Innovative Music Series ‘Live From the Artists Den’ Goes Online

NEW YORK, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ — “Live from the Artists Den,” an
innovative new music series featuring extraordinary artists performing in
extraordinary settings, airing nationwide on public television beginning
February 2009 (check local listings at theartistsden.com), will begin airing
on MSN Music during the first run of the episodes.

An online home within MSN Music, artistsden.msn.com will provide visitors
with behind-the-scenes footage, interview clips, concert photography, artist
bios, and live performance videos from the concerts. Each week, MSN Music
will spotlight an episode of the series featuring a contemporary musician
performing at an intimate, invitation-only concert in an unconventional venue.
MSN will provide a flexible, interactive view of the artists, performances,
and unique venues that will complement the linear broadcast experiences.

“We’re committed to providing the very best programming to our audience,
and the special, intimate nature of every Artists Den performance is ideal for
our music community,” said Sam Sutherland, MSN Entertainment senior producer
and programming director for MSN Music. “We are delighted to be the official
partner for ‘Live from the Artists Den,’ which allows us to extend the reach
of the series and provide fans of the public television programs with unique,
complementary Web content.”

“We are thrilled to announce MSN Music as the official online home of
‘Live from the Artists Den’,” noted Artists Den creator and executive producer

Mark Lieberman. “Fans of the series will have a dedicated site where they can
experience and explore more of these special concerts, and members of the
broader MSN community will have a platform to discover extraordinary artists
in extraordinary settings.”

Barnes & Noble will be the official retailer for Live from the Artists Den
CD and DVD releases. Barnes & Noble is the exclusive retailer for the show’s
debut CD, Live from the Artists Den: 1, released yesterday. Available only at
Barnes & Noble stores and online at Barnes & Noble.com (http://www.bn.com),
the 10-song CD features previously unreleased performances from the show by

Alanis Morissette, Aimee Mann, Raphael Saadiq, Jakob Dylan, Ani DiFranco, and
other artists. The show and all of the artists who appear will be promoted in
stores and online at Barnes & Noble.com (http://www.bn.com/artistsden).

“We’ve admired the Artists Den events for some time,” said Steven Scott,
Director of Music Marketing for Barnes & Noble. “We think their curatorial
approach to placing brilliant artists in spectacular settings will resonate
with music lovers, as well as with viewers who might stumble onto the show.
The exclusive tracks on Live from the Artists Den:1 are a real boon to music
fans in search of innovative and heartfelt music.”

Unlike other televised music series, “Live from the Artists Den” breaks
away from the confines of the conventional studio set by unveiling a new,
unexpected venue in every episode. Each stunning location transforms into a
concert setting for one unforgettable night. All top live acts, the musicians
often play a role in picking the stage for these memorable events, which
frequently inspire new renditions of songs and special set lists. Noted music
critic Alan Light (former editor-in-chief of “Vibe” and “Spin” magazines and a
featured contributor to MSN Music) conducts artist interviews on-site at every
concert.

This season of “Live from the Artists Den” features iconic independent
singer/songwriter Ani DiFranco at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts,
the oldest art museum in the United States; singer/songwriter Jakob Dylan,
lead singer of platinum-selling band The Wallflowers at Desmond Tutu Cultural
Center in New York City; recent indie-pop sensation Ingrid Michaelson (“The
Way I Am”) at Cape Cinema, a 1930s movie theater in Cape Cod; and classic
rock-inspired indie band The Hold Steady at a former bank now designated an
NYC landmark. Other featured artists include Aimee Mann, Patty Griffin, Ben
Harper, KT Tunstall, Crowded House, Academy Award winners The Swell Season,
and Josh Ritter.

About the Artists Den

The Artists Den has been presenting emerging and established musicians in
unique settings around the world since its inception in 2004. The venture
began as one music lover’s vision of staging outstanding live music in
non-traditional venues. Initially a series of private living room concerts,
the Artists Den expanded to include unforgettable performances across North
America and Europe by some of today’s most significant names in music — in
some of the most interesting, off-the-beaten-path locations imaginable. “Live
from The Artists Den” premieres on public television in February 2009 funded
in part by Grey Goose Entertainment. Recordings from concerts are released
nationally as CD / DVD titles by Artists Den Records. For more information,
visit TheArtistsDen.com.

About Barnes & Noble, Inc.

Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller and a
Fortune 500 company, operates 799 bookstores in 50 states. Barnes & Noble is
also the nation’s top bookseller in quality, and for the fifth year in a row,
the top bookseller brand, as determined by a combination of the brand’s
performance on familiarity, quality, and purchase intent, according to the
EquiTrend(R) Brand Study by Harris Interactive(R). Barnes & Noble conducts its
online business through Barnes & Noble.com (http://www.bn.com), one of the
Web’s largest e-commerce sites.

General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be obtained via the
Internet by visiting the company’s corporate website:
http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com.

SOURCE The Artists Den