Music news

HarperCollins Inks Deal With No. 1 Bestselling Rock Band Bon Jovi

2009-03-03T14:00:00.000+02:00

NEW YORK, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- HarperCollins Publishers today announced a deal to publish the first ever official Bon Jovi book, Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful. Celebrating the band's 25th anniversary, the book contains never-before-seen photographs and exclusive text from the band and will be published next October by the Collins Design imprint. Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful will also serve as a companion to a major documentary about the band being released at the same time.

The story of Bon Jovi's career -- spanning three decades, countless hits, sold-out stadiums -- reads like a timeline of popular culture and has earned them legendary status. But for all their acclaim, fans have been offered very few up-close-and-personal glimpses of the band members. To commemorate their 25th anniversary, the band gave filmmaker and photographer Phil Griffin unprecedented access to their lives, onstage and off, during 2008. The Lost Highway tour became the #1 tour in the world last year, according to Billboard Magazine. This insider portrait of one of the world's best-loved rock bands is the subject of a major documentary and this extraordinary book is a must-have for all Bon Jovi fans.

The public face of Bon Jovi -- band of brothers, hitmakers, rock stars -- is well known, but in Bon Jovi: When We Were Beautiful, gorgeous, exclusive photographs and revealing text from Jon, Richie, David and Tico themselves tell the behind-the-scenes story. From intimate moments to basking in the limelight, the book offers fans an honest, unposed and unscripted portrait of this legendary band at work and at home.

"We are honored to be collaborating with one of the most successful bands in Rock history," said Marta Schooler, Publisher of Collins Design. "Bon Jovi's continuing success has been no less than remarkable and we are thrilled to be publishing the must-have book for all their fans."

The book offers unprecedented insights into the members' lives on stage, on the road, and at home, as well as intimate reflections on the highs and lows of their 25 years together. Bon Jovi is responsible for some of popular music's biggest anthems over the last twenty-five years. Since Bon Jovi's eponymous album release in 1984, their songs have propelled their albums and tours to stratospheric success with precision consistency. From rock songs ("You Give Love A Bad Name," "Living On A Prayer," "It's My Life," "Who Says You Can't Go Home,") to ballads ("Bed of Roses," "I'll Be There For You," "Always,"), to outlaw-themed anthems ("Wanted Dead or Alive," "Blaze of Glory"), their arsenal of All-American songs have repeatedly found a reception on a global stage. Bon Jovi has sold over 120 million records worldwide and charted seven #1 singles and countless Top Ten hits.

About HarperCollins Publishers

HarperCollins, one of the largest English-language publishers in the world, is a subsidiary of News Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NWS, NWSLV). Headquartered in New York, HarperCollins has publishing groups around the world including the HarperCollins General Books Group, HarperCollins Children's Books Group, Zondervan, HarperCollins UK, HarperCollins Canada, HarperCollins Australia/New Zealand and HarperCollins India. HarperCollins is a broad-based publisher with strengths in literary and commercial fiction, business books, children's books, cookbooks, mystery, romance, reference, religious and spiritual books. With nearly 200 years of history HarperCollins has published some of the world's foremost authors and has won numerous awards including the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award, the Newbery Medal and the Caldecott. Consistently at the forefront of innovation and technological advancement HarperCollins is the first publisher to digitize its content and create a global digital warehouse to protect the rights of its authors, meet consumer demand and generate additional business opportunities. You can visit HarperCollins Publishers on the Internet at http://www.harpercollins.com.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

New Kids' CD Encourages Kids to Get Active and Stay Healthy

2009-03-03T13:10:00.000+02:00

Minnesota Dance and Exercise Entrepreneur Releases 15 Original Songs Focused on Fitness and Fun

MINNETONKA, Minn., March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Dancercise Kids(R), a provider of unique fitness and dance activities for young children, today announced that its founder, Tessa Pfeifer, has released her first compact disc, entitled "Dance It!," focused on bringing Dancercise(R) concepts into every home.

Packed with original songs that encourage kids to exercise and that advocate healthy habits, manners and other parent-approved topics, this CD release comes at a time when, according to the National Poll on Children's Health, childhood obesity is the number one concern of parents. "It's so important for kids to take every opportunity to exercise. I routinely see children with all sorts of conditions resulting from poor posture, poor diet and sedentary lifestyles," said Howard Fidler, DC, FICPA, FICC, of Minneapolis, founder of the American Chiropractic Association's Council on Pediatrics. "My own kids listen to Dancercise music all the time, and it's reassuring to find kids' music that really encourages them to get and stay active."

"I'm excited to get this music out to my fans, and to kids everywhere," says Tessa. "The songs will get any kid up and moving, and the CD includes lots of healthy themes and upbeat styles that keep it fun and interesting for kids and parents alike."

Tessa's music goes far beyond the rehashed nursery rhymes or often over-simplified genre of children's music and combines contemporary styles with thoughtful lyrics, presented in a way that is accessible to kids at a very young age. "As a kindergarten teacher, I welcome the educational elements of Tessa's music," said Julie Dahl, whose daughter, age four, has taken Dancercise classes for the last year. "And as a parent, I really love that this music is fun for grown-ups too!"

Dance It! is available now at http://www.cdbaby.com, at the Dancercise website http://www.dancercise.com and through online retailers including Apple's iTunes(R) store and Amazon.com. Tessa is performing live concerts throughout the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area during the next few months, including the Mall Of America and Minnesota Children's Museum, and promoting her unique program that helps children build strong minds and happy hearts.

Tessa Pfeifer has been dancing, singing and performing since her early childhood. Having created Dancercise Kids as a successful dance and fitness program across multiple states, she is now concentrating on making the music, activities and lessons accessible to a wider audience through CDs, DVDs, Activity Books and select media partners, for consumption in every home. Find out more at http://www.dancercise.com/pressroom.

    Contacts:

    Kelly Plummer
    651-207-6242
    kellyp@newsworthycommunications.com

    Katie Welch-Peterson
    952-294-9814
    katiep@newsworthycommunications.com

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Sony Music Entertainment Announces the Release of Elvis Presley 'I Believe - The Gospel Masters' - Available March 10, 2009

2009-03-03T12:00:00.000+02:00

DELUXE 4 CD SET CELEBRATES ELVIS' GRAMMY AWARD-WINNING COLLECTION OF GOSPEL AND INSPIRATIONAL MUSIC

Elvis Presley's 'Ultimate Gospel' collection was just certified GOLD by the RIAA.

NEW YORK, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- As with all of his types of music, Elvis Presley made his own version of gospel music, drawing from every element of his vast musical knowledge -- without any musical prejudice or racial barriers. For the first time ever, all of Elvis' gospel and inspirational master recordings will be offered together in one magnificent 4 disc collection -- "I Believe - The Gospel Masters."

"I Believe - The Gospel Masters" offers the most comprehensive overview of Elvis' non-secular performances and provides testament to his musical excellence and contribution to the popularization of religious music.

Discs 1 through 3 feature Elvis' entire non-secular studio master recordings in chronological order from his multi-Platinum selling albums "Peace In The Valley," "His Hand In Mine," "How Great Thou Art," and "He Touched Me." Bonus CD, Disc 4, includes additional gospel and inspirational recordings from Elvis' movies, the 68' Comeback TV special and other live performances. It also includes rare home recordings of 'Hide Thou Me,' 'Show Me Thy Ways, O Lord,' and 'Oh, How I Love Jesus.'

All of the discs have been re-mastered from the original tapes using the latest DSD technology for optimum sound quality.

Of the collection, Gordon Stoker, original member of The Jordinaires (Elvis' band) says, "I think I Believe is the perfect title for a collection of Elvis' religious music because, working with him almost 15 years, I know he believed every word in these songs. It was indeed an honour to know and work with him. We shall always treasure our memories."

Testament to the popularity and continued relevance of his gospel recordings, Elvis Presley's "Ultimate Gospel" collection, which was released in 2004, was just certified GOLD by the RIAA.

    TRACK LISTING:
    DISC 1
    1. I Believe
    2. (There'll Be) Peace In The Valley (For Me)
    3. Take My Hand, Precious Lord
    4. It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)
    5. Milky White Way
    6. His Hand In Mine
    7. I Believe In The Man In The Sky
    8. He Knows Just What I Need
    9. Mansion Over The Hilltop
    10. In My Father's House
    11. Joshua Fit The Battle
    12. Swing Down, Sweet Chariot
    13. I'm Gonna Walk Dem Golden Stairs
    14. If We Never Meet Again
    15. Known Only To Him
    16. Crying In The Chapel
    17. Working On The Building

    DISC 2
    1. Run On
    2. How Great Thou Art
    3. Stand By Me
    4. Where No One Stands Alone
    5. So High
    6. Farther Along
    7. By And By
    8. In The Garden
    9. Somebody Bigger Than You And I
    10. Without Him
    11. If The Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side
    12. Where Could I Go But To The Lord
    13. You'll Never Walk Alone
    14. We Call On Him
    15. Who Am I?

    DISC 3
    1. I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago
    2. Life
    3. Only Believe
    4. Amazing Grace
    5. Lead Me, Guide Me
    6. He Touched Me
    7. I've Got Confidence
    8. An Evening Prayer
    9. Seeing Is Believing
    10. A Thing Called Love
    11. Put Your Hand In The Hand
    12. Reach Out To Jesus
    13. He Is My Everything
    14. There Is No God But God
    15. Bosom Of Abraham
    16. I, John
    17. I Got A Feelin' In My Body
    18. Help Me
    19. If That Isn't Love

    DISC 4
    1. Down By The Riverside/When The Saints Go Marchin' In (from Frankie And
       Johnny)
    2. Sing You Children (from Easy Come, Easy Go)
    3. Swing Down, Sweet Chariot (from The Trouble With Girls (and how to get
       in it))
    4. Let Us Pray (from Change of Habit)
    5. Gospel Medley: Where Could I Go But To The Lord/Up Above My Head/Saved
       (from the '68 Comeback Special)
    6. If I Can Dream (from the '68 Comeback Special)
    7. Why Me Lord (live)
    8. How Great Thou Art (live)
    9. Help Me (live)

    BONUS:

    10. I, John (from Elvis On Tour)
    11. Bosom Of Abraham (from Elvis On Tour)
    12. You Better Run (from Elvis On Tour)
    13. Lead Me, Guide Me (from Elvis On Tour)
    14. Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus/Nearer My God To Thee (from Elvis On Tour)
    15. Oh, How I Love Jesus (home recording)
    16. Show Me Thy Ways, O Lord (home recording)
    17. Hide Thou Me (home recording)

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

PickTheBand.com National Band Contest

2009-03-02T23:27:00.000+02:00

Winning band will perform at the ASCAP "I Create Music" Expo in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- PickTheBand.com, the world's first fan-run record label has partnered with ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, to pick the best unsigned artist/band in America.

Beginning March 2nd fans will vote online on picktheband.com to decide the winner. The contest will run through March 31st with a featured performance at the ASCAP "I Create Music" Expo in April in Los Angeles as the top prize. Fans are encouraged to vote everyday and can win a variety of great prizes the more they vote.

The video-based contest has been designed to showcase bands in a variety of ways, to get the fans to know as much as possible about them.

The bands were asked to submit the following:

An original music video
2 original songs
A live performance video
Photos and bio

The submissions were reviewed by our panel of judges that included Producers Don Gilmore (Linkin Park, Avril Lavigne) and Bennett Kaufman (President/CEO of The BK Entertainment Group). The top 15 bands have been selected and represent a cross-section of rock music from across the country.

"Of the new models for finding talent we believe Pick The Band has a great formula and we are excited to have them involved with the ASCAP Expo," said Randy Grimmett, ASCAP Sr. VP, Domestic Membership. "The EXPO is the first and only national conference 100% dedicated to songwriting and composing. With a focus on connecting aspiring music creators, it's the perfect opportunity to showcase Pick The Band's winner."

"This is truly an exciting event and we are very pleased to that our winner will have the chance to perform at the ASCAP 'I Create Music' EXPO," said Roie Avin, President of PickTheBand.com.

"Previous winners of Pick The Band contests have recorded with Don Gilmore and Mudrock (Avenged Sevenfold and Godsmack). The winners and even some of the runners-up have also received interest and offers from national labels as well as airplay and increased publicity."

For more information go to: www.PickTheBand.com.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Hollywood Honors Late Actor Roy Scheider With 'Smiles From the Stars: A Celebration of the Work and Life of Roy Scheider'

2009-03-02T14:00:00.000+02:00

Two-Time Academy-Award Nominee is Honored with a Star-Studded Event to Benefit The Myeloma Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

LOS ANGELES, March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- At the 81st Annual Academy Awards(R) last Sunday, the late Roy Scheider was memorialized as one of Hollywood's great actors. As an extension to his tribute in the 2009 Oscar "In Memorium" video, Roy Scheider's late wife Brenda Siemer Scheider, along with Joshua Newton, British writer-director of Iron Cross, Mr. Scheider's last film, are honoring the internationally acclaimed actor with an exclusive star-studded event at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Hollywood will toast the late actor on Saturday, April 4 in an evening produced by family friend and director Gordon Hunt, father of Oscar-winning actress Helen Hunt, which will feature appearances and speeches from friends and industry colleagues along with a special surprise performance. The evening will benefit The Myeloma Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

"What would best honor Roy's talent and determination would be our success in raising money for stem cell research and finding a cure for multiple myeloma," said Brenda Siemer Scheider.

In February 2008 renowned actor Roy Scheider lost his battle to myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow. Coincidentally, Joshua Newton's father passed from the same disease just several months earlier. Both died during the filming of Iron Cross, a $30m revenge thriller, in which Roy plays the lead, a character inspired by the director's father, Bruno Newton. Roy passed just one day short of completing his filming, challenging Joshua Newton to finish the scene Roy had left by using groundbreaking CGI technology. The film is slated to be completed in Summer 2009. Guests will be treated to a special sneak preview of the trailer for Iron Cross at the event.

"I didn't know Roy had myeloma when I thought of him to play a role which was essentially my father," states Joshua Newton. "There were many strange coincidences like that which surrounded the production of Iron Cross, in which Roy has delivered one of the most powerful performances of his career. Myeloma has robbed Brenda and I of two people whom we adored and admired and we're pleased to honor them both at a fantastic event that will raise much needed funds for myeloma research."

Mr. Scheider has been nominated twice for Academy Awards for "The French Connection" (Best Supporting Actor) and "All That Jazz" (Best Actor). His many films include "Klute," "The Seven Ups," "Marathon Man," "Blue Thunder," "52 Pick-Up," "Sorcerer," "The Russia House," "The Rainmaker" and most famously "Jaws." His television work included three seasons of "SeaQuest DSV" and two award winning HBO projects "Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture" and "RKO 281." Mr. Scheider also received an "Obie" for his role in the Off Broadway production of "Stephen D," and was awarded The Drama League Award for Best Performance in the Broadway production of Harold Pinter's "Betrayal."

For more information or to request media credentials to cover this event please contact Stephanie Samson or Alicia Mohr from PMK/HBH at (310) 289-6200.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Jackson Browne to Bring His 'Time The Conqueror World Tour' Home to North America for a Summer 2009 Leg Running July 7 - August 31

2009-03-02T12:00:00.000+02:00

LOS ANGELES, March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Singer-songwriter Jackson Browne will bring his Time The Conqueror World Tour to North America for a two-month summer 2009 leg kicking off July 7-8 with shows in Orillia, Ontario. Canadian dates also include concerts in Ottawa and Montreal before the tour begins a coast-to-coast sweep of the United States on July 13 in Danbury, CT. The just-announced itinerary concludes on August 31 in St. Paul, MN, with U.S. highlights throughout the summer including shows at: the Prospect Park Bandshell in Brooklyn, NY (7/21); Chastain Park Amphitheatre in Atlanta, GA (8/6); the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, CA (8/12); and Deer Valley Resort in Park City, UT (8/25). The Gilford, NH (7/16) and Boston, MA (7/19) shows will include an opening set from Shawn Colvin and Canadaigua, NY (8/1) and Camden, NJ (8/2) -- will feature Steve Earle as a solo opener

With shows billed as "An Evening with Jackson Browne," the summer 2009 dates -- following legs in Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. and Europe -- bring the world tour full circle. It launched with an initial U.S. leg last September coinciding with the Browne's 60th birthday and the release of Time The Conqueror, his first studio set since 2002. The new album is out on the artist's own independent label Inside Recordings, and was produced by Browne and Paul Dieter. Upon its release, MOJO wrote, "Browne delivers elegantly considered weight and truth...His grand yet unpretentious imagery shows why he's admired by such diverse peers as Springsteen and Randy Newman...Throughout, his band plays with subdued beauty and Browne sings with resonant grace."

The Time The Conqueror World Tour -- which spotlights material from the new album as well as career-spanning favorites -- had its opening night with a Washington, DC concert in fall '08, when the Washington Post said, "The new material demonstrated that Browne, just a few weeks shy of 60, still has a terrific touch...Browne thanked the audience for having indulged him. He needn't have: The pleasure was ours." Of another '08 show, the Boston Herald wrote, "Hail the 'Conqueror,' Jackson Browne triumphs at Orpheum."

Accompanying Browne on the road is his band of fifteen years: Kevin McCormick (bass), Mark Goldenberg (guitars), Mauricio Lewak (drums) and Jeff Young (keyboards, backing vocals). They have been with Browne since 1993's I'm Alive, playing on Looking East ('96) and The Naked Ride Home ('02) as well. For Time The Conqueror, they're joined by new members Chavonne Morris and Alethea Mills, vocalists Browne met in 2001 when they were attending Washington Preparatory High School in South Los Angeles and singing with Fred Martin & The Levite Camp.

Prior to Time The Conqueror, Browne's most recent releases were two live albums recorded on solo acoustic tours in the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. The GRAMMY(R)-nominated Jackson Browne - Solo Acoustic, Vol. 1 ('05) and Vol. 2 ('08) -- both available on Inside -- feature Browne alternately on piano and guitar, performing songs from his entire career, ranging from hits to rarities. In his four-star review of Vol. 2 for Rolling Stone, Anthony DeCurtis wrote, "This is Browne at his best, engaging his audience, his own experiences and the world around him, all in songs that will not lose their resonance any time soon."

Since his acclaimed 1972 self-titled debut album, Jackson Browne has defined a genre of songwriting and performing that is charged with honesty, emotion and personal politics. Two of his albums, Late For the Sky and The Pretender, are on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time." He's been recognized with inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2004) and the Songwriter's Hall of Fame (2007), with recent humanitarian honors including the John Steinbeck Award and the Chapin-World Hunger Year Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award. In January of this year, Browne was part of the celebrations surrounding the inauguration of President Barack Obama, performing at the Health for All Blue Diamond Ball at the Smithsonian Institution's Natural History Museum.

For tour dates and more information, log on to www.jacksonbrowne.com

North American Tour Dates 2009

    - July 7-8    Orilia, ON               Casino Rama
    - July 10     Ottawa, ON               LeBreton Flats
    - July 11     Montreal, QC             Salle Wilfrid Pelletier--Place
                                            des Arts
    - July 13     Danbury, CT              Ives Concert Park
    - July 14     Shelburne, VT            The Green at Shelburne Museum
    - July 16     Gilford, NH              Meadowbrook
    - July 17     Mashantucket, CT         MGM Grand Theater at Foxwood
    - July 19     Boston, MA               Bank of America Pavilion
    - July 21     Brooklyn, NY             Prospect Park Bandshell
    - July 22     Vienna, VA               Filene Center at Wolf Trap
    - July 24     Saratoga Springs, NY     Saratoga Performing Arts Center
    - July 25     Atlantic City, NJ        Borgata
    - July 27     Rochester Hills, MI      Meadow Brook
    - July 28     Cincinnati, OH           PNC Pavillion at Riverbend Music
                                            Center
    - July 30     Highland Park, IL        Ravinia Festival
    - August 1    Canandaigua, NY          Constellation Performing Arts
                                            Center
    - August 2    Camden, NJ               Susquehanna Bank Center
    - August 4    Charlottesville, VA      Charlottesville Pavilion
    - August 6    Atlanta, GA              Chastain Park Amphitheatre
    - August 7    St. Augustine, FL        St. Augustine Amphitheatre
    - August 12   Los Angeles, CA          Greek Theatre
    - August 13   San Diego, CA            Humphrey's
    - August 15   Las Vegas, NV            Red Rock Resort, Spa & Casino
    - August 16   Santa Barbara, CA        Santa Barbara Bowl
    - August 18   Avila Beach, CA          Avila Beach Resort
    - August 19   Oakland, CA              Paramount Theatre
    - August 21   Woodlinville, WA         Chateau Ste. Michelle
    - August 22   Goldendale, WA           Maryhill Winery
    - August 25   Park City, UT            Deer Valley Resort
    - August 26   Morrison, CO             Red Rocks Amphitheatre
    - August 28   Oklahoma City, OK        Zoo Amphitheatre
    - August 29   Omaha, NE                Orpheum Theatre
    - August 31   St. Paul, MN             Minnesota State Fair

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Denon Classics' Andre Rieu #1 Top Selling Classical Artist & #8 Pollstar Touring Act in 2008!

2009-03-02T11:00:00.000+02:00

Andre Rieu's New 'Greatest Hits' on CD and DVD set for release March 3rd

Longest North American Tour Ever Beginning in April '09

SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Denon Classics, once again the U.S.'s #1 independent Classical label is celebrating the announcement of Andre Rieu as the #1 selling Classical artist for 2008 according to Billboard Magazine as well as attaining the #8 spot in Pollstar Magazine among all the touring acts of 2008 in the U.S.! Rieu landed atop this year's sales tally as the nation's top selling classical artist according to Billboard Magazine. He returns to the United States in the Spring of 2009 for an unprecedented "Greatest Hits Tour" celebrating his 30th anniversary as a performer with more consecutive U.S. dates than he has ever scheduled before, spanning April, May and June. To commemorate his artistic achievement and to honor his upcoming 30-year milestone, Denon Classics will release "Andre Rieu's Greatest Hits" as chosen by his fans and collected from all of his Denon releases on CD, DVD and a deluxe CD/DVD set on March 3rd.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081217/LA52981LOGO)

Andre Rieu has already earned the distinction as the #1 pledge drive artist for PBS and now the #1 Classical artist according to Billboard Magazine. Firmly established as one of the top performing artists according to Pollstar Magazine who ranked him as the #8 top touring draw of the year on ticket sales approaching $77 million (placing him in good company amongst the likes of Madonna, The Eagles, Bon Jovi and Coldplay), Rieu has won legions of fans worldwide and his success continues to grow with each new release and tour. Combining unparalleled showmanship with shrewd marketing, Rieu has built a world class musical career with sold out tours and increasing sales of his specials and recordings despite the ever changing dynamics of the industry.

Born in 1949 in the Dutch Province of Maasticht, Andre Rieu began his classical music training at the age of five encouraged by his father, a professional conductor. Focusing on the violin throughout, Rieu immersed himself in his musical studies attending the conservatoire in Liege, Maastrich and finally in Brussels where he concluded his musical training with distinction (Premier Prix). It did not take long before Rieu founded his first ensemble, the Maastrich Salon Orchestra performing throughout the world even as he is engaged as a violinist in the Limburg Symphony Orchestra. In 1987, Rieu recruited the 12 member Johann Strauss Orchestra. It was from this foundation that he soon catapulted to success performing concerts throughout Europe in support of his first album, "From Holland With Love," which included the piece "Second Waltz" -- a beautiful version of a Dmitri Shostakovich composition that captured the imagination of ever-larger audiences triggering a wave of affection for the waltz and earning him the fond nickname, Waltz King! With each subsequent project, Rieu gradually built a juggernaut musical enterprise of world tours (with an expanded 50 member orchestra), recording studios and TV specials -- all of which were produced, designed and marketed in house. It's an incredible endeavor matched only by the likes of similar enterprises such as Cirque du Soleil.

2009 is certain to be another banner year for Rieu with the 30-city arena tour, select repeat airings of his specials on PBS beginning in March and the release of his hand-picked greatest hits collections. Denon Classics' "Greatest Hits" collections include songs and performances taken from all of his hit releases on the label such as "Live in Dublin," "At Radio City," "Live in Vienna," "At The Movies," "Wonderland," "New Years in Vienna," "Tuscany," "Homecoming" and more. "Andre Rieu's Greatest Hits" will be released as a 15-track CD, a 20-performance DVD and a two-disc limited edition CD with bonus tracks which will also include a bonus DVD with five exclusive performances.

