Gaylord Entertainment’s Getdigitalmedia Announces Country Music Internet Transactions, Including Investment In Countrycool.Com
GETdigitalmedia also has acquired the assets of Soundmarket.net, a country music search engine based in Nashville. Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.
The features and services of CountryCool.com include daily news, detailed information about country artists, chats with artists and CountryCool.com members, shopping for country music memorabilia, music reviews, artists’ discographies and SongPgPower IndexTMIndexTM ---Radar, which brings new song releases to users of the site and allows them to vote on their favorite songs. One of its strengths is a series of original interviews with top country stars conducted by David Ross, editor and publisher of MusicRow Magazine, and Senior Vice President of CountryCool.com.
Country Cool.com, which was established in 1996 and which has offices in Nashville and Northern Virginia, is the exclusive webcast producer and provider for the 33rd annual Country Music Association Awards Show on Sept. 22. It provided the same Internet exposure for the 1999 International Country Music Fan Fair in June.
While handling the webcasting operation for the CMA Awards Show, CountryCool.com also will work with Country Music Television International, another unit of Gaylord Entertainment, to produce a special behind-the-scenes program for the Web and for CMT International to cablecast to its 5.9 million subscribers in 20 nations.
“CountryCool.com has been working hard to raise interest in country music on the Internet, and we are proud to join that effort,” said Brian Payne, vice president and general manager of GETdigitalmedia. “The project between CountryCool.com and CMT International is a great example of how we can move country music forward on the Internet.”
Soundmarket.net, the other GETdigitalmedia transaction subject, is a country music search engine created from a fan’s perspective, Payne said, adding that it provides a solid infrastructure for country music fans who want to learn more about their favorite artists and music.
GETdigitalmedia was established in July to initiate an Internet strategy that focuses on Gaylord Entertainment’s three primary customer groups: country music fans, Christian music fans and people involved in the meetings and conventions industry. It was formed when Gaylord Entertainment acquired majority interests in Musicforce.com, an e-commerce community that concentrates on contemporary Christian music, and Lightsource.com, the Christian content provider for the spiritual channel of broadcast.com, now part of the Yahoo! network.
Gaylord Entertainment, headquartered in Nashville, is a diversified entertainment company with operations in hospitality, attractions, music, entertainment, broadcasting and cable networks. Among its properties are WSM Radio and the Grand Ole Opry, the Opryland Hotel, Acuff-Rose Music Publishing, Word Entertainment, Country Music Television International, Z Music Television, the Wildhorse Saloon, the Ryman Auditorium, Cornerstone Sports, WWTN Radio and Opryland Productions.