged withbuilding the new integrated music destination service for BeMusicthat will combine all forms of online and digital distribution ofmusic including clubs, retail and digital subscriptions. DanielAlegre, 32, vice president, business development of BeCG, hasbeen appointed vice president BeMusic Digital and will developstrategy for the division. Bill Sorenson, 46, has been appointed Executive VicePresident, Chief Financial and Chief Administrative Office ofBeMusic in addition to being an appointed member of the Board forthe company. BeMusic's finance, human resources, and corporatetechnology departments will report Sorenson. Sorenson will remainas Chief Financial Officer of BeCG. Patrick Reilly, 44, has been appointed, Senior Vice Presidentof Corporate Communications for BeMusic. Reilly will alsocontinue in that role at BeCG. Worth Linen, 48, has been appointed by the Board of BeMusic asoutside Director to the Board. Linen is founder of WLA WorthLinen Associates. He served from 1991 through 1996 as Presidentand CEO of BMG Direct and most recently as Chairman and CEO ofThe Signature Group, the world's second-largest affinitymarketing company. Linen will focus on coordination andintegration of all direct marketing activities of BeMusic. "With this new management team in place, BeMusic will continueto expand its position as the worldwide leading music servicecompany and maintain its leading position in developing thetechnologies and business models that respect rights holders andbring music to consumers in the easiest and most convenient way,"said Schmidt. "I wish all my colleagues good luck in their newpositions as we move forward with our vision of removing thebarriers that will allow the global music consumer to accessmusic anywhere, anytime." About BeMusic: BeMusic is the world's largest music services group with morethan 23 million subscribers and customers, $1 billion in musicsales, and has over 11 million unique visitors per monthworldwide. Headquartered in New York City, BeMusic operates someof the world's best-known music brands, including BMG MusicService, the world's largest music club; CDNOW, the #1 musicretailer on the Internet in the U.S; industry-leading technologyand Digital Rights Management companies; and myplay Inc., thepioneering digital music locker service. BeMusic is focused oncreating the one-stop shop for today's and tomorrow's consumer,covering the complete spectrum of how people buy and enjoy music.BeMusic delivers music through any possible channel, includingmusic club purchasing, e-tailing, digital downloads andstreaming, and digital subscriptions services. Formed in July2001, BeMusic consists of three core divisions: BeMusic Direct,BeMusic Services and BeMusic Digital. BeMusic also holds astrategic alliance with Napster, the worldwide person-to-personmusic file-sharing service with more than 60 million registeredusers. About BeCG: Bertelsmann eCommerce Group was formed in July 2000 as adivision of Bertelsmann AG. Objective of the group is tointegrate all forms of digital and physical distribution overthe internet, broadband and mobile networks for all mediacontent. Headquartered in New York, BeCG operates variousbusinesses in Europe and the United States. BeCG is part ofDirect Group Bertelsmann. Bertelsmann has access to over 200million customers worldwide. ** Biographies of BeMusic executives are available uponrequest **

ots Original Text Service: Bertelsmann eCommerce GroupContact for BeCG: In the U.S.: Patrick Reilly Senior VicePresident, Corp. Communications phone: 212.930.3966 mobile:917.353.5774 patrick.reilly@becg.com Melinda Meals Director,Corp. Communications phone: 212-930-4418 mobile: 917-696-3620melinda.meals@becg.com In Europe: Alexander Adler Director,Corporate Communications phone: 011-49-40-82-22-62-320 mobile:011-49-179-101-2930 alexander.adler@becg.com

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