A platinum selling artist around the world, Rieu's worldwide appeal is as strong as ever having recently earned his 4th Platinum certification from Canada's CRIA for the DVD "CHRISTMAS AROUND THE WORLD" bringing his total awards to 15 to date (including 11 Gold Sales certifications).

Rieu recently completed a record-breaking tour of Australia in 2008 selling out his eleven city World Stadium Tour (which included traveling with a full sized replica of Vienna's spectacular Schonnbrun Palace) which only added to his already multi-platinum sales. Rieu's specials dominated the music DVD charts in Australia capturing the top 6 spots on the charts (with 21 of his specials landing in the top 50 overall!).

Confirmed U.S. dates for Rieu's "Greatest Hits" tour are:

    4/23  New York             Hammerstein Ballroom
    4/24  Bridgeport           Arena @ Harbor Yard
    4/25  Nassau, NY           Nassau Coliseum
    4/26  New Jersey           Prudential Center
    4/27  Reading              Sovereign Center
    4/28  Philadelphia         Susquehanna Bank Center
    5/14  Baltimore            1st Mariner Arena
    5/15  Wilkes-Barre         Wachovia Centre
    5/16  Cleveland            Quicken Loans
    5/17  Pittsburgh           Mellon Arena
    5/18  Columbus             Nationwide Arena
    5/19  Detroit              Fox Theatre
    5/21  Chicago              Allstate Arena
    5/22  Milwaukee            Milwaukee Theatre
    5/23  Minneapolis          Target Center
    5/24  Des Moines           Iowa Events Center
    5/25  Omaha                Qwest Center
    5/26  Denver               Pepsi Center
    6/12  Vancouver            GM Place
    6/13  Seattle/Tacoma       Tacoma Dome
    6/14  Portland             Rose Garden Arena
    6/16  Oakland              Oracle Arena
    6/17  Sacramento           Arco Arena
    6/18  Fresno               SaveMart Arena
    6/19  Los Angeles          Nokia Theatre
    6/20  San Bernardino       Citizens Business Bank Arena
    6/22  San Diego            Cricket Wireless Pavilion
    6/23  Phoenix              Jobing.com Arena
    6/24  Las Vegas            Orleans Arena
    6/25  Salt Lake City       Usana Amphitheatre

The Savoy Label Group (SLG) features not only the historic Savoy Jazz label but also the Denon, Denon Classics, SLG and 429 Records labels. Savoy Label Group is the North American unit of Columbia Music Entertainment (formerly Nippon Columbia), the oldest music company in Japan. SLG is lead by Steve Vining and CME is headed by Chairman Strauss Zelnick, founder of Zelnick Media which owns interests in and manages an array of media companies.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Experience the Release of U2's No Line on The Horizon at Unique Pop Up Art Installation in Los Angeles

2009-03-02T10:00:00.000+02:00

SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Experience U2's new album, No Line on The Horizon (Interscope Records), in a most unusual way -- via a two-day-only pop up art installation. No Line on The Horizon will debut at the art installation on Monday, March 2nd (the day before the album's official release), from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Space 15 Twenty gallery, 1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles. The installation will also be open to the public Tuesday, March 3rd, from noon to 9 p.m.

Featuring a multimedia celebration of the album and its art, centered on Anton Corbijn's photography of the band and a screening of "Linear," his film based on characters Bono created for No Line on The Horizon and including songs from the album, the gallery space will reflect the cool, clean, modern aesthetic of the album art.

No Line on The Horizon, which has been advanced by the single "Get on Your Boots," will be played at the gallery and be available for purchase. Accompanying the first 500 album purchases will be a free, limited edition U2/Anton Corbijn lithograph. In addition, other exclusive, collaborative merchandise, such as silk-screened Edun shirts, will be offered.

No Line on The Horizon, U2's 12th studio album and first since 2004's monumental How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, is presented in five formats: jewel case CD; double-disc vinyl; digipak CD with an expanded booklet, a poster, and access to a downloadable "Linear"; magazine CD, with 60-page magazine and "Linear" access; and box set, with digipak CD, "Linear" DVD, a 64-page hardcover book, and a poster. Rolling Stone has already awarded No Line on The Horizon five stars, calling the album U2's "best, in its textural exploration and tenacious melodic grip, since 1991's Achtung Baby."

The pop up art installation, which will include an interactive photo area, is sponsored by Interscope Records, Amoeba Music, Gallery Space, Space 15 Twenty and Filter Magazine.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Stand Among Friends Raising Money and Awareness Through 'Food, Friends & Fine Wine' Benefit

2009-02-27T23:29:00.000+02:00

BOCA RATON, Fla., Feb. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Stand Among Friends, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting opportunities for people with disabilities, will hold its ninth annual benefit, entitled "Food, Friends & Fine Wine," tonight at the Woodfield Country Club in Boca Raton. Pompano Beach-based Cash4Gold.com, America's #1 buyer of precious metals direct from the general public, has underwritten the event as its title sponsor.

The "Food, Friends & Fine Wine" event will feature 400 wines from the 2nd Annual American Fine Wine Competition and a gourmet dinner prepared by the renowned Chef Bart Messing. There will be both a live and silent auction, and performance artist Bran Olsen will entertain guests with his "Art in Action." More than 100 guests are expected to attend.

"We are so grateful for the tremendous generosity of Cash4Gold and our other sponsors," said Stand Among Friends President and Founder Shawn Friedkin. "Without them, this event, and our ongoing effort in aiding people with disabilities, would simply not be possible."

"I've known and admired Shawn and his work for years," said Cash4Gold President Howard Mofshin. "Cash4Gold CEO Jeff Aronson and I are proud to support Shawn and his team's great work at Stand Among Friends."

Friedkin has experienced first-hand how frustrating it can be for people with disabilities to access the information and resources available to them. A few years after becoming paralyzed in an accident in 1992, Friedkin created Stand Among Friends, which has created outreach programs, an intensive practical research program, an educational television show, and informational programs for the disabled. Since its inception, the organization has raised significant dollars in support of these programs, which include topics such as Employment for People with Disabilities, Disability Sensitivity, and Injury Prevention for Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury.

About Stand Among Friends

Stand Among Friends, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, was formed to promote opportunities for people with disabilities. Stand Among Friends was formed in 1997 by Shawn Friedkin who, after being paralyzed in a car accident, was frustrated with the lack of information and resources available to people with disabilities. Stand Among Friends has collaborated with Florida Atlantic University to create the Center for the Study of Neurological Disabilities on FAU's campus and a program that promotes employment for graduating disabled students. The organization regularly airs an educational television show entitled "Life Without Limits," and has completed exercise studies for people with Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, and spinal cord injuries. Please visit standamongfriends.com or call (561) 297-4400 for more information or to make a donation.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Cracker Barrel to Offer Exclusive Dolly Parton CD

2009-02-27T16:12:00.000+02:00

LEBANON, Tenn., Feb. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- She's an international star, a prolific songwriter, and a beloved philanthropist, but Dolly Parton is also just an old-fashioned Tennessee girl, and that's why Cracker Barrel Old Country Store(R) is pleased and proud to be the exclusive source of a new Collectors' Edition of Dolly's latest CD, Backwoods Barbie. The album will feature three new tracks that have never been heard before and are available only on this disc, and the CD will also feature brand new photos and artwork. This Collectors' Edition goes on sale exclusively at all Cracker Barrel locations on March 23rd.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090227/LA76452LOGO)

The three new songs on this disc, "Rose of My Heart," "Hallelujah Holiday," and "Berry Pie" were selected by Dolly herself from her extensive catalog. "I wanted the songs I chose specifically for this release to reflect how I feel about Cracker Barrel and all the good things you can find there," said Dolly. "I think it's important for there to be an authentic connection to the heritage that Cracker Barrel and I share."

Dolly Parton is considered to be the most successful female country music artist, having released 42 top-10 country albums and earned 25 number-one singles. She has won seven Grammy(R) awards and received 42 Grammy(R) nominations. She has also received seven awards from the Academy of Country Music and 10 Country Music Association awards, and is one of only five female artists to win the CMA's highest honor, "Entertainer of the Year." Dolly is also an acclaimed movie and television actress, and her literacy program, Dolly Parton's "Imagination Library," is now in 566 counties in 36 states. It started in her home town in Sevier County, Tennessee, just up the road from Cracker Barrel's home town of Lebanon, Tennessee. "The woman is one of our national treasures, so let's cherish her for as long as we've got her...this is one Barbie who has always been for real," wrote Newsweek in 2008.

"Dolly Parton is an extremely popular and appealing entertainer, and our guests are in for some wonderful sounds when they listen to this Collectors' Edition of Dolly's latest CD, Backwoods Barbie," says Peter Keiser, Vice President of Marketing for Cracker Barrel. "We are especially pleased that Dolly herself selected the three new exclusive songs for this album and honored that these songs reflect her feelings about Cracker Barrel."

The Collectors' Edition of Backwoods Barbie with 15 tracks, including three new songs, goes on sale exclusively at all Cracker Barrel locations on March 23rd, at a retail price of 11.99.

The Collectors' Edition of Backwoods Barbie is the latest project in an impressive collection of exclusive music available only at Cracker Barrel. It follows a number of exclusive releases in 2008 - November's release of Bill Gaither's Homecoming Hymns, the August release of Kenny Rogers: 50 Years, the July release of Ricky Skaggs' The High Notes and the April release of Aaron Tippin's He Believed. Over the last few years, Cracker Barrel has released exclusive CDs featuring Alison Krauss & Union Station, Josh Turner, Amy Grant, Sara Evans, and Charlie Daniels.

About Cracker Barrel

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store restaurants provide a friendly home-away-from-home in their old country stores and restaurants. Guests are cared for like family while relaxing and enjoying real home-style food and shopping that's surprisingly unique, genuinely fun and reminiscent of America's country heritage...all at a fair price. The restaurant serves up delicious, home-style country food such as meatloaf and homemade chicken n' dumplins as well as its signature biscuits using an old family recipe. The authentic old country retail store is fun to shop and offers unique gifts and self-indulgences.

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBRL) was established in 1969 in Lebanon, Tenn. and operates 588 company-owned locations in 41 states. Every Cracker Barrel unit is open seven days a week with hours Sunday through Thursday, 6 a.m. - 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 6 a.m. - 11 p.m. For more information, visit: crackerbarrel.com.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

CBEX to Auction FOU Used at Beijing Olympic Games

2009-02-27T03:00:00.000+02:00

BEIJING, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- CBEX (China Beijing Equity Exchange) announced today the auctioning of the fous (an ancient Chinese percussion instrument derived from clay potteries and bronze ware) that were used in the grand performance of fou at the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympics Games.

According to CBEX, the first auction will be held on March 8, in which 1,000 pieces of fou will be auctioned in package.

According to Liang Yu, spokesperson and executive vice president of CBEX, following CBEX's official disposal of Olympic assets since August 2008, the fous used at the Olympic Games have been the focus of attention. Over the past six months, CBEX has received thousands of telephone inquiries, and a lot of people have expressed their intention to bid for the fous.

Before the auction, Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) has, in the form of power of attorney, guaranteed to CBEX that the objects to be auctioned are the exact fous used at the opening ceremony, each having a unique special code used in the "Fou Array" at the opening ceremony. BOCOG said that from the perspective of protection of intellectual property rights, the fou will no longer be made or mimicked in the future, and the molds used for manufacturing the fous have been destroyed.

It is noteworthy that different from the previous disposal of Olympic-related assets, besides onsite package auction of some pieces of fou, the rest will be auctioned through online bidding. According to Liang Yu, given a big number of intended buyers, CBEX will use Jinmajia online bidding system, tailored for the disposal of Olympics-related assets, with a view to ensuring wider, more convenient, and more effective public participation. Intended buyers around China may, after registration and payment of deposit, log onto the website of Jinmajia for online bidding. Online bidding is free from the restrictions of regional and number of intended buyers of traditional auctions, which demonstrates the Olympic spirit of full participation and fair competition.

On Jun 25, 2008, BOCOG and CBEX signed Contract for the Disposition of Asserts of BOCOG, and published the information of the first batch of assets on the website of CBEX, marking the entry into formal disposal procedures of the assets of BOCOG. Since the first Olympic asset auction on Aug 5, 2008, CBEX has conducted 9 auctions so far, which included furniture and household appliances at Media Village, air conditioning units, computers, servers, and BOCOG official cars, with the disposal covering more than 500,000 pieces of Olympic assets with total price of nearly 30 million yuan, with a value-added rate of more than 30%.

    For more information, please contact:

     Coral Shuai
     China Beijing Equity Exchange
     Tel:   +86-10-6629-5692
     Fax:   +86-6629-5588 x5692
     Email: xsshuai@cbex.com.cn

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Video: Model Bar Refaeli and the Madden Brothers Fuel the Future of Fashion at Walk the Walk

2009-02-26T23:07:00.000+02:00

Hurley announces 'Microphone for Youth' global t-shirt design competition at the dynamic fashion runway showdown

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Sports Illustrated 2009 Swimsuit Issue cover model Bar Refaeli joined Benji and Joel Madden of Good Charlotte, Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas, Robert Buckley of Lipstick Jungle and Frankie Delgado of MTV's Bromance and The Hills at House of Blues Anaheim last night to judge Walk the Walk, a fashion design competition developed by Hurley to inspire creativity and confidence among future generations.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/hurley/37251/

Refaeli and the star-studded panel of judges that also included Hurley founder Bob Hurley and Rosemary Brantley of OTIS College of Art and Design watched a parade of Hurley collections that had been redesigned by area high school students. The theatrical shows, which at times looked more like dance-offs, were modeled, produced and promoted entirely by student teams.

Of four competing schools, Fountain Valley High School took home top honors and a $5000 donation to its art & music program. Gahr High School won a special design challenge and could see their two original head-to-toe designs featured in a future Hurley collection.

The evening also served to launch the Hurley Microphone for Youth t-shirt design competition, a platform for young people to express themselves creatively and win exciting prizes. Now through March 30, aspiring designers and artists can upload their artwork to www.Hurley.com and the public can visit the site to vote for their favorite. The designer of the winning t-shirt will be announced on April 1, 2009 on Hurley.com and will receive $5,000 and see their design sold through Hurley's online store.

Refaeli, a face, voice and spirit of Hurley, will choose her favorite design and that winner will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Los Angeles in June to meet Bar and Hurley team athletes, and attend Hurley Walk the Walk Grand Championship.

About Hurley: Founded in 1999, Hurley is a leading youth brand rooted in surf, skate, art, music and beach cultures. Driven by creativity and freedom of expression, Hurley develops world-class products for guys, girls and kids, including sportswear, footwear, eyewear, accessories, swimwear and wetsuits. A wholly owned, independently run subsidiary of Nike, Inc., Hurley's corporate headquarters are located in Costa Mesa, CA, with international offices in Tokyo, Sydney, Barcelona and Bali.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Lost Photos of the Young Beatles and Rolling Stones (1964-66) to Debut at New NYC Gallery

2009-02-26T11:00:00.000+02:00

NEW YORK, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Forty-five years after The Beatles and The Rolling Stones first came to America, an extraordinary collection of "lost" photos of the young bands has just been discovered. The 3500 photographs -- extraordinary, intimate and unpublished -- were taken by Bob Bonis, their U.S. Tour manager, during their first U.S. tours (1964, 1965 and 1966) and document perhaps the most critical point in their careers: coming to America.

The Bob Bonis Archive of photographs is now exclusively represented by the Not Fade Away Gallery, which has announced its first show, "The British Are Coming: The Beatles and The Rolling Stones 1964-66," to inaugurate the Gallery, March 4-April 14. The Not Fade Away Gallery is located in New York City at 901 Broadway, 2nd floor, at the corner of 20th Street.

The Gallery's first exhibition will feature 50+ images of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones that establish the unparalleled access and close friendship Bob Bonis (1932-1991) had with the young men who became the most significant rock musicians of the 20th century. Revealing a private, behind-the-scenes glimpse into the early days of rock 'n' roll, the photos show the boys in candid, intimate shots on stage, in rehearsal, in concert, backstage (tuning up, waiting to go on stage and clowning around), dressing and relaxing, on vacations or en route to shows or cities, getting haircuts, bowling, recording in the studio, at press events and just hanging around being themselves.

"The discovery of so many never-before-seen photographs of the two most influential bands in rock history, captured at the most pivotal time in their careers, is a once-in-a-lifetime event," says Larry Marion, founder/director of Not Fade Away Gallery (http://www.NotFadeAwayGallery.com) and an acknowledged expert in the field of music memorabilia. "In more than twenty years as a rock 'archeologist,' I've never come upon a discovery of this magnitude -- thousands of extraordinary unpublished photographs of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones -- young, innocent and unguarded. This is likely the largest single trove of such important unknown photographs ever uncovered."

For over forty years, the negatives and slides were safely stored away unbeknownst to anyone but Bob Bonis' family. Bob's son Alex recently unearthed them and brought them -- along with his father's collection of memorabilia from his Tour Manager days -- to Larry Marion for appraisal. In fact, the photos were at the bottom of a duffel bag of memorabilia -- brought out almost as an afterthought. Now, Alex Bonis is one of the partners in Not Fade Away Gallery, which will begin to make these images available for exhibition and for sale as museum-quality fine art photographic prints (both black-and-white and color), in extremely limited editions, printed on era-appropriate paper, utilizing traditional photographic printing methods.

A private man, Bob Bonis never sought publicity and wasn't interested in pursuing attention based on his past exploits. He started out as a New York City talent agent in the late 1950s and through a series of unremarkable circumstances, he came to hold an extraordinary position at a pivotal time in rock history -- U.S. Tour Manager for both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones during their first U.S. tours in 1964 and continuing through 1966. Since his personal passion was photography, he took his camera along wherever he could and took photos of everyone he worked with -- capturing incredibly intimate photos that the world is about to see for the very first time.

In addition to more than 3,500 photos he took of The Beatles and The Stones, Bob photographed Simon & Garfunkel, The Hollies, Cream, The Lovin' Spoonful, Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra and many of the jazz greats he worked with. Not Fade Away Gallery has upcoming shows of these photographs scheduled for the coming year.

The extraordinary private moments Bob Bonis captured are now available for all fans and collectors of music and fine art photography to see and experience at Not Fade Away Gallery, honoring the life and work of Bob Bonis.

     "The British Are Coming: The Beatles and The Rolling Stones 1964-66"
     Not Fade Away Gallery, 901 Broadway (at 20th Street)
     March 4th-April 14th
     All photographs by Bob Bonis, copyright 2009 by 2269 Productions, Inc.

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Yanni Takes 'Voices' on the Road

2009-02-26T04:00:00.000+02:00

Multi-platinum performer's first tour in four years to feature four singing proteges and spectacular imagery

BURBANK, Calif., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ --

B-ROLL/PERFORMANCE FOOTAGE FEED AVAILABLE THURSDAY FEBRUARY 26: 10:30AM - 10:45AM EASTERN & 1:00PM TO 1:15PM EASTERN
COORDINATES FOR BOTH FEEDS GALAXY 3C TRANSPONDER 21 (C-BAND) analog / DLF:4120 H PLAYOUT FACILITY: OTSP 646.292.3244

Multi-platinum recording artist Yanni is gearing up for his first U.S. tour in 4 years. Long known for his engaging and spectacular live performances, Yanni brings a new and exciting dimension to the show with the addition of four young, extraordinary vocal talents - Nathan Pacheco, Chloe, Ender Thomas and Leslie Mills - discovered and mentored by Yanni and all featured on his upcoming new CD releases YANNI VOICES and YANNI VOCES, the latter featuring Yanni and his four "voices" along with Latin music superstars. Both albums are due out March 24, 2009 on Disney Pearl Series.

The YANNI VOICES tour will feature Yanni's most popular fan favorites accompanied by an explosion of dynamic visuals, dazzling choreography and show-stopping vocal performances by the four "Voices" who bring to life Yanni's most masterful musical compositions, new and old. The tour will also feature Yanni's acclaimed orchestra comprised of musicians from around the globe.

Throughout his extraordinary career, Yanni has staged multiple world tours performing in such world-renown locales including the Acropolis, the Taj Mahal and Beijing's Forbidden City thrilling millions of fans worldwide. His U.S. tours in 1995, 1998 and 2003-2005 each finished in the Top 10 concert tours of the year, as ranked by Performance Magazine and Pollstar.

The dates for the first leg of the tour are below.


    DATE              CITY                    VENUE
    4/10/09           Ft. Lauderdale          Bank Atlantic Center
    4/11/09           Tampa                   St. Pete Times Forum
    4/13/09           Gainesville             O'Connell Center
    4/14/09           Orlando                 Amway Arena
    4/15/09           Estero                  Germain Arena
    4/17/09           Jacksonville            Jacksonville Memorial Arena
    4/18/09           Duluth (Atlanta)        Gwinnett Center
    4/19/09           N. Charleston           N. Charleston Arena
    4/21/09           Greenville              Bi-Lo Center
    4/22/09           Nashville               Sommet Center Arena
    4/24/09           Raleigh                 RBC Center
    4/25/09           Baltimore               1st Mariner Arena
    4/26/09           Reading                 Sovereign Center
    4/28/09           Wilkes-Barre            Wachovia Arena
    4/30/09           New York                Radio City Music Hall
    5/1/09            New York                Radio City Music Hall
    5/3/09            Boston                  Agganis Arena
    5/5/09            Bridgeport              Arena at Harbor Yard
    5/6/09            Manchester              Verizon Wireless Arena
    5/8/09            Quebec City             Colisee Pepsi Arena
    5/9/09            Montreal                Bell Centre
    5/10/09           Toronto                 Air Canada Centre
    5/12/09           Pittsburgh              Mellon Arena
    5/13/09           Rochester               Blue Cross Arena
    5/15/09           Albany                  Times Union Forum
    5/16/09           Atlantic City           Boardwalk Hall
    5/17/09           Mashantucket            MGM Coliseum at Foxwoods
    5/28/09           Minneapolis             Target Center
    5/29/09           Chicago                 Sears Center Arena
    5/30/09           St. Louis               Scottrade Center
    5/31/09           Green Bay               Resch Center
    6/2/09            Grand Rapids            Van Andel Arena
    6/3/09            Cleveland               Quicken Loans Arena
    6/5/09            Detroit                 Palace at Auburn Hills
    6/6/09            Cincinnati              US Bank Arena
    6/7/09            Columbus                Nationwide Arena
    6/9/09            Kansas City             Sprint Center
    6/10/09           Witchita                Hartman Arena
    6/13/09           Houston                 Toyota Center
    6/14/09           Dallas                  Nokia Theatre at Grand Prairie
    6/16/09           Denver                  Pepsi Center
    6/17/09           Salt Lake City          Energysolutions Arena
    6/26/09           Sacramento              ARCO Arena
    6/27/09           Oakland                 Oracle Arena
    6/28/09           Anaheim                 Honda Center
    6/30/09           Los Angeles             Nokia Theatre

www.yanni.com

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

American Idol's Megan Joy Creates Program So Fan-Mail Can Fund Single Parents

2009-02-26T02:41:00.000+02:00

American Idol Contestant Teams up with SendOutCards.com to Raise Money for Struggling Single Parents

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Megan Joy, the 23 year-old Utah native turned American Idol sensation, is already proving herself to be an on-stage favorite this season. But for many, it's her recent off-stage performance that is truly winning over America's heart. Known initially for her powerful, Amy Winehouse-like jazzy vocals, it was when Megan's strong single-mother status began to gain media attention that she found a creative way to help others in her situation - she turned her incoming fan-mail into non-profit, cash donations for struggling single-parents like herself.

Megan recently began receiving hundreds of support cards from members of Utah based SendOutCards.com, a company she and her family have been closely involved with for years. Touched by such an overwhelming response, Megan shortly found herself on the phone with the group helping to spearhead a fundraising effort for single parent programs like the national non-profit, Parents Without Partners Inc.

Taking the company mantra literally, "Changing Lives One Card at a Time," SendOutCards has rallied their network of more than 60,000 card senders to participate in the fundraising activity. Set up under the non-profit 'SOC Gives' division of the company, senders are now able to donate on a one-time or weekly basis for as long as they choose.

