(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) —
BMG Direct, one of the largest direct-to-customer distributors of music, has closed the previously announced
acquisition with The Blackstone Group, a private investment and advisory firm,
of The Columbia House Company, the largest direct marketer of DVDs. BMG Direct
has acquired 100 percent of The Columbia House Company. Terms of the transaction
were not disclosed.
BMG Direct is now comprised of BMG Music Service and online music retailer CDNow. BMG Direct also operates four different specialty clubs — the BMG Classical Music Club, the BMG Jazz Club, Sound & Spirit
(Christian and Gospel music), and Ritmo y Pasion (Latin music) — and offers a
wide variety of listening options including pop, rock, R&B, adult alternative,
easy listening, jazz, blues, classical, Latin, hip-hop, country, Christian and
many more. Customers are offered a selection of over 14,000 titles provided by
the four major music groups and over 100 independent record labels and can shop
for music directly from catalogues or online. — Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
