Visa U.S.A. Partners with N2K's Music Boulevard

N2K’s Music Boulevard, an online music store, and Visa U.S.A. entered a strategic alliance that will result in a variety of marketing and promotional programs designed to build business on the music site and further expand Visa’s presence on the Internet.

Under the terms of the agreement, Music Boulevard will designate Visa as its preferred form of payment. Visa will receive branding throughout the Music Boulevard online music store, including the site’s homepage and each section of Music Boulevard’s registration pages. Financial arrangements were not disclosed.

Visa also will be the default payment card in the site’s credit card choice bar and will be branded throughout commerce-enabled areas of The Music Boulevard Network’s music channels, Rocktropolis.com, JazzCentralStation.com and ClassicalInsites.com.

Also, several incentive programs will encourage current and potential Visa cardholders to purchase with their Visa cards on Music Boulevard, the companies said. Music Boulevard also will launch targeted consumer promotions designed to drive sales and increase Visa card usage.

“Working together with Visa, we will be able to provide our growing customer base with incentives for shopping on Music Boulevard with their Visa cards,” said Debbie Newman, Music Boulevard’s vice president of marketing, advertising and sales. “Visa cardholders will benefit as well from a host of special offers and rewards that will be available exclusively to them.”

And Liz Silver, senior vice president of advertising at Visa U.S.A., said: “As with our partnerships with Yahoo and other online companies, this alliance will further our objective to ensure that Visa is the leading payment brand for electronic commerce, just as it is for traditional commerce worldwide.”