"When we started working with Megan, you could see this was an issue she felt strongly about," says Kody Bateman, founder and CEO of SendOutCards. "She has so much on her plate right now, but her dedication to do what she can while still in the contest continues to inspire us. We were blown away last week when she told us she was still researching non-profits to find where the money might be used best."

Megan will find out after tonight's performance whether she'll be moving on to the next round, but says despite the outcome she plans to continue her outreach. Through the help of Megan, the kindness of strangers, and support from the more than 60,000 people across the SendOutCards network, the group hopes to make a positive impact on as many people they can.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Manilow Begins Fifth Year Headlining at Las Vegas Hilton

2009-02-26T00:53:00.000+02:00

RETURNS FEBRUARY 26-28 TO LEGENDARY HILTON THEATER

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Barry Manilow, who has made the Las Vegas Hilton his home since February 23, 2005, returns to kick off his fifth year February 26-28 in the legendary Hilton Theater.

"Barry Manilow's talent and catalog of hits make him an exceptional entertainer who has no peer," said Rudy Prieto, CEO and general manager of the Las Vegas Hilton. "While many performers rest on their laurels, Manilow continues to show that his creativity never stops."

"Boy, time sure flies when you're having fun!" says Manilow. "The Las Vegas Hilton is a wonderful place to play. Now I know why Elvis never wanted to leave."

Manilow began his long-term engagement with the Hilton in 2005 with "Manilow: Music and Passion." His new show "ULTIMATE MANILOW: The Hits" debuted in August of 2008. "ULTIMATE MANILOW: The Hits" is filled to the brim with the chart-topping music that is the soundtrack to all our lives. With the vast catalog Manilow can draw upon, his show is different every night.

An added bonus to Manilow's performances is the "Ultimate Bar," a working bar located inside the Hilton Theater that features many of Manilow's gold and platinum records from his personal collection and great career photos. The Manilow Store, located inside the Hilton, features the infamous Copacabana jacket and dozens of Manilow products.

Manilow began his long-term engagement with the Las Vegas Hilton after more than three decades of performing and a career that has produced more than 50 albums.

Manilow performs at the Las Vegas Hilton through 2009, generally on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m. in the legendary Hilton Theater. Stage seat tickets are $225 (plus tax and service charge). The seats are up close and personal with 34 located on each side of the stage and at the same level. Main orchestra tickets are $145-175 (plus tax and service charge); rear orchestra tickets $96-$125 (plus tax and service charge) and balcony $115 (plus tax and service charge). Tickets can be purchased at the Las Vegas Hilton box office, online at www.lvhilton.com, www.vegas.com, www.ticketmaster.com and www.Manilow.com or by calling 702-732-5755 or 1-800-222-5361.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

The Allman Brothers Band and Onstream Media Break New Ground with Live, 15-Day Webcast of Band's 40th Anniversary Concert Series

2009-02-25T14:00:00.000+02:00

Live TV-Like Quality Internet Broadcast Will Bring the Annual Beacon Theatre (NYC) Event to the Band's Global Audience

POMPANO BEACH, Fla., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Onstream Media Corporation (Nasdaq: ONSM), an online service provider of live and on-demand Internet video, today announced it will be web-casting the Allman Brothers Band's 40th anniversary 15-day concert series, live from the Beacon Theatre in New York City beginning on March 9, 2009. Each three-hour concert will be unique and feature surprise, celebrity musicians in tribute to Duane Allman, the band's original leader, who passed away in 1971.

This combined in-person and online historic event marks a significant shift in the world of music as more and more bands choose to offer broader and more targeted audiences the opportunity to enjoy the live music experience from the comfort of their homes. The online web-casting format also enables bands to increase profit margins by eliminating costly music production and distribution channels.

"We wanted a way to share our special anniversary series with all of our fans worldwide, not just the ones who are able to join us in-person at the Beacon Theatre," said Butch Trucks, drummer and original band member for the Allman Brothers Band. "Onstream Media is a long-standing leader in managing and producing complex, live web-casting events. We would have had to work with multiple service providers to find the type of capabilities that Onstream Media solely provides."

Leveraging the world-class Akamai content delivery network, Onstream Media will use its highly scalable and reliable web-casting solution to stream the events live over www.Moogis.com. The band is also using Onstream's pay-per-view commerce capabilities to charge a fee for individuals to view all 15 concerts live. The events will also be archived for subsequent playback and subscribers can replay any of the concerts for 6 months following the live event. At press time, the entire 15 show series at the Beacon Theatre was sold out and the on-line webcast is now the only way for Allman Brothers fans to experience the entire concert series.

"As an Allman Brothers fan myself, I am thrilled we are able to provide our services to support the band during its historic Beacon Theatre run," said Randy Selman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Onstream Media Corporation. "This is a very special concert series for the band and for its fans, and with our help, their live performances will be shared with thousands around the globe in rich TV-like quality over the Web."

"With Onstream Media, this event also demonstrates a new, viable business model for the changing world of music," added Trucks. We hope that both new and old bands alike start following our lead in order to stay connected with their fans and to generate more direct income from their music."

Onstream Media is also helping to promote the Allman Brothers Band web-casting event through a national, integrated marketing and communications campaign, including targeted email promotions, select online promotions and ongoing public relations efforts. For more information about the Allman Brothers March 9-28, 2009 concert series, please visit www.Moogis.com, and to learn more about Onstream Media and its services, please visit www.Onstreammedia.com.

About Onstream Media:

Onstream Media Corporation (Nasdaq: ONSM) is an online service provider of live and on-demand internet video, corporate web communications and content management applications. Onstream Media's pioneering Digital Media Services Platform (DMSP) provides customers with cost effective tools for encoding, managing, indexing, and publishing content via the Internet. The DMSP provides our clients with intelligent delivery and syndication of video advertising, and supports pay-per-view for online video and other rich media assets. The DMSP also provides an efficient workflow for transcoding and publishing user-generated content in combination with social networks and online video classifieds, utilizing Onstream Media's Auction Video(TM) (patent pending) technology. In addition, Onstream Media provides live and on-demand web-casting, webinars, web and audio conferencing services. In fact, almost half of the Fortune 1000 companies and 78% of the Fortune 100 CEOs and CFOs have used Onstream Media's services.

Select Onstream Media customers include: AOL, AAA, AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, Bonnier Corporation, BT Conferencing, Dell, Deutsche Bank, Disney, National Press Club, NHL, MGM, PRNewswire, Rodale, Inc., Shareholder.com and the U.S. Government. Onstream Media's strategic relationships include Akamai, Adobe, eBay, FiveAcross/Cisco and Qwest. For more information, visit Onstream Media at http://www.onstreammedia.com or call 954-917-6655.

Certain statements in this document and elsewhere by Onstream Media are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such information includes, without limitation, the business outlook, assessment of market conditions, anticipated financial and operating results, strategies, future plans, contingencies and contemplated transactions of the company. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause or contribute to actual results of company operations, or the performance or achievements of the company or industry results, to differ materially from those expressed, or implied by the forward-looking statements. In addition to any such risks, uncertainties and other factors discussed elsewhere herein, risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause or contribute to actual results differing materially from those expressed or implied for the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to fluctuations in demand; changes to economic growth in the U.S. economy; government policies and regulations, including, but not limited to those affecting the Internet. Onstream Media undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including those set forth in Onstream Media Corporation's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Onstream Media Relations:      Onstream Investor Relations:
    Chris Faust                    Brett Maas
    FastLane Communications        Hayden Communications
    973-226-4379                   646-536-7331
    cfaust@fast-lane.net           brett@haydenir.com

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Motley Crue Announces Crue Fest 2: The White Trash Circus

2009-02-25T12:00:00.000+02:00

Last Summer's Most Successful Rock Festival Returns; Public Ticket Pre Sale Begins March 2nd

'Crue Fest was the top touring rock festival of the summer in 2008. Motley Crue ruled the road!' - Rolling Stone

NEW YORK, Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Motley Crue, along with some of rock's top touring acts, will hit the road again this summer for Crue Fest 2: The White Trash Circus. The Live Nation produced tour will visit cities across North America beginning July 19th in Camden, NJ through September 5th in Darien Lake, NY. Full tour details, including the line up, will be revealed at a major press conference broadcast from FUSE TV studios in New York on March 16th, before Motley Crue hits the stage at Madison Square Garden that evening.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090225/LA74925LOGO)

Crue Fest 2 pre sale tickets will be available exclusively to Motley Crue fan club members beginning on February 25th. Beginning on March 2nd, pre sale tickets will be available to the public. Fans can go to www.cruefest2.com for all pre sale information.

Last summer's multi-artist inaugural Crue Fest was the most successful touring rock festival of the summer season, Crue Fest was also the number ten tour overall for the summer of 2008, according to Rolling Stone. Featuring Motley Crue, Buckcherry, Papa Roach, Sixx:A.M. and Trapt, the festival played for nearly half a million rock fans to Live Nation amphitheaters and arenas in 40 cities across North America. Crue Fest attracted strategic partners including MTV's Rock Band Game, FUSE Television, JVC Mobile Electronics, Clear Channel Radio, Best Buy and Fender Guitars, which resulted in a nomination for a 2008 Billboard Award for Concert Marketing & Promotion. Strategic marketing and the wide demographic range both Motley Crue and the other acts represent added to the success of the festival.

Says Motley's Tommy Lee, "Last year at Crue Fest, we set out to have more fun than humans are allowed to have. We succeeded beyond that. This year, we are going to top that and I guarantee we will."

As part of the robust integrated marketing and partnerships, the activities surrounding the announcement of this year's line-up and ticket on-sale include launch parties in local venues and in-theater special screenings of a performance documentary on Crue Fest 1, which will also be released on DVD on March 24th. More details on all of these activities are available at www.motley.com.

About Motley Crue

Motley Crue recently returned to the top of the charts with Saints of Los Angeles, their first new studio album with the original line-up -- Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, Tommy Lee and Vince Neil -- in a decade and the ninth studio album in their career. Based on the band's New York Times bestseller The Dirt, the disc debuted at #1 on the Independent Album chart and was the top debut of the week on the Billboard Top 200 albums at #4. "Saints of Los Angeles," which was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at this year's Grammy Awards, was also noted as the #1 Rock Song of the Year in 2008 by iTunes critics.

For more information on Crue Fest 2: The White Trash Circus, please visit: www.cruefest2.com. For more information on Motley Crue, please visit: www.motley.com.

For live footage from Motley Crue's performance at last year's Crue Fest, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnlL5ExbJ0Q.

                  Crue Fest 2: The White Trash Circus Tour Dates
    JULY
    19    Camden, NJ                Susquehanna Bank Center
    21    Cuyahoga Falls, OH        Blossom Music Center
    22    Tinley Park, IL           First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
    24    Minot, ND                 North Dakota State Fair (Motley Crue only)
    27    Auburn, WA                White River Amphitheatre
    28    Portland, OR              The Amphitheater at Clark County
    30    Mountain View, CA         Shoreline Amphitheatre
    31    San Bernardino, CA        San Manuel Amphitheater

    AUGUST
    1     Las Vegas, NV             The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
    3     Salt Lake City, UT        USANA Amphitheatre
    4     Englewood, CO             Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
    5     Albuquerque, NM           Journal Pavilion
    7     Spring, TX                Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
    8     Dallas, TX                Superpages.com Center
    9     Kansas City, MO           Sprint Center
    11    Maryland Heights, MO      Verizon Wireless Amphitheater - St. Louis
    12    Indianapolis, IN          Verizon Wireless Music Center
    14    Cincinnati, OH            Riverbend Music Center
    15    Clarkston, MI             DTE Energy Music Theatre
    16    Pittsburgh, PA            Post Gazette Pavilion
    19    Mansfield, MA             Comcast Center
    21    Virginia Beach, VA        Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach
                                     Amphitheater
    22    Bristow, VA               Nissan Pavilion
    23    Raleigh, NC               Time Warner Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek
    29    Atlanta, GA               Lakewood Amphitheatre
    30    Charlotte, NC             Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

    SEPTEMBER
    1     Saratoga Springs, NY      Saratoga Performing Arts Center
    3     Syracuse, NY              New York State Fair (Motley Crue only)
    4     Scranton, PA              Toyota Pavilion
    5     Darien Lake, NY           Darien Lake Performing Arts Center

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Nokia Australia Announces Comes With Music to Launch on 20th March

2009-02-25T06:57:00.000+02:00

SYDNEY, February 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nokia's (NYSE: NOK) revolutionary digital music offer, Comes With Music, will be commercially available in Australia on 20 March 2009 together with the highly anticipated Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia's first mass market touch screen device.

"While the hot-selling Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has already sold a million devices worldwide*, Australians we will be among the first in the world to get their hands on a Comes With Music-enabled Nokia 5800 XpressMusic when it hits the stores next month," said Emile Baak, General Manager, Nokia Australia and New Zealand.

"We believe that Comes With Music offers great value and will revolutionise the way music lovers can explore, discover and enjoy music. By combining Comes With Music with the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic we are providing a great music great offer on a great device," he said.

The Australian Nokia Music Store has over 4 million tracks from local and international artists. Consumers can either download direct to their 5800 XpressMusic handset or direct to PC and transfer the music across to the device and, unlike most subscription services, anything they download is theirs to keep.

"The fact that you get to keep your downloaded music is what makes Comes With Music unique and great value," Baak said.

Music lovers can stay connected to the music they like, yet no longer worry about the cost of purchasing music by single tracks or album. The freedom and simplicity of the service is unparalleled.

Nokia's other Comes With Music markets to date are the United Kingdom and Singapore.

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic

As a handset, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic offers all the music essentials, including a graphic equalizer, 8GB memory for up to 6000 tracks and support for all main digital music formats, and a 3.5mm jack.

Built-in surround sound stereo speakers offer the industry's most powerful sound.

The touch screen interface features an innovative 'Contacts Bar' which lets consumers highlight four favorite contacts on their home-screen and, through a single touch, track a digital history of recent text messages, emails, phone logs, photos and blog updates.

As people around the world use their phones in different ways, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic offers a variety of input methods including a virtual alphanumeric keypad, a virtual computer-style QWERTY keyboard, a pen stylus -- and for true music enthusiasts, a plectrum will also be included in box.

The 3.2" widescreen display brings photos, video clips and web content to life in vibrant color and true clarity. With a 16:9 aspect ratio and 30 frames-per-second playback and 25 fps recording, the device is ideal for VGA quality video recording and playback.

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic also features a 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and, with a single touch, images or videos can be shared via a favorite online community, such as Share on Ovi, Flickr, or Facebook.

Pricing and Availability

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic will be available on various service provider plans and from leading retailers from 20 March 2009.

The recommended retail price for Nokia 5800 XpressMusic with 12 months subscription to Comes With Music is 979 AUD. The 5800 XpressMusic will also be available with selected service providers with an 18 month Comes With Music subscription at an RRP of 1109 AUD.

Press photos of devices are available at http://www.nokia.com/press

*Nokia announced on 23 January 2009 that it has shipped its millionth Nokia 5800 XpressMusic device.

About Nokia

Nokia is the world leader in mobility, driving the transformation and growth of the converging Internet and communications industries. We make a wide range of mobile devices with services and software that enable people to experience music, navigation, video, television, imaging, games, business mobility and more. Developingand growing our offering of consumer Internet services, as well as our enterprise solutions and software, is a keyarea of focus. We also provide equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.

http://www.nokia.com.au

http://www.nokia.com

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

No Doubt Announces Summer Tour Dates

2009-02-25T03:25:00.000+02:00

TOUR CLUB GUARANTEES ND FANS THE BEST SEATS

Fan club presale begins February 26; National on-sale begins March 7th

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Grammy-winning superstars No Doubt today announced the dates for their much-anticipated summer tour. The tour kicks off May 3 at the Bamboozle Festival in East Rutherford, NJ and runs through August 1 at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine, CA, stopping in 45 cities across the country. As previously announced, the band will be joined on the road by special guests Paramore, (and The Sounds, Janelle Monae and Bedouin Soundclash on select dates). No Doubt tickets go on-sale to the public beginning March 7th, visit www.nodoubt.com and www.livenation.com for ticket on-sale information.

To guarantee No Doubt fans get the best seats in the house, the No Doubt

Tour Club has been created. Fans will have special access to presale tickets beginning February 26 at 4pm (local time) through March 1st at 4pm (local time). Fans can now validate their email address to be eligible to join, visit nodoubttourclub.musictoday.com for full details. Tour club ticket quantities are limited.

A unique No Doubt widget launches on February 25th with new exclusive video content direct from the band featured every day from February 28th through March 6th as part of Seven Days of No Doubt. The widget is accessible at www.nodoubt.com and will be activated on February 25th with a special contest running through March 17th during which time fans can join the contest to share the widget with as many friends as possible. Fans who share the widget the most will win prizes including a coveted chance to meet the band, a luxurious limousine ride to the show or rare and collectible No Doubt items. The widget will remain active with new content throughout the tour with additional contest opportunities to be announced.

The tour will also feature $10 and $25 tickets for shows at select amphitheaters throughout the tour.

Tickets for the Bamboozle Festival on May 3rd are currently on sale.

No Doubt 2009 Summer Tour:

    5/03/2009   East Rutherford, NJ  Meadowlands Sports Complex*
                                      (Bamboozle Festival)
    5/16/2009   Las Vegas, NV        Mandalay Bay Events Center
                                      (Tiger Jam XII)**
    5/19/2009   Fresno, CA           Save Mart Center
    5/20/2009   Bakersfield, CA      Rabobank Arena
    5/22/2009   San Diego, CA        Cricket Wireless Amphitheatre
    5/23/2009   Phoenix, AZ          Cricket Wireless Pavilion
    5/25/2009   Salt Lake City, UT   The E Center
    5/27/2009   Denver, CO           Fiddler's Green Amphitheatre
    5/28/2009   Albuquerque, NM      Journal Pavilion
    5/30/2009   Dallas, TX           Superpages.com Center
    5/31/2009   Houston, TX          Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
    6/02/2009   Tampa, FL            Ford Amphitheatre
    6/03/2009   West Palm Beach, FL  Cruzan Amphitheatre
    6/05/2009   Atlanta, GA          Lakewood Amphitheatre
    6/06/2009   Charlotte, NC        Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
    6/08/2009   Raleigh, NC          Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion
    6/10/2009   Virginia Beach, VA   Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
    6/11/2009   Philadelphia, PA     Susquehanna Bank Center
    6/13/2009   Pittsburgh, PA       Post-Gazette Pavilion
    6/14/2009   Washington, DC       Nissan Pavilion
    6/16/2009   Toronto, ON          Air Canada Centre
    6/17/2009   Montreal, QC         Centre Bell
    6/19/2009   Darien Center, NY    Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
    6/20/2009   Boston, MA           Comcast Center
    6/24/2009   Uncasville, CT       Mohegan Sun Arena
    6/26/2009   Holmdel, NJ          PNC Bank Arts Center***
    6/27/2009   Wantagh, NY          Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
    6/29/2009   Cleveland, OH        Blossom Music Center
    7/02/2009   Milwaukee, WI        Marcus Amphitheater (Summerfest)
    7/03/2009   Detroit, MI          Palace Of Auburn Hills
    7/05/2009   St. Paul, MN         Xcel Energy Center
    7/06/2009   Kansas City, MO      Starlight Theatre
    7/08/2009   St. Louis, MO        Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
    7/10/2009   Indianapolis, IN     Verizon Wireless Music Center
    7/11/2009   Chicago, IL          First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
    7/13/2009   Winnipeg, MB         MTS Centre
    7/15/2009   Calgary, AB          Pengrowth Saddledome
    7/16/2009   Edmonton, AB         Rexall Place
    7/18/2009   Vancouver, BC        General Motors Place
    7/19/2009   Seattle, WA          White River Amphitheatre
    7/21/2009   Concord, CA          Sleep Train Pavilion
    7/24/2009   Sacramento, CA       Sleep Train Amphitheatre
    7/25/2009   Mountain View, CA    Shoreline Amphitheatre
    7/31/2009   Irvine, CA           Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
    8/01/2009   Irvine, CA           Verizon Wireless Amphitheater

* On sale now.

** Special Event, no tour club presale.

*** Ticket on-sale date to be announced soon.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Mega TV Opens Auditions in Los Angeles for Musical Reality Show to Find the Newest Member of XM2 Group

2009-02-24T18:03:00.000+02:00

MIAMI, Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Spanish Broadcasting System ("SBS") (Nasdaq: SBSA) announced today that the final round of open auditions to find the newest member of the popular XM2 Group begin this week in Los Angeles. In May, Mega TV, along with Worldvibe Entertainment, will broadcast the new primetime musical reality show "Batalla de las Americas" to find the newest member of the popular XM2 Group. Auditions have already taken place in Miami, New York and Puerto Rico.

Males between the ages of 18-30 can participate in the auditions. They will be asked to show off their triple threat abilities: sing, dance and of course demonstrate their personality for the judges.

Los Angeles auditions will take place at the Avalon Studio on February 27th from 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. and on February 28th from 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. Several popular SBS Latino 96.3 FM and KLAX DJ's like Raq-C, DJ Eddie One, Brando, David Rolas, Alysha Del Valle, Sandra Pena, DJ Mingo, Barzon and Denisse Garcia will be at each audition to judge the talented contestants.

Four contestants will be chosen to represent Los Angeles in the grand finale of the show. The grand finale of the US musical competition will take place at the "La Covacha" on Thursday, March 19 starting at 8:30 P.M. The grand finale will include the four semi-finalists from Miami competing against the four semi-finalists from Los Angeles and New York. The judges will choose one winner, who will represent the United States in the musical show "Batalla de las Americas."

The reality show "Batalla de las Americas," similar to America's "Making the Band," was created to find the new member of the XM2 Group, which already includes former Menudo members Rawy Torres, Jonathan Montenegro and Sergio Blass. The show will have a total of 20 contestants from over 15 countries battling in fields such as originality, creativity, heart and talent to become the newest member of XM2.

Do not miss this week's final round of open auditions in Los Angeles and the opportunity to be part of this once in a lifetime musical competition, "Batalla de las Americas" -- only on Mega TV.

    Media and Press:
    Isabel Bucaram-Montana
    Director of Marketing and Communications
    Spanish Broadcasting System
    Direct Line: (786) 470-1656
    imontana@sbscorporate.com
    www.mega.tv

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Yoogli, Inc. Launches YoogliMusic.com, A Free Social Networking & Automated Music Playlist Generation Site Boasting 7 Million Songs and 400,000 Artists

2009-02-24T15:30:00.000+02:00

Compatible with iTunes and iPods

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Yoogli, Inc., a software technology company with recent breakthroughs in semantic search, announced today the Beta release of its new music discovery site www.YoogliMusic.com, a free social networking and automated music playlist generation site. YoogliMusic uniquely integrates patented personalization technology with its automated playlist services, daily updated blog, new artist recommendations, aggregate news feeds, wiki-generated artists' pages, and social networking capabilities all on one site. YoogliMusic seamlessly synchronizes with iTunes and provides new music recommendations and recently played music to the user's personal Yoogli profile.

YoogliMusic's entry into the music space allows users to find and create playlists that match their music library and music tastes. In addition, using patented personalization and search technologies, new artists and customized playlists are continuously recommended to the user from a database of over 7,000,000 songs and 400,000 artists.

YoogliMusic creates custom playlists automatically and will spin a unique playlist that matches the user's mood and musical interests on demand. The technology can either create a unique music playlist completely out of the user's own library or a separate playlist that contains new track recommendations gleaned from the Internet and YoogliMusic's database to meet a user's immediate listening needs. Independent artists are able to promote their music via their own free personal music site on YoogliMusic thus offering a fresh new venue in which to showcase their music on the Internet.

"The entire process of personal playlist generation takes less than a few seconds and the new playlist can easily be uploaded into the user's iPod," said Jonathan Kerwin, YoogliMusic's co-founder. "The site is an ideal vehicle for music lovers because it has great insight into the particular types of music that the user is interested in at an exact moment in time. Users can share their customized playlists with their friends as well as collaborate in building out artist profiles to help promote the music and bands they love. All of this allows YoogliMusic to be a comprehensive music experience for all involved."

About Yoogli, Inc.

