TOWER RECORDS Launches Massive Online Bookstore at Tower.com Featuring Over 500,000 Titles; Expands Book and Magazine Sections in Many Stores

TOWER RECORDS Launches Massive Online Bookstore at Tower.com Featuring Over 500,000 Titles; Expands Book and Magazine Sections in Many Stores

Tower Continues Expansion of Offerings: Past 12 Months Have Seen Tower Open New Stores, Unveil Video Game and Electronic Product Sections In-Store and Online, Produce Thousands of In-Store and Off-Site Events, and Enter the World of Podcasting

SACRAMENTO, Calif., March 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Tower Records, America's leading independent music and entertainment retailer, today announced that it has launched a new online Bookstore at Tower.com. Comprised of more than half a million titles, Tower.com now offers an enormous and diverse selection of fiction, audio-books, romance, history, music, children's, art, business, health, reference, horror, sci-fi and more!

In addition, the last 12 months have seen Tower Records open new stores, unveil video games, begin selling a range of MP3 players including iPods, produce thousands of in-store and off-site events, and expand its podcasting offering with a podcast network at TowerPod.com.

"The launch of Books at Tower.com is a huge benefit to our website and our customers," stated Russ Eisenman, Senior Marketing Officer of Tower Records. "Tower Records stores have always carried a selection of relevant book titles. Our online store features a selection rivaling other large online booksellers. This is a very exciting launch for us and another positive step for Tower as we strive to deliver the best shopping experience for our valued customers."

Make Space on your Bookshelf

Tower's new Books section, located at: www.tower.com/books, features today's most popular books at competitive prices. For example, all adult hardbacks, including bestsellers, are 40% off, and all books are shipped at rates lower than our competitors. In honor of the online book launch, the site also features an introductory bonus offer that gives book buyers up to $50 back to spend on future purchases at Tower.com.

Buyers are able to find books in a wide range of different formats: from hardback to paperback, as well as books on CD and books on tape.

In addition, for those customers who prefer the experience of shopping in our stores, Tower Records is in the process of expanding the book and magazine sections in many of our stores nationwide. There are four Tower Book stores, and books and magazines have been featured in nearly all Tower Records locations since the company opened its first store in 1960.

Other Notable Developments in the Past 12 Months

Two New Stores in 2005; Refurbishments for All Stores in 2006

Evolving and expanding to meet the entertainment needs of our customers, Tower Records opened two new stores in the Southwest in 2005: Tempe, Arizona and Henderson, Nevada.

In 2006, all of Tower Records' stores nationwide will receive refurbishments and improvements to better serve our customers. As of this month, all of Tower's 89 stores now feature numerous interactive TouchMedia

Digital Media Stations with interactive touch-screen technology that encourage customers to scan and preview CDs and DVDs in the store.

New Product Lines: Games and Gadgets come to Tower Records

2006 is the year that consumers are able to find the latest in video games and personal electronics at most Tower Records stores or online at Tower.com. It's more than CDs and DVDs; gamers can now find video games and video game consoles for PS2, PSP, Xbox or Xbox 360 and portable music players including the iPod Nano and iRiver H10.

In-Store and Off-Site Events Every Week

Since 1960, Tower Records has been famous for its in-store appearances, autograph signings and live performances with top artists in the entertainment world ... the largest international superstars, actors, authors, independent and eclectic artists, as well as local musicians of every genre of music.

Some recent events at Tower Records include hosting thousands of fans in our Northridge, CA store parking lot for a live outdoor performance by Hasidic Reggae artist/phenom Matisyahu on March 9th. On March 14th, our Emeryville store in the Bay Area hosted E-40, "The Ambassador of the Bay" and leader of the Hyphy Movement, who came to greet 1200 fans on the release date of his most-anticipated album "My Ghetto Report Card." Perhaps, however, our most spontaneous in-store ever occurred as the clock struck midnight on Tuesday, March 21st, when superstar Prince arrived at the world-famous Tower Records on the Sunset Strip to give an impromptu hour-long performance of new songs and classic hits like "Purple Rain" and "Let's Go Crazy," on the release day of his latest album "3121."

Tower has also participated in major music events, such as the venerable South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival in Austin, Texas, where this month it co-sponsored two musical showcases, one with Time Out: New York, and the other with City Beat Los Angeles, that featured musical performances of new and cutting edge artists.

TowerPod Establishes Tower as First Retailer to Launch a Podcasting Network

This month, Tower Records made retailing history when it became the first retailer to launch a podcasting network. Working in collaboration with Outhink Media, Tower launched TowerPod (www.towerpod.com), a breakthrough service that provides podcasters a platform to create music-intensive podcasts using pre-approved and rights cleared full-length songs of cutting edge and established artists for free. Customers are able to download the podcasts for free.

About Tower Records

Since 1960, Tower Records has been recognized and respected throughout the world for its unique brand of retailing. Founded in Sacramento, California, with the singular vision to have a music store with unparalleled selection and fair prices, Tower forges ahead with the development of exciting shopping environments, espousing diverse product ranges, artist performances, and technological advances in merchandising. Tower maintains its commitment to providing the deepest selection of entertainment merchandise in stores that celebrate the unique interests and needs of the local community. For two years running, the music industry has voted Tower Records "Retailer of the Year."

Tower owns and operates 89 stores in the U.S. with 144 additional stores run by licensees in nine different countries. The company opened one of the first Internet music stores on America Online in June 1995 and followed a year later with the launch of Tower.com.

NOTE: Tower, Tower Records, TowerRecords.com, Tower.com, Tower CD Listening Station, Tower Records Videos Books, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of MTS, Incorporated in the United States and other countries.

Source: Tower Records

CONTACT: Lisa Amore for Tower Records, +1-206-322-4658, or
lisa@amorepr.com

Web site: http://www.towerrecords.com/

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