BMG Entertainment, Egreetings Ally to Promote Artists

Bertelsmann AG‘s music and entertainment division, BMG Entertainment, on Thursday struck an exclusive deal with online greeting card provider Egreetings Network Inc., which will attach music from BMG artists to cards, and give recipients a chance to buy related CDs.

The deal expands an existing agreement between the two companies.

Among the artists to be promoted are Barry White, George Winston, Whitney Houston, Lou Bega and Vertical Horizon. New artists and songs will be added regularly.

“We are developing innovative ways to connect our artists with their fans via the Internet and have been extremely impressed by the tremendous exposure our artists have received through Egreetings.com,” said Kevin Conroy, senior vice president, worldwide marketing and new technology, BMG Entertainment.

“Since Egreetings first offered our artists’ music cards, millions of visitors have viewed and sent them and many have purchased our artists’ music as a result. This expanded alliance with Egreetings will provide great exposure for both our developing and established artists and drive sales through all channels of distribution.”

Online greeting cards have been one of the Internet’s surprising successes because of their viral nature — when someone receives a card, they are very likely to send one of their own, if only to return the greeting. This deal represents BMG’s attempt to capitalize on this phenomenon. For Egreetings, the agreement allows it to offer more content to its customers.

Financial details of the agreement weren’t disclosed.