Yoogli is delivering the next generation of Internet search products. Yoogli's patented meaning-based semantic search technology advances beyond current keyword search technology by producing a deep understanding of users and semantic meaning. Yoogli's team of engineers has created pioneering methods to connect people directly with information that is most valuable and useful to them. In addition, the Company's patented collaborative filtering technology is at the forefront of "semantic networking" the next step beyond "social networking" used today by Facebook and MySpace. This breakthrough technology is scheduled to be released in March 2009. Yoogli is headquartered in Newport Beach, Calif. For more information, visit www.yoogli.com.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Barry Manilow and Matthew Weiner, Emmy(R) Award-Winning Creator & Executive Producer of AMC's MAD MEN, to Accept Honorary CLIO Awards Live at the 50th Anniversary Festival

2009-02-24T15:19:00.000+02:00

- Register online today at www.CLIOAwards.com to see Barry Manilow and Matthew Weiner accept their Honorary CLIO Awards in Las Vegas -

NEW YORK, Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The CLIO Awards, one of the world's most prestigious international advertising and design competitions honoring creative excellence and innovation in the industry, today announced that Barry Manilow, Emmy Award-winning singer and songwriter, and Matthew Weiner, Emmy Award-winning creator and executive producer of AMC's MAD MEN, will accept Honorary CLIO Awards live at the 50th Anniversary CLIO Awards at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, May 12 - 14.

"To celebrate 50 years of excellence in advertising, design and interactive, the CLIO Awards are honored to recognize Barry Manilow and Matthew Weiner for their distinguished contributions to the industry," said Wayne Youkhana, director of the CLIO Awards. "We're thrilled to present honorary awards for the 50th Anniversary CLIO Awards to individuals who have each created bodies of work that have evolved into cultural phenomena acknowledged around the world."

Barry Manilow, who has produced some of the most famous advertising jingles of all time for companies such as State Farm, Band-Aid, Tab and Stridex, will accept his Honorary CLIO Award during The Moving Image Awards on Thursday, May 14th. In 1976, Manilow was the recipient of two CLIO Awards for his well-known television and radio commercial jingles. He received a CLIO for Best Television/Cinema Commercial for his composition of the jingle "Stuck on Me" for Johnson & Johnson's Band-Aid brand (Young & Rubicam, New York), as well as an award for Best International Radio Commercial for his performance in the jingle "Countdown" for Coca-Cola Company's soft drink, Tab (McCann-Erickson, Toronto). Best known for his musical recordings including "Mandy", "Weekend in New England" and "Copacabana", Manilow has sold more than 75 million records worldwide and is ranked as the top Adult Contemporary chart artist of all time, according to R&R (Radio&Records) and Billboard magazines.

Matthew Weiner, winner of four Primetime Emmy Awards and Executive Producer and Creator of AMC's MAD MEN, will accept his Honorary CLIO Award during the Communications Awards on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiner will be recognized as one of the most powerful storytellers to ever tackle the rise of advertising in America through a critically acclaimed original television series. The show, set in 1960s New York, follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive world of Madison Avenue advertising executives. MAD MEN, which has one won two Golden Globes for Best Television Drama, is returning to AMC for its third season in summer 2009. Prior to his work on MAD MEN, Weiner was the Executive Producer of HBO's hit drama series THE SOPRANOS during the final seasons in which the show won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series.

The final entry submission deadline for all advertising, design, interactive, strategic communications/public relations work appearing between January 1, 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 is due Monday, March 2.

For more information about the 50th Anniversary CLIO Awards or to register online for the festival, please visit www.clioawards.com.

Find us on our page on Facebook and on our group on LinkedIn.

About The CLIO Awards

The CLIO Awards is one of the world's most recognized awards competition for advertising, design and interactive. Celebrating its 50th Anniversary in 2009, the CLIO Awards has maintained its original commitment to celebrate and reward creative excellence, honoring a powerful form of communication and its impact on modern culture. At the same time, the CLIO Awards remains focused on evolving with the industry in order to acknowledge the most current, breakthrough work. To this day, CLIO's iconic statute is the most widely recognized and coveted symbol of the industry's creative accomplishments. The CLIO Awards are produced by Nielsen Business Media, a part of The Nielsen Company, a global information and media company.

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.

    CLIO Awards Media Contact:
    Lauren Bobrowich, Coburn Communication
    212.536.9838
    lauren.bobrowich@coburnww.com

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Steinway Piano Gallery Long Island, NY Celebrates Grand Opening

2009-02-24T14:19:00.000+02:00

LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y., Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- A brand-new Steinway & Sons showroom piano gallery will host a series of Grand Opening events March 5-8, 2009. The Grand Opening will coincide with the 156th Anniversary of Steinway & Sons, makers of the finest pianos in the world.

The Steinway & Sons Piano Gallery, Long Island, joins the ranks of Steinway showroom galleries in Paramus, NJ, Westport, CT and Miami, FL, as well as our landmark showroom, Steinway Hall in New York City. The new 9,000 square-foot Long Island gallery features new and used Steinway pianos as well as sales consultation, recital space and plans for an education center for private and group lessons.

"This is a fantastic showroom location," said Gordon McNelly, Gallery Manager. "It's also an opportunity for us to reach out to the music community in this region. There are so many piano teachers and musicians in our area; we want to be a resource for them."

In addition to a ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 5, 2009 featuring representatives of the Melville Chamber of Commerce, the new Long Island Piano Gallery will mark its grand opening with a full weekend of musical events, including:

Steinway artist Judy Carmichael, Friday March 6, 7:00 p.m.
Children's book reading: Henry the Steinway and the Piano Recital, by Peter Goodrich, Steinway's Vice President in charge of Concert and Artist Activities, Saturday, March 7, 10:00 a.m.
"The History of Steinway & Sons," by Miles Chapin, great-great-grandson of Henry Z. Steinway and the author of 88 Keys - the Making of a Steinway Piano, Saturday, March 7, 2:00 p.m.
"Broadway's Next Hit Musical," an improvised musical comedy, Saturday, March 7, 8:00 p.m.
Steinway artist and author Carol Montparker, Sunday, March 8, 1:00 p.m.
The New Millennium Piano Etude Beginner Children and Adult Piano Lessons with Lawrence Spiro, Sunday, March 8, 3:00/5:00 p.m.

These events are free and open to the public. Evening events will feature light hors d'oeuvres and refreshments.

"We hope more people than ever will experience the joy of a Steinway piano through this new location," said Todd Sanders, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Steinway & Sons. "The new piano gallery is a sign of our growth and our commitment to the music community. We're especially pleased to celebrate our 156th Anniversary with the opening of this fine new gallery."

The Steinway & Sons Piano Gallery, Long Island, is located at 505 Walt Whitman Road in Melville. For more information, please call (631) 424-0525.

About Steinway & Sons

Since 1853 Steinway pianos have set an uncompromising standard for sound, touch, beauty and investment value. Steinway remains the choice of 9 out of 10 concert artists, and it is the preferred piano of countless musicians, professional and amateur, throughout the world. For more information, visit www.steinway.com.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Nearly Four Decades of Service to Protect the Arts Recognized With Dedication Ceremony at Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts

2009-02-23T15:38:00.000+02:00

DETROIT, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- After 37 years of service to one of Detroit's cultural jewels, Music Hall Center for the Performing Art's "first couple" will on February 27th be honored with the dedication of the "Tina and Leland Bassett Lounge" at Music Hall. Tina and Leland Bassett have been tireless supporters of the historic, art-deco arts venue, helping to build it into a nationally recognized cultural center and jazz venue.

"Tina and Leland have made an indelible mark on Music Hall and on Detroit," said Music Hall President and Artistic Director Vince Paul. "I'm thrilled that their unfailing dedication to preserving Music Hall and the arts in Detroit is being recognized in this way."

Tina and Leland Bassett have served in a variety of roles at Music Hall, beginning as volunteers, then chairing Music Hall's first strategic planning task force in the 1980s. They now serve as trustees, Music Hall Advocates and Founding General Co-Chairs of the Producers, Music Hall's individual major donor group. Leland K. Bassett has also served as Chairman of the Board and is currently Vice-Chair.

The Tina and Leland Bassett Lounge is an elegant, art-deco designed room that echoes Music Hall's art gallery. It features a north view of the entertainment district below and will be available as a venue for a variety of events and meetings.

The dedication ceremony will take place before the opening performance of Cirque Eloize's surreal homage to the elements, "Nebbia" at 8:00 p.m.

Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts is a national treasure, having the distinction of being the only surviving stage theatre originally built for live performance in the region. Built in 1928 by Matilda Dodge Wilson, the legendary automaker and lumber baron heiress and philanthropist, the historic art-deco building provides a stage for live performances from top-billed artists from around the globe, including living legends such as Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Liza Minelli, Lionel Ritchie and Smokey Robinson.

The Jazz Cafe at Music Hall features some of the most prominent jazz musicians in the nation and is being hailed by critics as the most important jazz venue to be built in the nation in recent history.

For more information about Music Hall, visit www.musichall.org, or call (313) 887-8500.

Tina Bassett: Tina Bassett co-founded and is President of Bassett & Bassett, Incorporated, Communication Managers and Counselors, located in the First National Building in Detroit. She is widely recognized for her innovative and creative high-impact communication programs. With a strong background in consumer marketing, advertising, promotions and public relations, she served as the City of Detroit's Director of Public Information as an appointee of Mayor Coleman A. Young from 1974 to 1986. She formed Bassett & Bassett, Incorporated with husband, Leland K. Bassett, in 1986.

Leland K. Bassett: Leland K. Bassett, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Bassett & Bassett, Incorporated, pioneered the application of communication psychology and strategic planning to public relations, corporate communication and integrated strategic communication management for more than a quarter century, establishing the nation's first corporate strategic communication management department in the mid 1970s. He also designed and taught the nation's first graduate strategic communication program at Michigan State University in the College of Communication Arts & Sciences in the 1980s.

    MUSIC HALL
    350 Madison Ave
    Detroit, MI   48226
    (313) 887-8500      www.musichall.org

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Court Denies Motions by Senator John McCain and the Republican National Committee to Dismiss Jackson Browne Lawsuit

2009-02-23T12:00:00.000+02:00

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The United States District Court for the Central District of California has denied the motions of Senator John McCain and the Republican National Committee to dismiss the lawsuit brought by singer/songwriter Jackson Browne for the unauthorized use of Browne's voice and famous song Running On Empty in a presidential campaign commercial. Browne filed suit in August, 2008 for copyright infringement, false endorsement and violation of Browne's right of publicity. In a series of rulings on February 20, 2008, the Hon. R. Gary Klausner, United States District Judge, rejected the defendants' arguments that the First Amendment or copyright's fair use doctrine immunizes their unauthorized use of Browne's voice and song simply because such use occurred in the context of a political campaign commercial. Among the rulings, the Court denied the defendants' special motion to strike (inaccurately dubbed a "countersuit" in some news reports) with respect to Browne's right of publicity claim. In another ruling, the Court dismissed the Ohio Republican Party from the case on jurisdictional grounds, leaving Browne free to pursue his claims against it in Ohio.

The District Court also set a hearing for late April to set a schedule for the case, including a date for the jury trial.

Browne's attorney, Lawrence Iser, of the Santa Monica, California law firm Kinsella Weitzman Iser Kump & Andisert, comments: "The Court's decision is a solid victory for songwriters and performers and reflects an affirmation of their intellectual property rights and their freedom from being conscripted as involuntary endorsers of political candidates and campaign messages. We are happy that the Court recognized that persons and parties running for office are not entitled to violate an individual's intellectual property and publicity rights simply because they are engaged in political campaigns. We look forward to presenting Jackson Browne's case to the jury."

The Court's rulings can be found at www.kwikablog.com.

Contact: Michael Jensen at Jensen Communications, Inc. 626-585-9575 or info@jensencom.com

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Beyonce Announces Official 'Single Ladies' Dance Video Contest

2009-02-23T11:00:00.000+02:00

Best Fan-Created Video of "Single Ladies" Choreography To Be Shown On Beyonce's Upcoming World Tour

NEW YORK, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Beyonce is inviting her fans to create their own versions of her phenomenal "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)" clip for the official "Single Ladies" dance video contest. Contestants should adhere precisely to the iconic "Single Ladies" dance routine performed by Beyonce and her two dancers in the original clip - no new choreography should be added.

The grand prize winner of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" dance video contest will receive $2500.00 (US) and have the winning video shown during Beyonce's "I Am..." World Tour 2009.

The "Single Ladies" dance video contest is open to all Beyonce fans 18-and-older in the United States, the UK and Japan as well as the following territories: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada (excluding Quebec province), Hong Kong, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Singapore and Switzerland.

All submissions should be shot in either QuickTime (.mov) or AVI format in either High Definition (1080p or 720p) or Standard Definition (720x480 pixels or 640x480 pixels) in a standard frame rate (23.98fps, 25fps, 29.97fps or 30fps) on a data DVD-ROM (not a playable DVD).

Contestants should include their full name(s), address, and phone number and address submissions to:

    "Single Ladies"
    8033 Sunset Blvd. #948
    Los Angeles, CA 90046

Submissions must be postmarked no later than March 6, 2009.

All video submissions become the property of Music World Entertainment/Sony Music Entertainment.

Please see full rules for the "Single Ladies" dance video contest at: www.beyonceonline.com.

Lensed in black and white, Beyonce's video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" features the artist in leotard and high-heels, with a pair of similar-dressed back-up dancers, engaged in an intricate dance routine incorporating a variety of styles -- including hip-hop, jazz, vogue, club, tap and more.

While Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)," with its themes of accountability and female empowerment, became an international chart-topper and ranked as #1 on Rolling Stone's 100 Best Singles of 2008, the artist's stark and iconic video for the song achieved its own independent notoriety when its intricate choreography launched what the Toronto Star called "the first major dance craze of both the new millennium and the Internet." Parodied by Beyonce on "Saturday Night Live" with Justin Timberlake, Andy Samberg, and Bobby Moynihan, the "Single Ladies" dance routine has been recreated in thousands of user-created YouTube videos

and counts President Barack Obama among its adherents.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

17th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Party Celebrating the Academy Awards Raises Nearly $4 Million

2009-02-23T08:56:00.000+02:00

Sir Elton John Performed With Special Guest Raphael Saadiq

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Sir Elton John and David Furnish hosted the 17th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) Academy Awards(R) viewing party. The event was held on Sunday, February 22, 2009 at the Pacific Design Center and was co-sponsored by Chopard, Jo and Raffy Manoukian and Vh1. EJAF's party to celebrate the Academy Awards(R) was one of the night's best attended parties and raised nearly $4 million.

The annual gala continues to be the leading fundraising event in Hollywood on Oscar night. This year's gala brought some exciting moments including a live performance by Sir Elton John and special guest Raphael Saadiq, as well as a emotional first-hand account by Kerrel McKay who spoke about her experiences as an HIV/AIDS activist in her home country of Jamaica. McKay also spoke about a public service campaign orchestrated by the Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV/AIDS, supported by the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

This year's guests included the event's esteemed co-chairs Victoria Beckham and John Walters in addition to Hollywood luminaries such as Sir Ben Kingsley, Claire Danes & Hugh Dancy, Gerard Butler, Ben Stiller & Christine Taylor, Quincy Jones, Keifer Sutherland, Whoopi Goldberg, Sharon Stone, Eva Longoria Parker, Kate Beckinsale, Carrie Underwood, Natasha Bedingfield, Chace Crawford, Olivia Wilde, Rosanna Arquette, Josh Groban, Elle Macpherson, Gordon Ramsey, Eric McCormack, Tim Allen, Rashida Jones, Molly Sims, Russell Simmons, Dita Von Teese, Zac Posen, Natasha Henstridge, Terrell Owens, Chris O'Donnell, Paz Vega, Chris Noth, Taye Diggs and Ricki Lake.

Guests arrived for cocktails followed by dinner and viewing of the 81st Annual Academy Awards in the custom-built tent adorned in black and cream hued modern "supper club" decor created exclusively by Antony Todd. The five-course meal, as created by Chef Wayne of Crumble Catering, included carnaroli risotto with dry Marsala wine and crystallized natural flowers, choice of sauteed beef filet or roasted halibut and a dessert puffed chocolate tartlet with raspberry bitter orange sauce, among others.

As is tradition, immediately following dinner, auctioneer Jamie Niven of Sotheby's led the evening's live auction. Items auctioned included the opportunity to dance with Ellen DeGeneras on her Emmy Award winning talk show, which sold for $20,000; two jewel encrusted 10th Anniversary Elton John AIDS Foundation collection watches designed by Chopard went for $250,000 each; a one-hour tennis lesson by tennis champion Andy Roddick sold at auction for $31, 000; taken directly for the Academy Award stage was the "Milk" soap box used by Hugh Jackman in his opening homage to this years' Best Picture nominees; and a three-day, four-night stay at the Normandy, France home of the Forbes family, Chateau de Balleroy, sold for $80,000.

ELTON JOHN AIDS FOUNDATION: The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) was established in the United States in 1992 (EJAF-US) and in the United Kingdom in 1993 (EJAF-UK) by founder and chairman Sir Elton John. Together, both entities have raised over $150 million to support HIV/AIDS prevention and service programs in 55 countries around the globe since inception. Today, EJAF is one of the world's leading nonprofit HIV/AIDS organizations supporting innovative HIV prevention programs, efforts to eliminate stigma and discrimination associated with HIV/AIDS, and direct care and support services for people living with HIV/AIDS. EJAF-US's current grant-making priorities target HIV prevention programs in the Southern United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America; HIV prevention and care services for highly marginalized and vulnerable populations; and HIV/AIDS prevention education and the promotion of sexual health for adolescents.

CHOPARD: There are few jewelers in the world whose designs are immediately recognizable. At the forefront of that list is Chopard. For over 140 years, the "World of Chopard" has embraced elegance, originality and individuality. Renowned internationally for its award-winning "Happy Diamonds" creations, the Chopard collection also includes an array of designs that adorn celebrities around the world. Meticulously crafted in Geneva, Switzerland since 1860, Chopard has distinguished itself worldwide for luxurious jewels and impeccably crafted high-precision timepieces that embody imaginative design and sophistication. To mark Chopard's 10 years of support of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele has designed a new watch collection in collaboration with Sir Elton John himself. A testament to their friendship, the watch collection reflects the artist's extravagant personality as well as his tremendous generosity. A percentage of sales from these watches benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation. For further information, phone 1.800.CHOPARD or explore Chopard on line at www.chopard.com.

JO AND RAFFY MANOUKIAN: Jo & Raffy Manoukian are honored to be one of the sponsors of the annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards(R) Viewing Party. They have been personal friends of Sir Elton John since the early 1990s and are actively involved with the Foundation in the capacity of both Trustees and Board Members. The Elton John AIDS Foundation forms only one part of Jo & Raffy's philanthropy. Their charitable efforts span the globe with special emphasis on health, education, sports and media ventures.

Vh1: Vh1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with TV series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. Vh1 is available in 95 million households in the U.S. Vh1 also has an array of digital channels and services including Vh1Classic, Vh1 Soul, Vh1 Mobile, Vh1Games and extensive broadband video on Vh1.com. Connect with Vh1 at www.vh1.com.

AMERICAN AIRLINES: American Airlines, American Eagle and the AmericanConnection airlines serve 250 cities in over 40 countries with more than 3,400 daily flights. American Airlines is the official airline of the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

    Contact:   Christina Lee / Ivy Mollenkamp
               ROGERS & COWAN
               310-854-8100

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Legendary Engelbert Humperdinck Bringing Golden Voice to Spotlight 29 Casino

2009-02-20T22:52:00.000+02:00

Concert Rescheduled for October 24

COACHELLA, Calif., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- International music legend Engelbert Humperdinck is making a grand return to the Coachella Valley for a concert at Spotlight 29 Casino. Originally scheduled for March 14, Humperdinck will now appear October 24. Tickets previously purchased for the March performance will be honored, and there is no need for customers to exchange tickets they already hold.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050203/LATH047LOGO)

With an ultra-smooth 3 1/2 octave range and multiple Grammy nominations to his credit, Humperdinck has sold more than 150 million records worldwide, including 64 gold and 24 platinum albums.

Dubbed music's "King of Romance," Humperdinck first leaped onto the American pop charts with his smash hit "Release Me (And Let Me Love Again)." The song went to #1 in 11 countries, and was such a big hit in the United Kingdom that it managed to prevent The Beatles' two-sided hit "Penny Lane/Strawberry Fields Forever" from reaching the top of the charts.

Engelbert has performed for Her Majesty the Queen, several U.S. Presidents and many heads of state. In 1978 he received a "Georgie Award" from the American Guild of Variety Artists recognizing him as "Entertainer of the Year," and in 1989 he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Tickets are $60, $50, $35 and $25 and are available now at Spotlight29.com and at the Spotlight 29 Casino Gift Shop or by calling (800) 585-3737.

Put the spotlight on fun at Spotlight 29 Casino, the Coachella Valley's most exciting place to play. Spotlight 29 Casino is a business venture of the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians. Turn it on at www.Spotlight29.com.

    Contact:
    Paul Speirs, Steinbeck Communications
    (702) 413-4278, paulspeirs@cox.net

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Rediscovering Mendelssohn - 2009 Marks 200th Birthday of Composer Who Fell Out of Favor for Nearly a Century

2009-02-20T18:27:00.000+02:00

GEORGETOWN, Texas, Feb. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Much attention is being given this year to the 200th anniversary of the births of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin.

For music scholars, 2009 marks another important bicentennial - the birth of German composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847).

Although Mendelssohn was quite well known in his day, his reputation faded as anti-Semitism rose during the late 19th and early 20th century in Europe (Mendelssohn was born to a prominent Jewish family that later converted to Christianity).

"Generations of people were programmed not to take Mendelssohn seriously," says Michael Cooper, holder of the Margarett Root Brown Chair in Music at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. "People didn't begin to take him seriously until after World War II as the 150th anniversary of his birth started coming up and people realized the nature and extent of the wrongs committed by the Nazis."

The decline in Mendelssohn's fame after his death was compounded by the fact that he was notoriously reluctant to publish his music. Of the 400 or so pieces he wrote, only about 160 survive today in published form.

"Mendelssohn only published enough to keep his name out there," Cooper says. "He didn't like to publish his music because once it was published, he lost control of it and couldn't change it. Mendelssohn was an incurable tinkerer - he liked to rework and rework his music."

Cooper is one of a cadre of scholars who have devoted their lives to trying to reconstruct Mendelssohn's work. "There is a massive amount of work to do," he says.

Cooper himself has reconstructed seven Mendelssohn pieces that were believed to be missing. His most recent endeavor was the reconstruction of a piece that Mendelssohn wrote with Ignaz Moscheles, a German pianist and composer who was a friend of Ludwig van Beethoven. The piece, titled Fantasy and Variations for Two Pianos and Orchestra on the Gypsy March from Weber's "Preziosa," was originally commissioned in 1833 to be performed in a benefit concert for the Philharmonic Society of London.

After the piece premiered on May 2, 1833, the original score for the piece was set aside. The work has been known only in an arrangement for two pianos without orchestra published by Moscheles in 1834.

Cooper says music historians now know that Mendelssohn left London as soon as the piece was performed to take another job. He left the original score with Moscheles, who bequeathed it to his son, Felix (who was named after Mendelssohn), who in turn gave it to the Russian pianist Anton Rubenstein in 1889. When Rubenstein died in 1894, he bequeathed his estate to the St. Petersburg Conservatory, which has thousands of historic music manuscripts.

"The St. Petersburg Conservatory didn't know what they had," Cooper says. "It was just something that existed in a card catalog and a weathered folder."

Cooper found a reference to the piece in an auction catalog in 1996 and contacted the Conservatory. However, at that time the curators of the Conservatory's music library were still hesitant about sharing their manuscripts with Westerners. Cooper persisted, though, and in January 2003 the Conservatory finally sent him digital scans of the piece.

Cooper spent the past several years reconstructing the piece, and the Austin Civic Orchestra will play it this month for the first time in 150 years during a concert at Southwestern University.

In the coming months, Cooper has been invited to give nearly 20 presentations and papers at conferences celebrating the Mendelssohn bicentennial. One of the first of these conferences will be held at Montana State University, March 26-28, and is expected to draw all the leading English-language Mendelssohn scholars. Additional events are being planned in Rostock and Hamburg, Germany; London; Paris; and New York. The largest gathering will occur late August in Leipzig, Germany, where Mendelssohn spent the last 12 years of his life serving as music director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, the leading European orchestra of the day.

"The academic community has been gearing up for the bicentennial of Mendelssohn's birth since 2000," Cooper says.

Cooper says he was personally drawn to Mendelssohn because his music contains great emotional extremes. "His sense of pacing and drama are flawless," he says.

Cooper says not everything Mendelssohn wrote is a masterpiece, but even his weaker pieces are ones other composers would be glad to call their own. His most famous pieces include the wedding march from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and two oratorios - "Elijah" and "St. Paul."

"Most people have heard Mendelssohn's music, just without his name attached to it," Cooper says.

In addition to a "gold mine" of music, Cooper says Mendelssohn left behind a wealth of correspondence, dating from when he was six years old to his death at age 38.

"Mendelssohn was a major figure in 19th century European life - someone who was in frequent contact not only with other major composers such as Berlioz, Chopin and Robert and Clara Schumann, but also with people from Hans Christian Andersen, Goethe and others all the way up to the Queen Victoria and the kings of Prussia and Saxony," Cooper says. "We have about 3,500 surviving letters to him and another 5,000 or so written by him - and the vast majority of those letters have never been published. For anyone who's interested in art, politics and culture in the mid-19th-century, those letters are a largely untapped source of insight and understanding. We've only just begun to really use them for what they have to teach us."

This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

John Legend Responds to Racist Cartoon With Open Letter to The New York Post

2009-02-20T16:56:00.000+02:00

NEW YORK, Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- On February 18, 2009, The New York Post ran an editorial cartoon comparing the author of the federal stimulus bill to a crazed chimpanzee shot and killed by police earlier in the week after attacking a woman in Stamford, Connecticut. John Legend responded to the cartoon with the following open letter to the Post:

Dear Editor:

I'm trying to understand what possible motivation you may have had for publishing that vile cartoon depicting the shooting of the chimpanzee that went crazy. I guess you thought it would be funny to suggest that whomever was responsible for writing the Economic Recovery legislation must have the intelligence and judgment of a deranged, violent chimpanzee, and should be shot to protect the larger community. Really? Did it occur to you that this suggestion would imply a connection between President Barack Obama and the deranged chimpanzee? Did it occur to you that our president has been receiving death threats since early in his candidacy? Did it occur to you that blacks have historically been compared to various apes as a way of racist insult and mockery? Did you intend to invoke these painful themes when you printed the cartoon?

If that's not what you intended, then it was stupid and willfully ignorant of you not to connect these easily connectable dots. If it is what you intended, then you obviously wanted to be grossly provocative, racist and offensive to the sensibilities of most reasonable Americans. Either way, you should not have printed this cartoon, and the fact that you did is truly reprehensible. I can't imagine what possible justification you have for this. I've read your lame statement in response to the outrage you provoked. Shame on you for dodging the real issue and then using the letter as an opportunity to attack Rev. Sharpton. This is not about Rev. Sharpton. It's about the cartoon being blatantly racist and offensive.

I believe in freedom of speech, and you have every right to print what you want. But freedom of speech still comes with responsibilities and consequences. You are responsible for printing this cartoon, and I hope you experience some real consequences for it. I'm personally boycotting your paper and won't do any interviews with any of your reporters, and I encourage all of my colleagues in the entertainment business to do so as well. I implore your advertisers to seriously reconsider their business relationships with you as well.

You should print an apology in your paper acknowledging that this cartoon was ignorant, offensive and racist and should not have been printed.

I'm well aware of our country's history of racism and violence, but I truly believe we are better than this filth. As we attempt to rise above our difficult past and look toward a better future, we don't need the New York Post to resurrect the images of Jim Crow to deride the new administration and put black folks in our place. Please feel free to criticize and honestly evaluate our new president, but do so without the incendiary images and rhetoric.

Sincerely,

John Legend

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Cancellation of YES Tour

2009-02-20T02:33:00.000+02:00

FRIANT, Calif., Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The "In The Present Tour," featuring YES' Steve Howe, Chris Squire, and Alan White is cancelling the remaining scheduled shows. Founding YES member, Chris Squire, underwent surgery on his leg on February 11, 2009. The operation was successful and Chris is on his way to a full recovery. However, Chris has been advised by his physician that he needs a one-month rest period, hence the reason for the cancellation of the rest of the tour dates. As previously stated, Chris and the rest of the band wishes to apologize for any inconvenience that this might have caused to their fans and hopes to see them again soon.

John Mayewski, President and CEO of Table Mountain Casino stated, "It is regrettable that the band was forced to cancel their remaining shows on this current tour, including the performance scheduled for Tuesday, March 3rd at Table Mountain Casino. All of the guests and employees of Table Mountain Casino wish Chris a speedy, complete recovery, and hope that YES is able to resume their tour in the very near future."

All YES ticketholders for the concert performance that was scheduled in the Table Mountain Casino Event Center for Tuesday, March 3rd should contact the Casino directly at (559) 822-7777 or via email at events@tmcasino.com for information regarding refunds.

About Table Mountain:

Table Mountain Casino is owned and operated by the Table Mountain Rancheria Band of Indians who actively support many community-based agencies and non-profit organizations serving residents of the Greater Fresno area and the regional San Joaquin Valley community.

To learn more about Table Mountain Casino, its community service programs and current promotions, please visit tmcasino.com.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

HDNet Concert Series Presents 'Robyn - Live From the Wiltern, Los Angeles'

2009-02-20T00:17:00.000+02:00

Swedish pop queen to debut exclusively on the HDNet Concert Series,

Sunday, February 22 at 8:00 p.m. ET

DALLAS, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ --

WHAT: Swedish dance-pop songstress, Robyn, performs at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles on the HDNet Concert Series, Sunday, February 22 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080324/HDNETLOGO)

A best-selling singer/songwriter in her homeland since the age of thirteen, Swedish sensation Robyn gets the crowd moving at the very last show of her 2008 US Tour at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. Robyn, once best known for her late nineties dance-pop hits "Show Me Love" and "Do You Know," recently broke into the mainstream worldwide with an infectious new sound that's got the undivided attention of bloggers, hipsters and first-class DJs alike.

WHEN: "Robyn - Live from the Wiltern, Los Angeles" premieres exclusively on HDNet, Sunday, February 22 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

About HDNet

HDNet (www.hd.net) is a network that is original, thinks independently and delivers unique content and provocative, authentic programming that appeals to men of all ages, delivered in true high definition.

HDNet is the exclusive, high definition home for popular, original programming, including television's only HD news feature programs "HDNet World Report," and the Emmy Award winning "Dan Rather Reports," featuring legendary journalist Dan Rather. Only HDNet goes beyond the headlines to deliver real news that is redefining the way we look at our world. HDNet News is provocative, sometimes controversial and always relevant - telling the important stories of our time in-depth, with attitude and with independence.

HDNet presents championship sports coverage featuring the best of Mixed Martial Arts through HDNet Fights. HDNet Fights partners with leading MMA promoters including Affliction, DREAM, StrikeForce, M1, K-1, K-1 Max, MFC, Adrenaline and more. HDNet produces more live Mixed Martial Arts events than any other network and HDNet's "Inside MMA" is the hottest Mixed Martial Arts program on television, giving MMA fans their weekly fix for everything MMA.

HDNet also delivers the world's largest and most diverse concert line-up through the HDNet Concert Series. The HDNet Concert Series features leading artists and bands including Coldplay, Gwen Stefani, John Mayer and more. HDNet also features revealing lifestyle programming featuring "Art Mann Presents," "Vegas Confessions," "Deadline" and "Get Out!" HDNet is also the exclusive high definition home to critically acclaimed and award winning documentaries as part of the InFocus series. "NASA on HDNet" presents all live shuttle launches through 2010.

Only HDNet Movies delivers exclusive Sneak Previews of new movies before they hit theaters. The HDNet Movies Sneak Preview series features top Hollywood stars in critically acclaimed performances including Gwyneth Paltrow, Joaquin Phoenix, Demi Moore, Michael Caine, Tom Hanks, Vera Farmiga, Parker Posey, Brian Cox, Matthew Broderick, Brittany Snow and Eric Bana.

Upcoming Sneak Previews include "The Great Buck Howard," starring Colin Hanks, John Malkovich and Tom Hanks, and "Harlem Aria," starring Damon Wayans.

In addition to being the exclusive home of Sneak Previews, HDNet Movies presents viewers with over one hundred films and an average of twenty-five "HD Premieres" each month. HDNet Movies viewers enjoy the best films from the classics of the 1950s-1970s, to favorite films from the 1980s and 1990s, to recently released theatrical films.

HDNet Movies offers subscribers a premium movie viewing experience in true HD, and more original movies shot entirely in HD than any other network.

Launched in 2001 by Mark Cuban and General Manager Philip Garvin, the HDNet networks are available on AT&T, Bright House Networks, Charter Communications, Comcast, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Insight, Mediacom, Time Warner Cable, Verizon and more than 40 NCTC cable affiliate companies. For more information visit www.hd.net.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

First Dance Strikes a Chord! GigMasters.com Wedding Survey Finds 25% of Couples Say 'No Way' When a Friend Chooses the Same 'First Dance' Song

2009-02-19T16:28:00.000+02:00

60% knew their 'first dance' song before engagement

REDDING, Conn., Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- With 25% engagements having just occurred between Thanksgiving and New Years, many brides and grooms-to-be will start making wedding plans this winter. A survey of 190 recently married GigMasters.com customers found that 34% of couples spend more than 10% on entertainment, with most couples spending 6-10% on entertainment. Almost 30% found entertainment to be "one of the most important aspects" of their weddings. Survey recipients used GigMasters.com to find and book their wedding entertainment. GigMasters boasts a nationwide database of over 5,500 top-quality, rated entertainment acts, all of which can be sorted by location, category and price range to facilitate entertainment matches for any type of event.

Of the most interesting findings was the discrepancy of who played a larger part in the booking of wedding entertainment, 51% replied the bride did more, and 14% said the groom did. However, according to GigMasters.com data, 34% of grooms actually booked the entertainment! 35% responded that neither played a larger role because the work was shared equally.

When asked which was the "most important music" of their wedding, 30% of couples deemed their first dance song to be it. 14% thought that the ceremony prelude was the most important music of their event, and all others (55%) felt that the different music was all equally special.

More first dance findings include:

25% of respondents said they'd be upset if their best friend chose the same wedding song.

Only 4% of respondents said that in retrospect, they would change the song they picked for their first dance, but 15% revealed that they'd consider it.

When asked how they came to choose their first dance song, almost 60% had known it before even being engaged. 5% welcomed recommendations from friends and family, 10% looked online and 18% found it completely randomly.

The majority (38%) of respondents said that upon engagement, the type of wedding entertainment they'd book was the first wedding detail to be discussed. The second most popular detail to be discussed first was the menu (32%), followed by the honeymoon (26%) and lastly, the first dance song (4%).

Though most couples booked only one act for their wedding (42%), almost as many (40%) booked two. 10% of respondents booked three separate acts and 6% booked four! Of the entertainment booked, over 1/3 of the respondents picked a soloist and another 1/3 used a DJ. 16% also or otherwise booked a quartet and 26% went with a live band. On the more unique side, some couples booked magicians (1%) and impersonators (3%).

Other 2008 GigMasters wedding entertainment statistics:

Couples spent on average $825 on wedding entertainment. The lowest being $100 for a singer; the highest being $11,000 for a 10-piece jazz band.
38% of couples had DJ's; 26% had live bands.
Cover bands, tribute acts and variety performers are on the rise.
Couples typically book wedding entertainment 5 months before the big day.

GigMasters.com(C) is the #1 online entertainment booking service, guiding party planners and hosts to the right entertainment for every event. With the Internet's largest nationwide database of client-rated performers for live music and variety entertainment, this Redding, CT-based business boasts a database of over 5,500 performers including live bands, wedding musicians, party DJs, impersonators, hypnotists, stand-up comedians, jazz trios, bagpipes, string quartets, soloists and more. GigMasters.com has helped facilitate more than 50,000 bookings since its inception in 1997, including over 20,000 in 2008 alone. The site, which was founded by Kevin Kinyon and Michael Caldwell, attracts 20,000 daily visits*, throughout North America. GigMasters.com is a proud member of the Better Business Bureau, TRUSTe, and is also a VeriSign Secured website. For more information, please visit www.gigmasters.com.

*Source: Google Analytics

    CONTACT:
    Bethridge Toovell - Public Relations      Marissa Latshaw - Marketing
    bethridgegoode@hotmail.com                mlatshaw@gigmasters.com
    cell: (917) 821-4249                      cell: 203-249-2958

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

SIRIUS XM Radio to Broadcast Exclusive Weekly Show Hosted by Iconic Bluesman B.B. King

2009-02-19T15:00:00.000+02:00

"You and Me with B.B. King" will launch February 20, 2009 on B.B. King's Bluesville channel

NEW YORK, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SIRIUS XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) today announced the launch of You and Me with B.B. King, a new hour-long music show to be hosted each week by 2009 Grammy Award(R)-winning bluesman, B.B. King. You and Me with B.B. King will air each week exclusively on SIRIUS XM's B.B. King's Bluesville channel on SIRIUS and XM channels 74. The show will debut, with a new episode each week, on Friday, February 20 at 6 pm ET with encore broadcasts airing on Saturday, February 21 at 2 pm ET; Monday, February 23 at 12 am ET; and Wednesday, February 25 at 12 pm ET.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080819/NYTU044LOGO )

"I'll be coming to B.B. King's Bluesville channel every week to tell you stories and answer your questions," said B.B. King. "I'm the mayor of Bluesville and my official proclamation: you're welcome anytime!"

"We're thrilled to give our listeners one of the few places where iconic artists like B.B. King and the blues can still be heard on the radio," said Scott Greenstein, SIRIUS XM Radio's President and Chief Content Officer. "This highlights SIRIUS XM Radio's ongoing commitment to bring unique music experiences to our subscribers with their favorite artists."

Each week, B.B. King will personally select a broad range of blues music featuring his favorite songs by peers from the past and today's artists. The blues legend will also share personal anecdotes and stories about the artists who inspire him as well as offer commentary on music that has made him a musical inspiration for generations of musicians. SIRIUS XM listeners will also hear from special guests including Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy, Albert Cummings and Keb' Mo who have worked with and have been influenced by King. King will also answer email questions from fans in a weekly "B.B. King's Mailbag" feature.

B.B. King, along with legendary recording artists and musicians including Jimmy Buffett, Bob Dylan, Eminem, Grateful Dead, David Johansen, Wynton Marsalis, Willie Nelson, Mojo Nixon, Elvis Presley, Tom Petty, Marky Ramone, Lou Reed, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen and "Little Steven" Van Zandt represent the diverse and creative artist-driven music programming currently being broadcast by SIRIUS XM.

You and Me with B.B. King will air each week on Friday at 6 pm, with encore presentations broadcast on Saturday at 2 pm ET, Monday at 12 am ET and Wednesday at 12 pm ET.

B.B. King's Bluesville channel broadcasts more than 80 years of music for all lovers of the blues. Listeners will hear favorite artists from the roots of blues music to the best of today, including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Etta James, Robert Cray, Keb' Mo', Taj Mahal, John Lee Hooker. Please visit www.sirius.com or www.xmradio.com for more information.

Since B.B. King started recording in the 1940s, he has defined the blues for a worldwide audience. King has released over 50 albums and has won 15 Grammy Awards(R), including his 2009 win for "Best Traditional Blues Album" for One Kind Favor. King has also been inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Additionally, he has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of the Arts, the Kennedy Center Honors, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award(R) and the NARM (National Association of Recording Merchandisers) Chairman's Award, among many other awards. In a special ceremony at the Library of Congress, Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington presented King with a "Living Legend" medal in honor of his achievements as a musician and ambassador for the blues. After 10,000 concerts, B.B. King continues to bring his music to audiences around the globe spending the better part of each year on the road with his beloved guitar, "Lucille."

About SIRIUS XM Radio

SIRIUS XM Radio is America's satellite radio company delivering commercial-free music channels, premier sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic and weather, to more than 18.9 million subscribers.

SIRIUS XM Radio has content relationships with an array of personalities and artists, including Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, Jimmy Buffett, Jamie Foxx, Barbara Walters, Opie & Anthony, Bubba the Love Sponge(R), The Grateful Dead, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, and Bob Edwards. SIRIUS XM Radio is the leader in sports programming as the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the NFL, Major League Baseball(R), NASCAR(R), NBA, NHL(R), and PGA TOUR(R), and broadcasts major college sports.

SIRIUS XM Radio has arrangements with every major automaker. SIRIUS XM Radio products are available at shop.sirius.com and shop.xmradio.com, and at retail locations nationwide, including Best Buy, RadioShack, Target, Sam's Club, and Wal-Mart.

SIRIUS XM Radio also offers SIRIUS Backseat TV, the first ever live in-vehicle rear seat entertainment featuring Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network; XM NavTraffic(R) service for GPS navigation systems delivers real-time traffic information, including accidents and road construction, for more than 80 North American markets.

This communication contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the benefits of the business combination transaction involving SIRIUS and XM, including potential synergies and cost savings and the timing thereof, future financial and operating results, the combined company's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions with respect to future operations, products and services; and other statements identified by words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "will," "should," "may," or words of similar meaning. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of SIRIUS' and XM's management and are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of SIRIUS and XM. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements.

The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statement: general business and economic conditions; the performance of financial markets and interest rates; the failure to realize synergies and cost-savings from the merger or delay in realization thereof; the businesses of SIRIUS and XM may not be combined successfully, or such combination may take longer, be more difficult, time-consuming or costly to accomplish than expected. Additional factors that could cause SIRIUS' and XM's results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in SIRIUS' and XM's Annual Reports on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007 and their respective Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2008, which are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and available at the SEC's Internet site (http://www.sec.gov). The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof, and SIRIUS and XM disclaim any intention or obligation to update any forward looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this communication.

P-SIRI

    Contacts for SIRIUS XM Radio:

    Sal Resendez
    SIRIUS XM Radio
    sresendez@siriusradio.com
    646 313 2405

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Fluid Music Canada's Trusonic(R) Is Now the Preferred Provider of Music and Messaging for Anytime Fitness

2009-02-19T10:00:00.000+02:00

LA JOLLA, Calif., Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Fluid Music Canada's Trusonic, Inc. (TSX: FMN) the largest provider of Internet delivered music and messaging services for retailers, today announced that it has expanded its relationship with Anytime Fitness to become its preferred provider of Internet-delivered messaging as well as music to its clubs. Anytime Fitness, the leading co-ed fitness club chain in the world, has over 1,000 franchised clubs across 46 states, Canada and Australia, and serves nearly 600,000 members.

"The Trusonic service goes well beyond music - we view it as an essential marketing tool. The platform allows us to centrally manage and vary messaging on a club-by-club basis, a clear differentiator for us as we evaluated music & messaging platforms. Pinpoint control over the audio environment means that we are better positioned to help our franchisees realize our common goals," said Mark Daly, National Media Director of Anytime Fitness. "Moreover, the depth of music programming choices Trusonic offers makes for a richer, more memorable club experience."

Lorne Abony, Chief Executive Officer of Fluid Music Canada, corporate parent of Trusonic, said: "We are pleased to be partnering with as dynamic a business as Anytime Fitness - the fastest growing, fitness club franchise in the world. This announcement underscores the strong appeal of Trusonic's service to major, international brands and the ability of the platform to well serve the needs of franchisee-owned businesses."

About Trusonic

As the leading provider of internet delivered business audio services, Trusonic provides custom music and messaging to retail, hospitality and general business environments in over 100 countries. Many of the largest chains and boutique brands in the world trust Trusonic to enhance their brand image at their locations. Trusonic has the largest library of Major Label and Independent Artist music from which to create custom music programming for its clients. Trusonic delivers and validates through reports the delivery of over 1 billion in-store and on-hold messages annually, and installs complete audio solutions including the Trusonic Media Player through its national network of sales and service locations.

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

Available for the First Time on Blu-Ray(TM) Hi-Def Academy Award(R) Winner for Best Music, Original Song: 'Lose Yourself' 8 Mile April 14, 2009 Own it on Blu-Ray(TM) Hi-Def With Perfect Picture and Perfect Sound From Universal Studios Home Entertainm

2009-02-19T01:47:00.000+02:00

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ --

Overview: "Eminem wins by a knockout!" raves Rolling Stone, as the Grammy Award-winning phenomenon makes his feature film debut in this gripping story about the boundaries that hold us back - and the courage that can set us free. For Jimmy Smith, Jr. (Eminem), life is a daily fight just to keep hope alive. From Academy Award(R) -winning director Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential) and Academy Award(R) -winning producer Brian Grazer (A Beautiful Mind), 8 Mile is the triumphant film Time Magazine hails as "Powerful!" and Entertainment Weekly applauds as "Electrifying" and "Mesmerizing!"

BONUS FEATURES:

THE MAKING OF 8 MILE
EXCLUSIVE RAP BATTLES - UNCENSORED
"SUPERMAN" MUSIC VIDEO - UNCENSORED

SYNOPSIS: For Jimmy Smith, Jr. (Eminem), life is a daily fight just to keep hope alive. Feeding his dreams in the city's vibrant music scene, Jimmy wages an extraordinary personal struggle to find his own voice - and earn a place in the world where rhymes rule, legends are born and every moment...is another chance.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION:

Street Date: April 7, 2009

Selection Number: 61107458

Price: $29.98 SRP

Running Time: 1 Hour 51 Minutes

Layers: BD-25

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Rating: R for strong language, sexuality, some violence and drug use

Languages/Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Sound: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Spanish DTS Surround 5.1, French DTS Surround 5.1

CAST & FILMMAKERS:

Director: Curtis Hanson

Screenwriter: Scott Silver

Producers: Brian Grazer, Curtis Hanson, Jimmy Iovine

Executive Producers: Carol Fenelon, James Whitaker, Gregory Goodman, Paul Rosenberg

Director of Photography: Rodrigo Prieto ASC

Production Designer: Philip Messina

Editors: Jay Rabinowitz, A.C.E.; Craig Kitson

Music: Eminem

Costume Designer: Mark Bridges

Cast: Eminem, Kim Basinger, Mekhi Phifer, Brittany Murphy, Evan Jones, Omar Benson Miller, De'Angelo Wilson, Eugene Byrd, Taryn Manning.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment is a unit of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com) . Universal Studios is a part of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% owned by Vivendi.

    CONTACTS: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
    Lea Porteneuve
    Vice President, Communications and Publicity
    (818) 777-1391
    Lea.Porteneuve@nbcuni.com

    Cathy Scott
    Publicist on Behalf of Universal Studios Home Entertainment
    (818) 777-0546
    Cathy.Scott@nbcuni.com

[Via http://www.prnewswire.com]

ReQuest Integrates Hulu Streaming Content in Home Media Servers

2009-02-18T14:05:00.000+02:00

Intelligent Media Client now includes hundreds of hours of free programming

BALLSTON SPA, N.Y., Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- ReQuest, pioneers and industry leaders in the realm of music server and whole-house media technology, is releasing new free firmware for the Intelligent Media Client (IMC), giving users the ability to stream hundreds of hours of television shows and movies from Hulu.com. ReQuest is currently the only high-performance media server manufacturer in the CEDIA Channel to include this feature built-in.

Hulu is a free, online, streaming video service that delivers both new television series as well as some nostalgic dramas and sitcoms plus a growing library of classic and contemporary movies, as well as hours of "webisodes" and other bonus programming.

Hulu control will be familiar to current users of the IMC. ReQuest has worked to make the interface blend seamlessly with the other familiar features of the system. Watching video content, searching for favorite titles, and even subscribing to favorite series are all intuitive processes in an easy-to-navigate menu system. "With a quick click of the remote, users can add their favorite shows to the 'My Shows' menu, and as new episodes come online, they are automatically added into the system," ReQuest CEO Peter Cholnoky explains. "We do all the tagging and creation of RSS feeds transparently, so the users never have to go to their computer to select shows. All control takes place right in the IMC."

Popular Hulu features such as "Most Recent" and "Highest Rated" videos are also available in the IMC interface.

The Intelligent Media Client is a convenient, elegantly scalable network device that harnesses the power of ReQuest iQ and F.Series systems to deliver an ever-expanding array of multiroom entertainment options. Intuitive IR control brings DVD movies, music, photos, online streaming content, and informational widgets to the biggest TVs in the house. With the recent introduction of NAS (Network Attached Storage) support to ReQuest servers, customers can easily grow their libraries of music and movies using inexpensive NAS products.

Hulu is included on all new ReQuest IMC shipments. Firmware updates are available to existing customers at no charge. This is only the first of many compelling IMC enhancements planned for 2009.

Digital images of ReQuest products are available in the Press Relations section of ReQuest's website at http://www.ReQuest.com/press/pressgraphics.asp

About ReQuest

ReQuest, Inc.'s home-entertainment systems have set the standard for high-end digital media storage, management, playback, and system integration since 1998. The Company's award-winning media servers are the accepted leaders in cutting-edge technology. ReQuest has received numerous accolades for having the best service in the consumer electronics industry, with an installed base of more than 30,000 units. ReQuest was ranked by Inc. magazine as one of the top 500 fastest-growing private businesses in America for two years in a row. For more information, visit http://www.request.com.

    Media Contact:

    Scot Seguine
    518-490-6142
    scot.seguine@request.com

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

Harrah's Entertainment and MTV Games Announce the Total Rock, Total Rewards Rock Band(R) Competition

2009-02-18T12:19:00.000+02:00

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- World class gaming and music entertainment giants Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. and MTV Games, a part of Viacom's MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), have joined forces to find the best Rock Band(R) gamers in America with the first-ever Total Rock, Total Rewards Rock Band Competition. The competition kicks off in March when Harrah's Entertainment properties become the first in the world to have official and permanent, fully-equipped Rock Band entertainment stages.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090218/NY70963 )

Throughout March and April, seventeen Total Rewards casinos* will host local, weekly Rock Band Competitions, allowing fans of the popular game to win an Xbox 360 and Rock Band bundle as well as other Total Rewards items and Rock Band apparel and accessories. Four regional competitions will then offer customers the chance to win more than $50,000 in prizes.

The ultimate winning band will be given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to open for the legendary B-52's at the House of Blues in Atlantic City on May 9th and will win $10,000 in prize money, making this the richest Rock Band competition in history. In addition, visitors at participating Total Rewards casinos across the country will be able to pick up their choice of guitar, bass, drums or vocals and rock out throughout the year during special Rock Band Nights.

"We're thrilled to be working with such an energetic and iconic company like MTV Games to further help bring Rock Band to the masses through our Total Rewards venues," said David Norton, chief marketing officer for Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. "We look forward to giving thousands of Rock Band fans a new reason to jam and take part in an event unlike anything they've ever experienced before."

"Harrah's is known for extraordinary entertainment and we are pumped to see the first of our fully equipped Rock Band stages hit Total Rewards casinos across the country," said Christina Glorioso, vice president of sales and marketing partnerships for MTV Games. "The full scope of the Rock Band and Harrah's program represents a great relationship between our two brands and will create significant value for our shared consumers."

The local Total Rock, Total Rewards Rock Band Competition will be open at participating properties to pre-registered amateur acts, 21 years and older, on a first come first serve basis. The events will be hosted and promoted by local radio stations. The Rock Band game scoring system will be used to score the participating rock bands on skill and performance, and MTV Games will provide the pre-determined song list for all the competitions.

The winning band from each location will then have a chance to go head-to-head at celebrity-judged competitions in Las Vegas (April 16), Chicago Area (April 24), New Orleans (April 30), and Atlantic City (May 7).

The four winning bands, one from each regional competition, will then have a chance to compete for the championship title in Atlantic City on May 8th. The regional events and Atlantic City events will be produced by MTV Networks Special Events, and hosted and judged by MTV, Harrah's, and local celebrities. Each band will compete on multiple Rock Band songs.

For more information and official rules on the competition, please visit http://www.harrahs.com/rockband.

The seventeen participating Total Rewards casinos* include:

    Eastern Region
    Bally's Atlantic City
    Harrah's Atlantic City
    Showboat Atlantic City
    Harrah's Chester (Philadelphia)

    Southern Region
    Harrah's New Orleans
    Horseshoe Bossier City (Shreveport)
    Harrah's Tunica (Memphis)
    Harrah's Metropolis (Nashville)
    Horseshoe Southern Indiana (Louisville)

    Central Region
    Harrah's Joliet (Chicago)
    Harrah's St. Louis
    Harrah's North Kansas City
    Horseshoe Hammond (Chicago)
    Harrah's Council Bluffs (Omaha)
    Caesars Windsor (Windsor, Ontario,
                     Canada/Detroit, MI)

    Western Region
    Harrah's Rincon (San Diego)
    Harrah's Las Vegas

    (* Subject to regulatory approval)

About Harrah's Entertainment, Inc.:

Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. is the world's largest provider of branded casino entertainment. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada, 70 years ago, Harrah's has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions, and now owns or manages casinos on four continents. The Company's properties operate primarily under the Harrah's(R), Caesars(R) and Horseshoe(R) brand names; Harrah's also owns the London Clubs International family of casinos and the World Series of Poker(R). Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence, and technology leadership.

About MTV Games:

MTV Games is dedicated to creating, marketing and publishing high-quality, innovative interactive products that are relevant to the MTV audience and complement the core values of the MTV Networks brands.

About MTV Networks:

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world's leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products. The company's portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 350 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Noggin, The N, AddictingGames, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV, TV Land, Atom, Gametrailers and Xfire.

Play MPE and RockSTAR Music Corp. to Host 'The Quintessential VIP Juno Awards Party'

2009-02-18T05:05:00.000+02:00

Play MPE(R) Digital Distribution System Exclusively Delivered Canadian Chart Topping RockSTAR Artists; Elise Estrada Receives Juno Nomination; Loverboy to be Inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Destiny Media Technologies (OTC Bulletin Board: DSNY), the global leader in the secure distribution of pre-release music to radio (http://www.plaympe.com) and provider of instant play streaming media, and RockSTAR Music Corp., an international record label and artist management company, will be hosting 'The Quintessential VIP Juno Awards Party.'

On March 28th, the night prior to the CTV televised broadcast of 'The 2009 Juno Awards' live at General Motors Place stadium, the Canadian music industry celebrates at the exclusive 'Juno Gala Awards Dinner.' A private, ticketed event, this dazzling evening of celebration, dinner and awards takes place at the Westin Bayshore Hotel. 32 Juno Awards (http://www.junoawards.ca/ ) will be handed out in different categories.

After the dinner, select VIP's, dignitaries, celebrities and other special guests will attend 'The Quintessential VIP Juno Awards Party,' sponsored by Play MPE(R) and RockSTAR Music Corp. Just steps from the Westin Bayshore Hotel in the exclusive downtown neighbourhood of Coal Harbour sits Vancouver's premier restaurant, the Lift Bar and Grill, which rises out of the Pacific ocean on timber pilings.

The restaurant, which will be closed to the public for this exclusive event, will be a star studded red carpet gala featuring Hollywood search lights, a vanity wall where stars can pose for Press and Paparazzi, complementary food and drink, with the 'who's who' of the entertainment world. Select guests will have access to the stunning rooftop deck, featuring casual seating around 5 star fire pits, overlooking the Stanley Park peninsula.

The world renowned Lift Bar and Grill restaurant (http://www.liftbarandgrill.com/) is located literally 'in' Burrard Inlet, providing one of the most spectacular visual locations in Vancouver. Views include a snow capped mountain range on the other side of the inlet, the Stanley Park rainforests, and yachts and seaplanes entering the marina.

Staff from Play MPE(R) and RockSTAR Music will be available to take requests for VIP invitations at the Royal York Hotel during 'The 2009 Canadian Music Week' (http://www.cmw.net ), March 11-14.

RockSTAR was one of the earliest Canadian users of the Play MPE(R) system, switching from a competing company in early 2007 to get the higher audio quality and better network and features Play MPE(R) offers.

Michael Hektoen, RockSTAR President, explained, "The Play MPE(R) system is the global standard for music distribution. It's the perfect platform to break new Canadian artists before exposing them to the global music market."

Adam H, RockSTAR Executive VP, adds, "We know Canadian radio and we know what Canadian radio wants and needs. That's world class music and technology, and a world class party. See you there!"

About Destiny Media Technologies

Destiny (www.dsny.com) is a media solutions company which provides secure distribution and instant play streaming media tools that the world's largest media companies, ad agencies, market research companies and leading labels including: Universal Music Group, EMI, Warner Music Group, Sony BMG and others use to distribute their audio and video content on the Internet. Products include Play MPE(R) (http://www.plaympe.com) and Clipstream(R) (http://www.clipstream.com ).

About RockSTAR Music Corp.

RockSTAR Music Corp. http://www.rockstarmusiccorp.com is a Vancouver Canada based international music company operating a record label, artist management, radio promotion - multi media marketing, recording studio and digital distribution aggregator with its own direct iTunes distribution. RockSTAR Music Corp. is one of Canada's hottest production teams behind the big hits from Juno Nominated & Canadian Radio Music Award Winner, Elise Estrada; Jahfus & Ray J.; Li Hyori; BoA; Live On Arrival; Dija; Sy'Rai; Rosette; and 'The 2009 Canadian Music Hall Of Fame' inductees, Loverboy

Safe Harbor Statement

"Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release contains forward looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the impact of competitive products and pricing, product demand and market acceptance, new product development, reliance on key strategic alliances, availability of raw materials, the regulatory environment, fluctuations in operating results and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    Party Contact:
    Joe Schmo
    Executive RockSTAR Party Czar
    416 939 0545
    joeschmo@rockstarmusiccorp.com

    Media Contact:
    John Gammack
    VP Operations Destiny Media Technologies
    604 609 7736 x252
    johng@dsny.com

Keri Hilson's 'Turnin Me On' Lands at #1 Spot at Urban Radio

2009-02-18T00:42:00.000+02:00

HIGHLY ANTICIPATED DEBUT ALBUM IN A PERFECT WORLD... IN STORES MARCH 24, 2009

SUPER PRODUCER TIMBALAND, POLOW DA DON AND DANJA PROVIDE PRODUCTION

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Keri Hilson's second single, "Turnin Me On," lands at the number one spot at Urban Radio this week. The video peaked at number one on BET last week and has been one of the top ten videos for four consecutive weeks. Produced by Polow Da Don and featuring Lil Wayne, the song is also climbing up the pop chart. Hilson and Lil Wayne performed the song nightly as they toured the country together on the "I Am Music Tour."

Nurtured between Timbaland's Mosley Music Group and Polow's Zone 4 Inc., In A Perfect World... boasts amazing sounds from a slew of hitmakers like Timbaland, Polow, and Danja. The album, which features guest appearances by Timabaland, Lil Wayne, Akon, Keyshia Cole, and Ne-Yo, will be released on MMG/Zone 4/Interscope and is set to arrive in stores on March 24, 2009. It's a watershed moment that meets both goals-it sounds and feels great. Speaking up for all the ladies, In A Perfect World... also looks to empower women to be strong, independent and determined. "No human is exempt from the realities of life-heartbreak, failure, success..." Keri comments. This takes all forms throughout the album which reveals Keri's ability to translate every day trials and tribulations into engaging music.

Hilson has received many accolades in the media, having graced the covers of Fader and Trace Magazine and has been championed in the pages of Rolling Stone, Blender, Vibe, Entertainment Weekly and Interview to name a few.

New dates have been added to the I Am Music Tour which will pick up again in March and Hilson will also open for T.I. on the below dates:

    Saturday, February 28 - Times Forum - Tampa/St. Pete, FL
    Sunday, March 8 - Univ. of Illinois Assembly Hall - Champagne, IL
    Thursday, March 12 - Don Haskins Center - El Paso, TX
    Friday, March 13 - Alamo dome - San Antonio, TX
    Saturday, March 14 - Arena Theater - Houston, TX

Gavin DeGraw to Release New Collection of Songs Entitled FREE, March 31st

2009-02-17T17:12:00.000+02:00

FREE Follows on the Heels of Platinum Singer and Songwriter's Self-Titled 2008 Top 10 Album

DeGraw Hits the Road for "Where It Began" Tour on March 27th

NEW YORK, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- On March 31st, 2009, J Records' platinum recording artist Gavin DeGraw will release a new collection of songs, entitled FREE -- a raw, organic-sounding recording that showcases DeGraw's earthy charm and ever-evolving songwriting talent.

"My intention on FREE was to stay out of the way of the songs," DeGraw says. "We kept the production very minimal in order to get everything that lies between me and the audience out of the way. By removing all the bells and whistles, you really make room for someone to pay attention to the songwriting." As a result, DeGraw's freewheeling melodies, heartfelt lyrics and soulful, blues-tinged vocal performances are front and center, creating an intimate experience for listeners.

Performed by a crack band that includes guitarist Audley Freed (Black Crowes), bassist Andy Hess (Gov't Mule), drummer Charley Drayton (Keith Richards' X-Pensive Winos), and keyboardist George Laks (Lenny Kravitz), FREE, the 10-song set ranges from new songs that were completed in the studio, such as "Stay" and "Mountains to Move," to tunes that DeGraw wrote very early in his career that have evolved with him, like "Dancing Shoes" and "Glass." "Those are songs only my die-hard fans would know," he says. "I wanted to properly record them because they're special to my fans." There's also a cover of Chris Whitley's "Indian Summer," a powerful number that DeGraw includes on FREE as a way to draw attention to one of his favorite artists. "I wanted to expose Chris' music to my fans," DeGraw says.

To keep himself from over-thinking the songs, DeGraw recorded FREE in less than two weeks at the Brooklyn studio of his producer Camus Celli, who has worked with such artists as Tina Turner, David Byrne, and Arto Lindsay. DeGraw and Celli have known each other since working together on an early version of DeGraw's platinum-selling 2003 major-label debut CHARIOT. "I've been in the studio with several different producers so I already knew what I wanted," DeGraw says. "This was my opportunity to be involved in the production, and I knew Camus could get the sounds I was going for."

The trust he had in Celli and the collaborative spirit of their partnership freed DeGraw up to dig deep and tap into something he says he hadn't tapped into for a while. "This album reveals the honesty about my love of music," he says. "It isn't about the biggest, the strongest, or the loudest. It's about simplicity in its purest form. It doesn't sound like the big machine. It sounds like where you go to escape the big machine."

In keeping with the stripped-down feel of FREE, DeGraw will hit the road on March 27th for an extensive spring tour he has dubbed his "Where It Began" tour, in which audiences will be taken on a musical journey back to DeGraw's roots for a series of intimate full band and solo performances. "We'll take a similar approach to the live shows as we did on the album," he says. "This tour is all about creating that very close connection with the audience."

FREE is the follow-up to DeGraw's self-titled 2008 album GAVIN DEGRAW, which debuted at No. 1 on the digital sales chart and No. 7 on Billboard's Top 200 album chart last May, earning DeGraw his first Top 10 album. GAVIN DEGRAW spawned the hit singles "In Love With A Girl," which Billboard dubbed "a rocking homerun" and the gold-certified "We Belong Together."

    Gavin DeGraw's upcoming tour dates are as follows:

    3/27      Portland, OR,  Aladdin Theater

    3/28      Seattle, WA,  The Tractor

    3/31      San Francisco, CA,  Great American Music Hall

    4/01      Los Angeles, CA,  El Rey

    4/02      San Diego, CA,  Soma

    4/04      Detroit, MI,  Public Concert Stage

    4/05      Scottsdale, AZ,  Martini Ranch

    4/06      Albuquerque, NM,  Launchpad

    4/08      Austin, TX,  The Parish

    4/09      Dallas, TX,  The Loft

    4/10      Houston, TX,  House of Blues

    4/11      Oklahoma City, OK,  Diamond Ballroom

    4/13      Columbia, MO,  The Blue Note

    4/15      Chicago, IL,  Park West

    4/16      Decatur, IL,  Kirkland Fine Arts Center

    4/17      Columbus, OH,  Newport Music Hall

    4/19      Manchester, NH,  Southern New Hampshire University

    4/20      New York, NY,  Highline Ballroom

    4/21      Harrisburg, PA,  Whitaker Center

    4/22      Philadelphia, PA,  Theatre of Living Arts

    4/24      Boston, MA,  Paradise Rock Club

    4/25      Reading, PA,  Alvernia University

    4/26      Alexandria, VA,  Birchmere

    4/28      Richmond, VA,  The National

    4/29      Knoxville, TN,  The Square Room

    5/01      Louisville, KY,  Kentucky Derby Festival

    5/03      Charlotte, NC,  Neighborhood Theatre

    5/04      Nashville, TN,  Exit/In

    5/05      Atlanta, GA,  The Loft

    5/07      Jacksonville, FL,  Jack Rabbits

    5/08      St. Petersburg, FL,  State Theatre

             Cover art for FREE is available at  www.rcamusicgrouppress.com.

Justice Through Music and Op-Critical Release New Music Videos Rejecting War and Pessimism

2009-02-17T13:00:00.000+02:00

"Happy Springtime, Bush is Over," and "Fear Not" Make A Strong Statement For Peace And Hope

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Justice Through Music ("JTM"), http://www.jtmp.org, a non-profit that works with famous musicians to create a sustainable and enlightened society, recently released two powerful music videos to reflect on the profound change that has taken place with the election of Barack Obama and the rejection of the policies of George Bush. JTM worked with Op-Critical, a band that has been commenting on social ills for many years with hard-hitting songs and music videos. http://www.op-critical.com, http://www.myspace.com/opcritical

In the first, "Fear Not," the protagonist represents all those who were driven crazy by the constant propaganda and fear mongering of the Bush Administration. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnMJBXJ-JyI Finally, he had enough and turned off the radio, smashed the TV and led the people to round up George Bush, Dick Cheney and Condi Rice to send them off for "rehabilitation." The citizens rose up and replaced fear with hope and rationality. "Fear Not" was directed by renowned film maker, Dmitry Torgovitsky, a native of Russia who was deftly able to express his own experiences with Soviet propaganda and fear in the video.

The second video, "Happy Springtime, Bush Is Over," is an updated version of a video Op-Critical first released two years to great acclaim and huge popularity on YouTube and MySpace. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quf-jyDsXbM In the original version, JTM used Yoko Ono's massive Peace billboard and Peace Prayer Trees on the Washington Mall to make a statement that the Bush Administration and its wars were over in the hearts of peace loving people everywhere. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jco4etlHwaE Now, in the new version, with the Bush Administration really over, there are new clips and nods to Barack Obama's promise of hope and change for the better.

JTM urges people to spread the videos, embed them on their sites and promote their message of peace and hope. jtmp.org

060909 The E.N.D. is Near

2009-02-17T10:00:00.000+02:00

The E.N.D. set for June 9th release on Interscope - first new studio album in four years, since worldwide 9 million-selling Monkey Business

'BOOM BOOM POW' FIRST NEW SINGLE - GOES TO TOP 40, RHYTHM CROSSOVER AND CLUBS

NEW YORK, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- After a four-year break between studio albums, three-time Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum Interscope recording group The Black Eyed Peas are back with The E.N.D.. The Black Eyed Peas' fifth studio album is set to arrive June 9, 2009. "Boom Boom Pow," the first new single from the album, will be serviced to Top 40 and Rhythm Crossover radio and clubs.

"We wanted to make a record that would make people dance," reveals will.i.am. In conjunction with the release of The E.N.D., plans call for The Black Eyed Peas to kick off a world tour playing the same global territories they covered over the past five years. Dates will begin to be announced in the weeks and months ahead.

The E.N.D. is the Black Eyed Peas' first original new album since Monkey Business (released May 2005), with sales of over 4 million in the U.S. and worldwide sales of more than 9 million copies. Monkey Business generated Grammy Awards over two consecutive years, when the RIAA gold single "Don't Phunk with My Heart" won Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group at the 2006 ceremonies; and the RIAA platinum single "My Humps" won Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group in 2007. "My Humps" also won the MTV VMA for Best Hip-Hop Video in 2006.

The intervening three years encompassed a hugely successful solo album from Fergie (The Dutchess, her worldwide 6 million-selling solo debut of 2006 is approaching 13 million in total digital downloads) and a solo release from Producer Of the Year Grammy nominee will.i.am (2007's Songs About Girls), plus two world tours and a live performance DVD (2006's Live From Sydney To Vegas). Of special note is will's involvement in the 2008 Presidential campaign of Barack Obama, whose song, "Yes We Can" was written by will.i.am, as well as the two post-election anthems, "It's A New Day" and "America's Song." For further information and video clips, go to www.dipdive.com.

There were also several notable movie soundtrack contributions over the past four years, including will.i.am's recent collaboration with Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer on the score of 2008's Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. will also lent his voice to the film's animated character Moto Moto. Look for starring roles in upcoming films from Fergie (Nine), will.i.am (X-men Origins: Wolverine) and Taboo (Streetfighter).

With worldwide sales in excess of 26 million units and a total of 11 Grammy Award nominations, The Black Eyed Peas are one of the most successful recording groups. Based in Los Angeles, original members will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo released their first album in 1998, Behind The Front (though will and apl were rapping together for ten years before that). Bridging The Gap, the second Black Eyed Peas album, arrived in 2000.

With 2003's breakthrough album Elephunk, and Fergie's entry into the lineup, the Peas became international superstars. The album spun off the worldwide #1 hit "Where Is the Love," "Shut Up," "Hey Mama," and "Let's Get It Started," which won The Black Eyed Peas their first Grammy Award, for Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group. Monkey Business extended and surpassed its predecessor, fueled by the back-to-back chart sensations "Don't Phunk With My Heart" and "My Humps." As the group stayed on the road in 2006, the 8-track EP Renegotiations: The Remixes was issued and the touring was chronicled on Live From Sydney To Vegas, the full-length live performance DVD. To date, they have logged 222 headline tour dates in 29 countries with 1.5 million tickets sold.

The E.N.D. now begins the next chapter - and the next decade - in the career of The Black Eyed Peas.

Orange Moves From Music to Mobile Multimedia With Sony Ericsson

2009-02-17T00:01:00.000+02:00

PARIS, February 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

- International Music Partnership Expands to Include Imaging and Gaming

Orange today announces it is extending its strategic partnership with Sony Ericsson, opening the door to more fun and easy mobile multimedia services. Coinciding with the launch of Sony Ericsson's consumer proposition Entertainment Unlimited, Orange is adding a new range of entertainment phones to the partnership, bringing high-quality Cyber-shotTM imaging and Java gaming experiences to customers in addition to music. The extended two year agreement builds upon a hugely successful partnership which integrates Orange's music service in a range of Walkman devices. Since 2006, Orange has sold over 6.3 million, making it the biggest provider of Walkman phones in Europe.

The new range will be part of Orange's successful Signature Series, which takes the best phones and makes them better by giving customers a simple and relevant multimedia experience. Combining the Walkman handsets with Orange Music Store, a full-track music download service that gives one click access to over one million tracks, has seen Orange users of Sony Ericsson Walkman(R) phones consume 50% more music than average music phone customers. As well as music, the extended agreement will fully integrate innovative mobile services from Orange into a new range of Sony Ericsson phones, including Orange Photo, Orange Games and Orange Downloads.

"This is a natural evolution for Orange and Sony Ericsson and a great example of how a fully integrated partnership can deliver both value to our business and a fantastic customer experience," says Yves Maitre, Senior VP Devices, Orange. "This successful partnership has already brought music to the ears of millions of Orange customers. We are now strengthening this leadership in music services and joint marketing campaigns by combining our own mobile innovations with the best handsets to fulfil our vision, bringing mobile multimedia to everyone."

Yves continues, "Our clear ambition is to increase usage by delivering simple and relevant content, whilst helping customers discover new ways to use their phone. As consumption of music via the phone has grown, our customers have also shown an insatiable appetite for entertainment services beyond downloading and listening to the latest tracks. As well as music, we've also seen a sharp increase in games downloads[1] and people sharing photos, so the time is right to seize this opportunity."

Pieter Pierle, Head of Global Customer Unit Orange at Sony Ericsson says, "We have always enjoyed a very successful music partnership with Orange, we know that two of the top three music handsets from Orange are from our own range. With a shared passion to bring mobile entertainment and content to everyone, Orange and Sony Ericsson are building upon a great partnership to ensure further success."

Pieter Pierle concludes, "Our new consumer proposition Entertainment Unlimited perfectly aligns with Orange's fresh approach to mobile multimedia, of which entertainment services play a huge part. Under the umbrella of Entertainment Unlimited, we at Sony Ericsson are now uniting all the experiences that have made us a leader in music, imaging and digital content services, making this partnership a perfect fit for customers that want the best entertainment experience available."

For more information about Orange visit http://www.orange.com/en_EN/group/

---------------------------------

[1] An increase of 60% in the last six months in the UK alone

'VH1 Storytellers: Kanye West' Premieres on VH1 Saturday, February 28 at 9:00 PM*

2009-02-16T15:35:00.000+02:00

NEW YORK, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Grammy award winning artist, Kanye West treated fans to an intimate performance Friday night, February 13 while taping an upcoming episode of VH1 Storytellers at The Sony Stages in Los Angeles. This exclusive performance, "VH1 Storytellers: Kanye West" will premiere Saturday, February 28 at 9:00 PM on VH1. The hour long show will feature West performing songs from his critically acclaimed album 808's & Heartbreak in addition to past hits. Following in the "Storytellers" format, viewers will get a unique opportunity to hear the inspiration and stories behind each song.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090216/NY71227)

*all times ET/PT

Taco Bueno Offers Chance to Meet the Jonas Brothers

2009-02-16T13:00:00.000+02:00

Winner of Contest to Receive Tickets to Concert and Meet-and-Greet with Band

DALLAS, Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Who needs hot sauce when you have The Jonas Brothers with your crispy taco? Arguably the hottest teen sensation at the moment is teaming up with Mexican quick-service restaurant, Taco Bueno, for a concert promotion. One lucky Taco Bueno customer can register to win an all-expenses-paid trip for four to attend the brothers' concert in Houston on March 9th and meet the boys in person.

On the heels of an appearance on the Grammy Awards with music legend Stevie Wonder, an exclusive visit to the White House to entertain its newest little occupants during inauguration week, and the upcoming opening of their much-anticipated 3-D IMAX concert experience release, The Jonas Brothers' concert tour will take a spin through the great state of Texas, and one lucky "Buenohead" (and three people of his/her choice) will be their special guests.

The chance to enter the competition is easy, and no purchase is necessary. Customers can obtain entry forms exclusively at Dallas/Fort Worth Taco Bueno restaurants; all they have to do is ask an employee. The entry forms must be mailed in by February 23rd to participate. Taco Bueno employees and their families are not eligible for the contest.

Taco Bueno President John Millersays, "We're very happy to announce this concert promotion--a first for the Taco Bueno brand. The Jonas Brothers is a fantastic band that's popular with many of our customers, so we are happy to have a chance to unite our Fast Casual Quality at Fast Food Price and Convenience(TM) with this pop sensation. There's nothing better than combining great food with great music."

About Taco Bueno

Taco Bueno is a Mexican quick-service restaurant concept that offers Fast Casual Quality at Fast Food Price and ConvenienceTM. Founded in 1967 in Abilene, Texas, Taco Bueno today has nearly 190 locations in Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Find out more about Taco Bueno by logging on to www.tacobueno.com.

SK Telecom and RealNetworks Expand Strategic Alliance

2009-02-16T10:09:00.000+02:00

BARCELONA, February 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today from GSMA Mobile World Congress 2009, SK Telecom and RealNetworks(R), Inc., (RNWK) the digital entertainment services company, announced that they have deepened their strategic relationship in mobile entertainment services. Real, which has provided music-related ASP services to SK Telecom since 2001, will extend its existing contracts with the mobile operator, and begin providing new services, both through 2011. It has also taken a minority stake in SK Telecom's Korean subsidiary LoEn to develop and market digital music offerings.

In addition to services Real already powers for SK Telecom, it will begin operating additional music services the operator provides to its customers. These include MelOn music-on-demand, ColoRing Ringback Tones, and others.

"We value and appreciate the long-term relationship we have with RealNetworks," said Dr. Wonhee Sull, executive vice president, Media & Future Business Division, SK Telecom. "We believe that our collaboration and continued partnership will help us achieve our long-term strategic goals."

LoEn, formerly known as Seoul Records and acquired by SK Telecom in 2005, will provide an environment for Real and SK Telecom to collaborate and innovate on digital music initiatives. The companies will work together to define those initiatives in the coming months.

"I am thrilled to see our relationship with SK Telecom expand into new areas and become more solid in the existing ones," said John Giamatteo, chief operating officer, RealNetworks. "We focus on providing innovative carrier-grade solutions for mobile operators around the globe, and view this alliance as a strong vote of confidence as we continue to work collaboratively on strategic initiatives."

Real's ASP services are currently available through 80 different mobile operators in 42 countries worldwide, making them available to 797.1 million subscribers. Real offers mobile operators a comprehensive selection of mobile services including: Music-On-Demand; Video-On-Demand; personalisation features such as Ringtones, Ringback Tones and Multimedia Ringback Services; and messaging services.

Find RealNetworks at Mobile World Congress at Hospitality Suite 19 & 25 Hall 4, Level 0.

RNWK-G

ABOUT SK TELECOM

SK Telecom (NYSE: SKM, KSE: 017670) is Korea's leading telecommunications provider with more than 23 million subscribers, which accounts for more than 50% of the total market. The company established in 1984, reached KRW 11.7 trillion in revenue in 2008. SK Telecom was the first to launch and commercialize CDMA, CDMA 2001x, CDMA EV-DO and HSDPA networks, and it currently provides cellular, wireless internet, mobile media, global roaming service and more. For more information, please visit http://www.sktelecom.com or email to http://press@sktelecom.com.

ABOUT REALNETWORKS

RealNetworks, Inc. delivers digital entertainment services to consumers via PC, portable music player, home entertainment system or mobile phone. Real created the streaming media category in 1995 and has continued to lead the market with pioneering products and services, including: RealPlayer(R), the first mainstream media player to enable one-click downloading and recording of Internet video; the award-winning Rhapsody(R) digital music service, which delivers more than 1 billion songs per year; RealArcade(R), one of the largest casual games destinations on the Web; and a variety of mobile entertainment services, such as ringback tones, offered to consumers through leading wireless carriers around the world. RealNetworks' corporate information is located at http://www.realnetworks.com/company.

RealNetworks, RealArcade, Rhapsody, RealPlayer and the Real logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc. or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, names of actual companies and products mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

Omnifone and ISPs to Fight Piracy With Revolutionary MusicStation Next Generation Music Service

2009-02-16T07:00:00.000+02:00

GSMA Mobile World Congress, BARCELONA, February 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Omnifone, the world's leading independent unlimited music service provider, today announces MusicStation Next Generation, a revolutionary service which gives broadband users legitimate unlimited access to the world's music on their Mac, PC and set-top box. In partnership with internet service providers (ISPs) and cable companies, the service heralds a new era in home entertainment, delivering unlimited access to both music and music videos direct to a broadband user's living room.

ISPs and cable companies are under increasing national and international governmental pressure to eradicate piracy over their networks. MusicStation Next Generation enables broadband providers rapidly to introduce legal unlimited music services, giving consumers a legitimate alternative to downloading music illegally over peer-to-peer file sharing networks. Omnifone has international licensing agreements in place for unlimited music downloads or streaming with all four major music labels and thousands of independents, providing users with unlimited access to a vast catalogue of music.

The IFPI estimates that illegal peer-to-peer filesharing and music piracy accounted for 95% of music downloads in 2008 with 40 billion tracks downloaded illegally worldwide.* In some European territories, peer-to-peer piracy accounts for as much as 50% of total internet traffic carried by ISPs and cable companies.

In the UK a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the music industry and ISPs to try to resolve the issue of illegal file sharing while industry commentators** think a key underlying theme of the UK Government's interim Digital Britain report published last month, is the push for digital content to be subscription based. Other countries are expected to follow suit, with government pressure to stem the tide of piracy increasing throughout the European Union (EU).

"Tens of millions of European consumers are engaged in music piracy every day. Whilst government pressure is growing, we also need to deliver alternatives that recognise the needs and desires of the YouTube generation," says Rob Lewis, CEO of Omnifone. "With today's announcement, Omnifone is offering consumers something better than piracy. MusicStation Next Generation gives consumers legitimate unlimited access to the world's music, in audio and video format, direct to their living room, through set-top box or personal computer, in partnership with their ISP or cable company. Broadband providers can deliver a better music experience; a legal alternative to piracy that differentiates their consumer proposition."

MusicStation Next Generation music powered services are expected to be bundled with monthly subscriber plans, as well as being offered to existing subscribers on a Pay As You Go (PAYG) basis.

MusicStation Next Generation demonstration at Mobile World Congress

Omnifone will be demonstrating the MusicStation Next Generation service on PC and set-top box for the first time at GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. For a demonstration, please visit Omnifone at Mobile World Congress, Stand C69, Hall 7, Fira de Barcelona, Spain between 16-19/02/2009, or email info@omnifone.com for further details.

*IFPI Digital Music Report 2009

**http://blogs.forrester.com/consumer_product_strategy/2009/01/digital-britain

.html

About Omnifone

Omnifone is the world's leading independent provider of unlimited music services for device vendors and mobile carriers including the likes of Sony Ericsson, Vodafone, Telenor and Hutchison Telecom, who are rolling out Omnifone's multi-award winning unlimited music services globally. Omnifone's MusicStation unlimited music download service is live today across four continents. At CES 2009 Omnifone announced a partnership with Gracenote to bring interoperable unlimited music services to multiple device platforms including mobile, PC, in-car and in-home devices. Gracenote's in-car entertainment system with MusicStation unlimited music service won CNET 'Best of CES' Car Tech Award. In 2008 Omnifone won Best Mobile Music Service at the GSMA Global Mobile Awards, Best Mobile Internet Service at the Mobile Industry Awards, the Juniper Research Future Mobile Award's Gold Award for Mobile Music, the Red Herring Global 100 Award and in 2007 the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF) Music Service Meffy. The company is based at Island Studios, London with regional HQs in Asia Pacific. http://www.omnifone.com

Chris Brown Issues Statement Through Spokesman

2009-02-15T18:38:00.000+02:00

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement was issued by a spokesman on behalf of Chris Brown:

"Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired. I am seeking the counseling of my pastor, my mother and other loved ones and I am committed, with God's help, to emerging a better person. Much of what has been speculated or reported on blogs and/or reported in the media is wrong. While I would like to be able to talk about this more, until the legal issues are resolved, this is all I can say except that I have not written any messages or made any posts to Facebook, on blogs or any place else. Those posts or writings under my name are frauds."

MultiVu Video Feed: Hollywood and Sports Stars Join

2009-02-14T13:00:00.000+02:00

T-Mobile For the Shot of a Lifetime

T-Mobile is giving its fave five celebrities and athletes the chance to each win up to $50,000 for the charity of their choice at the T-Mobile myFaves Shot of a Lifetime event. Up to $250,000 could be donated at the end of the night!

Guests will watch stars shoot it out with Dwyane Wade on the custom-designed myFaves half-court to win thousands for their charities. After the charity challenge, guests will be able to mingle and dance among the who's who in the worlds of Hollywood and sports and check out the T-Mobile g1 phones. The event kicks off the beginning of NBA all-star weekend and features a special performance by pop star Katy Perry and music provided by Jermaine Dupri.

The T-Mobile myFaves shot of a lifetime event will be the 'must-attend' destination for celebrities and athletes during basketball's biggest weekend. For more information, visit www.t-mobile.com.

    SATELLITE FEEDS:
    Saturday, February 14th, 2009      Saturday, February 14th, 2009
    10:00 AM - 10:15 AM ET             2:30 PM - 2:45 PM ET
    AMC 3                              AMC 3
    C-Band                             C-Band
    Transponder 3                      Transponder 3
    Downlink Freq. 3760 Horizontal     Downlink Freq. 3760 Horizontal

    Monday, February 16th, 2009
    10:00 AM - 10:15 AM ET
    AMC 3
    C-Band
    Transponder 3
    Downlink Freq. 3760 Horizontal

    NEWS: Celebs and Athletes Shoot It Out with Dwyane Wade to Benefit Charity

    FORMAT: B-roll and Soundbites

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Video, contact information and more available at: http://www.prnewswire.com/broadcast/36996/press.html


    SOUNDBITES:
    * Dwyane Wade, NBA All-Star

    B-ROLL INCLUDES:
    * Charity Shoot Out Competition
    * Katy Perry Performance
    * Party Footage

VIDEO PROVIDED BY: T-Mobile

Contact: FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL: MultiVu Media Relations, 1-800-653-5313 EXT. 3

'Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience' Tickets 'Burnin' Up' on Fandango

2009-02-13T10:00:00.000+02:00

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience" debuts two weeks from today, but fans are already scooping up advance tickets for the movie at fandango.com. The highly anticipated film opens in 3D and on IMAX 3D screens at midnight, on Thursday night, February 26.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20061016/LAM046LOGO-b)

As a bonus available to every "Jonas 3D" ticket-buyer, Fandango users will receive a free download of the Jonas Brothers music video, "Tonight." Details of the promotion are available at www.fandango.com/promo/jonasbrothers.

"Jonas 3D has the potential to be the one of the season's hottest ticket-sellers," says Rick Butler, Chief Operating Officer of Fandango. "According to a recent Fandango survey, the vast majority of 'Jonas' respondents say that the 3D presentation is a 'very important' factor motivating them to buy tickets to the film. It's clear that passionate Jonas Brothers fans have been looking forward to seeing their favorite band in a way they've never been able to see them before."

About "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience"

The Jonas Brothers head to the big screen--in Disney Digital 3-D(TM)--in a high-energy Walt Disney Pictures rockumentary feature film event from director Bruce Hendricks ("Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert"). The film blends excerpts from the Brothers' red-hot "Burning Up" concert tour, including guest performances from Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift, with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, off-the-wall segments, a never-before-heard song ("Love Is On Its Way"), swarming fans and a lot of JB-style humor--giving fans never-before-seen insights into the lives of Kevin, Joe and Nick.

About Fandango

One of the Web's top movie and entertainment destinations, Fandango sells tickets to more than 16,000 screens. Fandango entertains and informs consumers with reviews, commentary and trailers, and offers the ability to quickly select a film, plan where and when to see it, and conveniently buy tickets in advance. Fandango is available at www.fandango.com, 1-800-FANDANGO and via your wireless mobile device at mobile.fandango.com. Fandango is a unit of Comcast Interactive Media.

Nokia Launches New Digital Music Stores in Austria and Switzerland

2009-02-13T08:03:00.000+02:00

ESPOO, Finland, February 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Nokia Music Store in Austria http://music.nokia.at and in Switzerlandhttp://music.nokia.ch are now live. With five million tracks from major artists, independent labels, and up-and-coming local acts, the Nokia Music Store lets people enjoy music directly on their Nokia device or personal computer.

"With the launch of the Nokia Music Store, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) aims to make available to all Austrian and Swiss users of all ages, the music that they want at any moment they want, with all the facilities that mobility permits nowadays," says Michael Lachsteiner, Music Service Manager, Nokia Austria.

"The Nokia Music Store is a user-friendly innovation of the market leader. From this partnership the music industry expects a boost in the download segment - in and outside of Austria and Switzerland," comments Hannes Eder, Managing Director Universal Music Austria.

Ivo Sacci, managing Director at Universal Music Switzerland and president of IFPI Switzerland adds, "The Nokia Music Store will support growth in the digital music market."

With a single account, music lovers can access the Nokia Music Store via their desktop computer or directly from optimized Nokia devices such as the Nokia 5800 Xpress Music. Browse for new music, get recommendations or search for your favorite artists, songs or albums all from the palm of your hand. Once a track captures your attention, you can add it to your wishlist to buy later or purchase it immediately for download to your device without having to download the same song again on your computer. You can also transfer purchased songs via your PC to compatible Nokia devices.

Individual tracks will cost 1.00 EUR per track and 10.00 EUR per album in Austria, and 1.50 CHF per track and 15.00 CHF per album in Switzerland. All music on the Nokia Music Store can be purchased through a variety of payment options, including credit cards and pre-paid vouchers.

About Nokia Music Store

Nokia Music Store is a service where you can browse and buy music in order to download on your PC and compatible Nokia mobile device. Music downloaded from Nokia Music Store can be conveniently moved between your PC and compatible Nokia device, as well as copied to CD and moved on to compatible digital music players. Nokia Music Store also offers a monthly subscription service that allows you to stream unlimited music from the Store catalogue direct to your internet-connected PC. http://www.nokia.com/music

About Nokia

Nokia is the world leader in mobility, driving the transformation and growth of the converging Internet and communications industries. We make a wide range of mobile devices with services and software that enable people to experience music, navigation, video, television, imaging, games, business mobility and more. Developing and growing our offering of consumer Internet services, as well as our enterprise solutions and software, is a key area of focus. We also provide equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.

http://www.nokia.com

Nokia Announces Comes With Music Range of Devices for Singapore Launch

2009-02-13T07:11:00.000+02:00

SINGAPORE, February 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Revolutionary Digital Music Offer Will be Available on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia 5320 XpressMusic and Nokia 5220 XpressMusic Devices, as Well as the Nokia N96, Nokia N85 and Nokia N79 Multimedia Computers.

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) will deliver music loud and clear to local music lovers with its revolutionary Comes With Music service when it is launched in Singapore in the coming weeks, making it the first market in Asia where it will be available.

The service will be delivered on its newest and highly anticipated Nokia 5800 XpressMusic device - which will begin shipping in Singapore very soon - as well as on Comes With Music editions of the Nokia N96, Nokia N85 and Nokia N79, as well as the Nokia 5320 XpressMusic and 5220 XpressMusic devices.

Consumers in Singapore will be the first in the world to get their hands on a Comes With Music-enabled Nokia 5800 XpressMusic when it hits the stores.

Nokia's pioneering Comes With Music service offers consumers a new and revolutionary way to discover and download music, revamping their entire digital music experience. Consumers can buy a Nokia Comes With Music-enabled device and be able to download millions of free tracks from the Nokia Music Store catalogue over the course of a year*. What's more, they get to keep ALL their downloaded music from the diverse catalog of music from international and local artists - even when the service period is over.

"Comes With Music sets a truly industry-leading precedent in consumer value and convenience that others are already following. Especially in these trying economic times, music lovers can stay connected to the music they like, yet no longer worry about the cost of purchasing music by single tracks or album. The freedom and simplicity of the service is unparalleled. Comes With Music is revolutionary simply because all your downloaded music is yours to keep", said Vlasta Berka, General Manager, Nokia Singapore, Malaysia & Brunei.

"Nokia Comes With Music is also coming to Singapore through a wide and popular device range across different consumer segments covering various price points, because at Nokia, our vision is to connect people to the music they want, anytime and anywhere", he said.

Nokia Comes With Music is already live in the United Kingdom and on the Nokia N96, Nokia N95 8GB, Nokia 5310 XpressMusic and will be available on the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic later this year.

    *operator data charges apply.
    Find out more onhttp://www.nokia.com.sg/comeswithmusic
    Press photos of devices are available athttp://www.nokia.com/press
    About Nokia

Nokia is the world leader in mobility, driving the transformation and growth of the converging Internet and communications industries. We make a wide range of mobile devices with services and software that enable people to experience music, navigation, video, television, imaging, games, business mobility and more. Developing and growing our offering of consumer Internet services, as well as our enterprise solutions and software, is a key area of focus. We also provide equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.

http://www.nokia.com.sg

http://www.nokia.com

Video: Largest-Ever Gathering of 'American Idol' Winners Joins in Premiere of Attraction at Walt Disney World

2009-02-13T05:00:00.000+02:00

On Stage or in the Audience, 'The American Idol Experience' Immerses Guests in the Pop-Culture Phenomenon

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- With the largest-ever gathering of "American Idol" winners joining in the celebration, Walt Disney World Resort Thursday night raised the curtain on "The American Idol Experience," a new attraction capturing the energy and excitement of the hit TV show.

To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/disney/37018/

Thursday's grand premiere, at Disney's Hollywood Studios, was attended by all seven winners of the series, from season-one winner Kelly Clarkson to season-seven champion David Cook. Joining Cook and Clarkson were Jordin Sparks (season six), Taylor Hicks (five), Carrie Underwood (four), Fantasia Barrino (three) and Ruben Studdard (two).

More than two dozen Idol stars - winners and finalists from the first seven seasons - plus judge Paula Abdul and TV show host Ryan Seacrest arrived by celebrity motorcade, rolling down Hollywood Boulevard to the cheers, applause and snapping cameras of Disney's Hollywood Studios guests. Thursday's gala had all the glamour of a Hollywood opening. Cook treated the supercharged audience with a performance of his popular hit, "Light On," and after Underwood performed her hit, "All-American Girl," the pair brought down the house by teaming up for a first-ever duet, singing "Go Your Own Way," the Fleetwood Mac hit. The premiere even had a "red carpet" -- except the carpet was appropriately blue in celebration of the "American Idol" color scheme.

That color scheme and, in fact, the look of the attraction is similar to the actual TV show set. "The American Idol Experience" was developed by Walt Disney Imagineering in conjunction with FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) and 19 TV Ltd. and is based on the smash-hit television show "American Idol." The 1,000-seat indoor theater features twirling neon signs and a multi-layered backdrop inspired by the actual "American Idol" set in California.

The attraction is designed to immerse park guests in the authentic feel of a live television production, with some guests 14 or older auditioning to take the spotlight onstage, while fellow guests cheer them on from the audience and vote for their favorite singer with instant results. Audition slots are limited and interested guests are encouraged to arrive early.

Performers with the highest votes during preliminary shows return for a high-energy grand finale show that same evening. After their encore performances, one is voted the day's top singer.

In addition to their new-found theme park fame, the top vote-getter at the finale show receives "The American Idol Experience" Dream Ticket, which allows an eligible holder to schedule a front-of-the-line audition to a future regional audition for the "American Idol" television show. Feb. 14 is the grand opening of the attraction.

Disney's Hollywood Studios immerses guests in the glamour of show business with thrilling attractions, incredible Broadway-style shows, world-class atmosphere entertainment and interactive film, television and radio production facilities. The theme park is part of the 25,000-acre Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla. For more information, call 407/824-4321 or visit disneyworld.com.

About the Dream Ticket:

Dream Ticket recipients must satisfy AMERICAN IDOL* TV program requirements in effect at time of use, such as age and residency (Season 8 - only ages 16-28 and U.S. citizens or legal permanent U.S. residents eligible to work full-time in U.S.). Dream Ticket does not include travel, meals, lodging or other expenses.

About the Audition:

Guests 14 or older inside Disney's Hollywood Studios may audition to sing that day at the attraction, subject to guidelines in Frequently Asked Questions at Disneyworld.com/idol. Audition openings are limited and will likely close early in the day. Only a few singers will be chosen to sing onstage. A limited number of assigned audition times may be available in advance from time to time.

Complete attraction guidelines are described in the Frequently Asked Questions referenced above, which are subject to change without notice.

*AMERICAN IDOL(R) is a registered trademark of 19 TV Ltd. and FremantleMedia North America, Inc.

About 19 Entertainment

Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment (of CKX, Inc., a publicly traded company listed on the NASDAQ National Market(R) under the ticker symbol "CKXE") is recognized as a leading creator, provider and promoter of globally successful music-based entertainment, or "entertainment brands." The company has attracted a unique collection of expertise in people who work together to integrate and leverage activity across television, film, touring, merchandising, music publishing, recording, artist / writer and producer management, sponsorship and promotion. Simon Fuller is the most successful British music manager of all time having sold over 116 million CDs in North America alone, and is known as the creator of "American Idol," the most valuable TV format in the world with an estimated value in excess of $2.5 billion. For further information, visit www.americanidol.com.

About FremantleMedia Enterprises & FremantleMedia

FremantleMedia Enterprises is the content exploitation arm of FremantleMedia, offering a one-stop-shop for all Licensing, Distribution and Home Entertainment. It is a division of FremantleMedia, one of the largest international creators and producers of entertainment brands in the world with leading prime time drama, serial drama, entertainment and factual entertainment programming in over 40 countries worldwide. FremantleMedia is a subsidiary of RTL Group, Europe's largest television and radio broadcast company, which is 90% owned by Bertelsmann AG, an integrated media and entertainment company that commands leading positions in the world's media markets. For further information, visit www.fremantlemedia.com.

HDNet Concert Series Presents The Backstreet Boys

2009-02-12T23:47:00.000+02:00

Reunited 90s boy band premieres exclusively on the HDNet Concert Series, Sunday, February 15 at 8:00 p.m. ET

DALLAS, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ --

WHAT: The HDNet Concert Series presents "Backstreet Boys Live from The O2 Arena, London," this Sunday, February 15 at 8:00 p.m. ET

The Backstreet Boys, who have several platinum records to their credit, conquered the music world shortly after their formation in 1992. Now reunited, they deliver an electric show to a sold out crowd, including energetic performances of their best-loved favorites such as "I Want It That Way," and "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)."

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080324/HDNETLOGO)

WHEN: The Backstreet Boys concert premieres on HDNet, Sunday, February 15 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

About HDNet

HDNet (www.hd.net) is a network that is original, thinks independently and delivers unique content and provocative, authentic programming, all in true high definition.

HDNet is the exclusive, high definition home for popular, critically acclaimed original programming, including television's only HD news feature programs "HDNet World Report," the Emmy Award winning "Dan Rather Reports," featuring legendary journalist Dan Rather. Only HDNet goes beyond the headlines to deliver real news that is redefining the way we look at our world. HDNet News is provocative, sometimes controversial and always relevant - telling the important stories of our time in-depth, with attitude and with independence.

HDNet presents championship sports coverage featuring the best of Mixed Martial Arts through HDNet Fights. HDNet Fights partners with leading MMA promoters including Affliction, DREAM, StrikeForce, M1, K-1, K-1 Max, MFC, Adrenaline and more. HDNet produces more live mixed martial arts events than any other network and HDNet's "Inside MMA" is the hottest mixed martial arts program on television, giving MMA fans their weekly fix for everything MMA.

Upcoming Sneak Previews include "The Great Buck Howard," starring Colin Hanks, John Malkovich and Tom Hanks, and "Harlem Aria," starring Damon Wayans.

HDNet Movies offers subscribers a premium movie viewing experience in true HD, and more original movies shot entirely in HD than any other network.

The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band's 'BLUE AGAIN' Celebrates the Original Sound of the Blues-era Fleetwood Mac

2009-02-12T11:00:00.000+02:00

SET FOR RELEASE IN NORTH AMERICA ON 429 RECORDS

New Live Album Features Original Compositions and Classic Fleetwood Mac Songs

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Revisiting the blues-based classic songs of early Fleetwood Mac, along with completely new songs in the same style, iconic rock drummer and band co-founder Mick Fleetwood has assembled a hand-picked quartet of musicians, The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, who've created a stunning new live recording, BLUE AGAIN. Equal parts blues rave-up and loving homage to the early incarnation of Fleetwood Mac, BLUE AGAIN is a fiery blues showcase and heartfelt tribute to Fleetwood Mac who are just beginning their 40th Anniversary celebration. BLUE AGAIN will be released by the Savoy Label Group unit 429 Records, in time for the kickoff of a triumphant world wide tour on March 3rd via an exclusive package on iTunes and on CD March 17. A companion high definition DVD is scheduled for release in the summer.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090208/LA67886LOGO)

Produced by Mick Fleetwood and former Fleetwood Mac member Rick Vito, BLUE AGAIN was recorded live at the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis, Missouri in February of 2008 and sees him teaming up on this recording with guitarist and lead vocalist Rick Vito, bassist Lenny Castellanos and keyboardist Mark Johnstone. The immaculate recording gives the songs a vibrant, modern immediacy which transcends easy nostalgia. Says Mick: "Over my career I've been called a pop star and a rock star, yet in my inner heart, I will always be part bluesman. On my journey from blues to a life of rock 'n' roll, I've always remembered where I started." BLUE AGAIN is both an original musical tour de force and a respectful tribute to Fleetwood Mac initiated by the sole member of the band to be in every incarnation from the beginning.

Track listing for BLUE AGAIN is as follows: 1. Red Hot Gal 2. Looking For Somebody 3. Fleetwood Boogie 4. Stop Messin' Around 5. Rattlesnake Shake 6. When We Do The Lucky Devil 7. Love That Burns 8. Bayou Queen 9. Black Magic Woman 10. I Got A Hole In My Shoe 11. Shake Your Moneymaker 12. Albatross.

429 Records is a unit of the Savoy Label Group (SLG). SLG is the North American unit of CME (Columbia Music Entertainment), the oldest music company in Japan. The Savoy Label Group has evolved into a leading independent company consistently outperforming competitors in key music categories as monitored by Billboard Magazine. SLG is led by Steve Vining and CME is headed by Chairman Strauss Zelnick, founder of Zelnick Media which owns interests in and manages an array of media companies.

The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band is co-managed by Jonathan Todd, President of Sabre Entertainment and Carl Stubner, President of Sanctuary Management Group.

www.429records.com

www.slgmusicus.com

www.MickFleetwood.com

www.SabreEntertainment.net

Fluid Music Canada's Trusonic(R) Chosen to Provide Music and Messaging to Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Retail Locations

2009-02-12T10:00:00.000+02:00

LA JOLLA, Calif., Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Fluid Music Canada's Trusonic, Inc. (TSX: FMN) the largest provider of Internet delivered music and messaging services for retailers, today announced that Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, Inc. (Nasdaq: JOSB) will deploy Trusonic's in-store music and on-hold messaging to all of its 462 stores in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

Reflecting the Jos. A. Bank Clothiers brand values of quality and workmanship, Trusonic has programmed a unique blend of music that combines ground breaking, trend-setting, Major Label Artists with Trusonic's exclusive roster of Direct Independent Artists.

"We're thrilled to have the Trusonic music programming team creating a completely custom in-store audio experience for our shoppers. Our store associates have already validated Trusonic's vast improvement to our locations," said Peter Satten, Divisional VP Visual Merchandising.

Lorne Abony, Chief Executive Officer of Trusonic, said: "Trusonic has a long history of designing and implementing in-store audio programming to match high-end retailer's brands, and we are delighted to be partnering with Jos. A. Bank Clothiers. Today's partnership announcement underscores Trusonic's value proposition to major, national retailers."

About Trusonic

As the leading provider of internet delivered business audio services, Fluid Music Canada's Trusonic provides custom music and messaging to retail, hospitality and general business environments in over 100 countries. Many of the largest chains and boutique brands in the world trust Trusonic to enhance their brand image at their locations. Trusonic has the largest library of Major Label and Independent Artist music from which to create custom music programming for its clients. Trusonic has delivered and validated through reports the delivery of over 1 billion in-store and on-hold messages across its audio network. Trusonic also provides complete audio system solutions, including the Trusonic Media Player, through its national network of sales and service locations.

NOTE TO EDITORS: For additional information visit Trusonic's PR website (http://www.trusonic.com/prnews/).

Limp Bizkit Original Line Up Rocks Again!

2009-02-12T09:00:00.000+02:00

The original line-up of Limp Bizkit is back, do you believe in miracles? If so, then you can believe Limp Bizkit is back to do it ALL again! Album! Tour! Worldwide!

NEW YORK, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- The original line-up of Fred Durst, Wes Borland, Sam Rivers, John Otto, and DJ Lethal are back from an eight year hiatus to bring their world back to ours. Fred Durst and Wes Borland said in a joint statement:

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090212/LA69773)

"We decided we were more disgusted and bored with the state of heavy popular music than we were with each other. Regardless of where our separate paths have taken us, we recognize there is a powerful and unique energy with this particular group of people we have not found anywhere else. This is why Limp Bizkit is back."

The guys will kick off a world tour in the Spring on the overseas festival circuit with headline shows sprinkled in throughout Eastern Europe and Europe, selected dates include, in late May, Russia, Ukraine, and the Baltic countries where Limp Bizkit has never played before despite huge demand, along with major festivals like Rock Am Ring and Rock Im Park in Germany, more dates to be announced shortly. A new album, which would be the original group's first full-length effort since 2000, is also planned. Limp Bizkit's first three albums have sold over 20 million copies in the U.S. alone, and another 13 million in the rest of the world.

For complete news and up-to-date information, please visit www.limpbizkit.com or www.myspace.com/limpbizkit.

Yanni Finds His 'Voice'

2009-02-12T01:00:00.000+02:00

PBS STAR TO PREMIERE LIVE CONCERT SPECIAL 'YANNI VOICES: LIVE FROM THE FORUM IN ACAPULCO'

Concert Special to Premiere on PBS March 2, 2009

First CD release in six years, YANNI VOICES, set for March

U.S. tour kicks off in April

BURBANK, Calif., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- YANNI VOICES: LIVE FROM THE FORUM IN ACAPULCO, a live concert spectacular from Grammy-nominated and multi-platinum recording artist Yanni, premieres on PBS Monday, March 2, 2009. After Yanni's four-year hiatus from public performance, YANNI VOICES: LIVE FROM THE FORUM IN ACAPULCO marks his triumphant return to the stage and, for the first time in his remarkable career, features show-stopping vocal performances by young artists who bring to life his most popular musical compositions.

Long a PBS favorite, Yanni has a unique ability to engage his audience with his masterful productions; he has done so again, creating an enchanting and riveting experience that features beautiful music, spectacular choreography, dazzling costumes and dynamic set design. Most prominently featured in YANNI VOICES: LIVE FROM THE FORUM IN ACAPULCO are the "Voices" themselves - Nathan Pacheco, Chloe, Ender Thomas and Leslie Mills - four exceptional vocalists who, under Yanni's direction, perform both original and classic Yanni compositions accompanied by Yanni's acclaimed orchestra, comprised of musicians from across the globe.

One of the world's most recognizable musicians, Yanni has distinguished himself as a top-selling adult contemporary artist, with worldwide sales of more than 25 million albums, accumulating 35 platinum and gold records globally. His concert DVDs Tribute and Live at the Acropolis both attained multi-platinum status; Live at the Acropolis remains the second highest-selling music DVD to date.

Yanni's last PBS concert special YANNI LIVE! THE CONCERT EVENT in 2006 was an unqualified success. His other hit PBS specials include YANNI LIVE AT ROYAL ALBERT HALL, YANNI TRIBUTE: IN CONCERT AT THE TAJ MAHAL AND THE FORBIDDEN CITY, YANNI IN CONCERT: LIVE AT THE ACROPOLIS and YANNI: NO BORDERS, NO BOUNDARIES.

Following the PBS special, Disney Pearl Series will release "Yanni Voices" on March 24. This will be Yanni's 16th album release and marks the first time the acclaimed composer/pianist has brought vocals to the forefront of his music. On April 10, Yanni will kick-off of the "Yanni Voices" tour - his first since 2005 - which will run through October and cover more than 75 North American markets, including Mexico and Canada.

YANNI VOICES: LIVE FROM THE FORUM IN ACAPULCO will air on PBS stations nationwide. Please check local listings for times and stations.

www.yanni.com

www.PBS.org/pressroom

Academy of Country Music and The Home Depot(R) Select Country Music Artist Leann Rimes to Receive Humanitarian Award

2009-02-11T18:00:00.000+02:00

HONOR TO BE PRESENTED DURING THE 44th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS TO AIR LIVE FROM MGM GRAND IN LAS VEGAS SUNDAY, APRIL 5 AT 8 P.M. ET/PT ON CBS

ENCINO, Calif., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Academy of Country Music, dick clark productions and The Home Depot(R) announced today that multi-platinum singer/songwriter LEANN RIMES will be the 2009 recipient of the Academy of Country Music/The Home Depot Humanitarian Award, to be presented during the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards. The show will be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las VegasSunday, April 5, 2009 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.

In its eighth year, the Humanitarian Award recognizes country music artists who serve others, have a generous spirit and help build the dreams of those in need. Country music superstar LEANN RIMES was selected by a special blue-ribbon committee comprised of executives in the country music industry and local and national philanthropic leaders, for her ongoing community service and charitable giving of her time and talent.

Rimes has made giving back a priority in her career and has been particularly devoted to children's causes. She previously served as the International Spokesperson for Children's Miracle Network, which secures top-flight medical care for sick kids, and has generously supported Camp C.O.P.E., a service that teaches the children of wounded veterans to deal with their parents' altered lives.

In 2007, Rimes partnered with Kellogg to draw attention to disabled veterans when she was featured on patriotic cereal boxes. She recorded the song "I Want You With Me" for this project and donated all proceeds from the song to the cause.

Rimes also financed construction of the LeAnn Rimes Adventure Gym at the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville by contributing royalties from her 2000 hit single, "I Need You." Additionally, she is an ardent supporter of the Nashville Humane Association and continues to speak out on the need to treat animals compassionately.

Rimes has previously been honored with the International Entertainment Buyers Association Humanitarian Award and Redbook magazine's "Strength and Spirit Award," for her distinguished record of charitable achievements.

"I feel blessed to be able to help," said Rimes. "I strive to be actively involved in my community with my time and my heart, and I've been touched by the spirit and bravery of those I have encountered along the way. I'm honored that The Home Depot and the Academy have chosen to recognize my work and spread awareness of the worthy causes that inspire me."

As the recipient of the Humanitarian Award, LEANN RIMES will receive a beautiful crystal trophy designed by Tiffany & Co. during the live CBS telecast. She will also be honored with a playground donated by The Home Depot and their national nonprofit partner KaBOOM!, which envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. The playground will be built by The Home Depot volunteers and community members in the city of LEANN RIMES' choice. Past recipients of the Humanitarian Award include Brooks & Dunn, Vince Gill, Martina McBride, Neal McCoy, Reba McEntire, Lonestar and Rascal Flatts.

"Philanthropy and giving back are core values at The Home Depot and something we share with the country music community," said Frank Bifulco, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at The Home Depot. "We're honored to recognize LeAnn for her long-standing dedication to helping those in need and raising awareness for the causes she supports. She represents the values of charitable giving and community service held by both The Home Depot and the Academy of Country Music."

THE RECIPIENT

LeAnn Rimes has sold more than 37 million records, won three Academy of Country Music Awards, two Grammy Awards, an American Music Award, and 12 Billboard Awards. She's scored numerous hit singles, among them "One Way Ticket," "I Need You," "Nothin' 'Bout Love Makes Sense," "Probably Wouldn't Be This Way," "Can't Fight The Moonlight," which was a #1 song in 11 countries, and "How Do I Live," which was the longest running single ever on the Billboard Hot 100, spending a record-setting 69 weeks on the chart. "How Do I Live" was also recently chosen by Billboard as the 4th most popular song of the last 50 years, since the inception of the Billboard charts. She has written children books, acted in film and on television and has become a musical icon both in the U.S. and in Europe. On March 21st, Rimes will star in the Lifetime original film "Nora Roberts' Northern Lights."

In 2007, she released her 12th studio album Family for which she wrote or co-wrote all of the tracks. The album has yielded hit singles such as "Nothin' Better To Do" and "What I Cannot Change." Inspired by the latter's lyrics, Rimes launched WhatICannotChange.com for fans to share their personal stories of forgiveness and acceptance. Overwhelmed by the influx of comments and stories, Rimes has turned the site's contents and single's lyrics into a companion book What I Cannot Change, due out on April 14 from Harper Studio. Currently, she is writing songs for the follow up to Family and preparing to lobby Congress to garner much needed funds and raise awareness of psoriasis, a personal issue for which she has become a spokesperson.

THE HOME DEPOT

The Home Depot(R) is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer, with 2,275 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces, Mexico and China. In fiscal 2007, The Home Depot had sales of $77.3 billion and earnings from continuing operations of $4.2 billion. The Company employs more than 300,000 associates. The Home Depot's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index.

ABOUT THE ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS

The 44th Academy of Country Music Awards is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the country music industry. The show is produced for television by dick clark productions and will be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las VegasSunday, April 5, 2009 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network. Orly Adelson and R.A. Clark are executive producers, Barry Adelman is producer and Bob Bardo is executive in charge of production.

For more information on the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC and the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, please visit www.acmcountry.com.

Second 'Timeless' Concert Presented By VTech Pays Tribute to Late Grammy-Nominated Producer J Dilla

2009-02-11T15:07:00.000+02:00

Carlos Nino and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Will Perform Their EP 'Suite for Ma Dukes' Live for the First Time in Special Tribute to the Famed Hip-Hop Producer

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- VTech(R) Communications, Inc. (a wholly-owned subsidiary of VTech Holdings Ltd. HKSE: 303; ADR: VTKHY, and the largest U.S. cordless phone manufacturer), in conjunction with music production company Mochilla, presents the second concert in the four-part "Timeless" concert series, featuring a special tribute to the highly regarded hip-hop and neo-soul music producer J Dilla. Headlined by Carlos Nino and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, the concert will be held Feb. 22 at the Harriet and Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex in Los Angeles.

Nino and Atwood-Ferguson will showcase J Dilla's legacy through interpretation of his music in their contemporary chamber music style. Following opening DJ sets by House Shoes, Nino and Atwood-Ferguson will perform their EP, "Suite for Ma Dukes," live for the first time. They will be backed by a 36-piece orchestra and feature surprise guests who won't be announced prior to the show.

The "Timeless" concert series is a unique homage to arrangers and composers as the antecedents of today's beat-makers. Each "Timeless" concert features international artists performing their all-time hits, plus an exclusive new piece. The DJs/producers opening each concert build their sets around the legacy and era of the highlighted composer.

James Yancey, known as J Dilla, passed away from cardiac arrest in 2006 at the age of 32, after a long fight with Lupus. His style is said to be the most revered sounds in hip-hop from the mid-1990s through today. The Detroit native worked with major musicians, including A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, De la Soul, Common, Janet Jackson and more.

The "Timeless" concert series is presented by VTech, which recently announced a feature-rich streaming music and Internet radio device, the IS9181. VTech sponsors a variety of concerts and music events nationwide.

"The 'Timeless' series features remarkable talents in unique collaborations that showcase the backbones of modern hip-hop," said Tom Bacon, vice president of marketing, VTech Communications. "J Dilla and the other internationally acclaimed musicians to whom we pay tribute gave us the building blocks for beats we hear today. Celebrating their individual styles is our way of introducing the creators to the enthusiasts."

"Timeless" is curated by production company Mochilla, which has previously developed campaigns for other tastemaker brands such as Adidas, Dickies and Vans.

Feb. 22 "Timeless" Concert: About the Musicians

J Dilla

Frequently and rightly placed in the same context as DJ Premier, Pete Rock and Kanye West, Jay Dee built and sustained a high standing as a producer's producer, while maintaining a low profile. When Pharrell Williams appeared on BET's 106 & Park in 2004, he declared that Jay Dee was his favorite producer and told the stumped crowd that it had probably never heard of the man. At the time, Jay Dee had been active for well over a decade and had netted enough beats -- including the Pharcyde's "Runnin'," De La Soul's "Stakes Is High," Common's "The Light" and several others with production teams the Ummah and the Soulquarians - to be considered an all-time great.

In 1996 alone, Jay Dee worked with Busta Rhymes, De La Soul and the Pharcyde, all the while playing a major role in the Ummah with Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad. Before long, hardcore hip-hop fans began to know Dilla for his steady wobble, which was unfailingly musical and rich in details - shuffling high-hats, oddly placed handclaps and spacious drum loops with drastically reshaped samples of tracks both obscure and obvious. Through the remainder of the 1990s, Dilla quietly racked up more output, including Janet Jackson's "Got 'til It's Gone" (for which he did not receive credit), additional tracks for the Pharcyde and collaborative work with Q-Tip on all of 1999's Amplified. As a core member of the Soulquarians, with James Poyser and the Roots' Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson, Dilla worked on Common's Like Water for Chocolate, D'Angelo's Voodoo, Erykah Badu's Mama's Gun and Talib Kweli's Quality.

Through 2005, he continued to work with past associates. Excited by a Madlib mixtape, Dilla forged an alliance with his admirer for 2003's Champion Sound, released under the name Jaylib. It was around this time that Dilla's health took a sharp decline. For more than two years, he had to use a dialysis machine and, ultimately, had to perform in a wheelchair. He was still able to tour in Europe during late 2005, and Donuts, an album of instrumentals completed during one of his extended hospital stays, was released on Feb. 7, his 32nd birthday. Three days later, while staying at his Los Angeles home with his mother, he passed away, a victim of cardiac arrest.

Carlos Nino and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Calif., Carlos Nino and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson have been working together on a wide variety of projects for several years now. They produced albums for Build An Ark (Kindred Spirits), Mia Doi Todd (City Zen), Grace Woodroofe (for Executive Producer Heath Ledger), Ariana Delawari (alongside David Lynch), as well as a duet album entitled Carlos Nino & Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Fill the Heart Shaped Cup (Alpha Pup). They have been a virtual production powerhouse.

The collaboration started when Nino hired Atwood-Ferguson's string quartet, Supernova, to perform on the record Dwight Tribble & The Life Force Trio Love is the Answer (Ninja Tune) in 2004. On that same Dwight Tribble album project, Nino first met, befriended and then licensed a track from one of his heroes, James "Jay Dee/J Dilla" Yancey. The song "Antiquity" came from those sessions and it is a stand out from Dilla's vast and distinct catalog. Tribble brought his unique jazz vocal stylings to Dilla's jazz influenced hip-hop, completing the circle.

Fast forward two years - in February 2006, several days after his 32nd birthday, Dilla passed away due to Lupus related complications. After his untimely death, Nino and Atwood-Ferguson chose to pay tribute to Dilla by continuing the musical conversation that he had started, but now in the contemporary chamber music style that Atwood-Ferguson had been developing. On what would have been Dilla's 33rd birthday, February 7, 2006, Nino & Atwood-Ferguson sent their strings, brass and reeds only version of Common's "Nag Champa (Afrodisiac for the World,)" to DJs, producers and fans for free, via the internet. It caused a big stir among fans and first-time listeners alike. Hip-hop had never been given the chamber music treatment before -- in such a reverential and rhythmic way and there are no drums. They had written the entire piece to accompany the record, but Dilla was still in the track, by his absence instead of his presence.

At the end of 2008, they put the finishing touches on the first official release of this music - a four-track EP entitled "Suite for Ma Dukes" which will be released by Mochilla in April 2009. These four tracks embody Dilla's magic. From "Antiquity" to "Nag Champa" from Tribe Called Quest's (Dilla produced) "Find a Way" to the Slum Village's "Fall in Love," the harmonic and melodic beauty of Dilla's music is liberated. It is hip-hop as you never thought in a way you have never heard.

Early in 2009, the project received the official blessing of Ma Dukes herself and part of the proceeds from the record will go to Dilla's heirs.

Regardless of how many live performances and recording sessions Atwood-Ferguson book and no matter how much Nino is up to creatively, they find time to connect in the essence of Dilla. It is there that they celebrate Maurice Ravel, Bernard Herman, Charles Stepney, James Brown, The Bomb Squad and so many others simultaneously.

DJ House Shoes

Internationally lauded as Detroit's hip-hop ambassador to the world, DJ House Shoes has been a fixture on the Detroit hip-hop music scene for over a decade. Four-time "Best Hip-Hop DJ" in Detroit, Shoes began his professional career in 1994 as a resident DJ at St. Andrews Hall, the home of Detroit's blossoming hip-hop scene from the mid to late 1990s.

As a consultant at Street Corner Music, Record Time, Melodies & Memories and Car City Records from 1994-2005, Shoes managed to expose international hip-hop die-hards to the musical genius of J Dilla, the late Detroit-based drum-god who would go on to become a Grammy-nominated producer.

Ticket Information and Upcoming Timeless Concert Series Dates

Tickets for the Feb. 22 "Timeless" concert are available through Ticketmaster and the Luckman Box Office for $22.50. Performances are open to all ages. For additional information on the Timeless concert series, or photos and video from the first concert, please visit www.vtechphones.com/timeless.

The schedule for upcoming "Timeless" concerts at The Harriet and Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex at the California State University, Los Angeles campus is as follows:

Sunday, March 15, 2009 - with a 30-piece orchestra; opening DJ sets by MADLIB and DJ Nuts (Brazil)
Sunday, April 5, 2009 - David Axelrod with a 26-piece orchestra; DJ set by J.Rocc; special guests to be announced

About VTech(R)

VTech is one of the world's largest suppliers of corded and cordless telephones and a leading supplier of electronic learning products. It also provides highly sought-after contract manufacturing services. Founded in 1976, the Group's mission is to be the most cost-effective designer and manufacturer of innovative, high-quality consumer electronics products and to distribute them to markets worldwide in the most efficient manner.

About Mochilla

Mochilla is a production company formed by photographers Eric Coleman and B+ in 1997. Ten years later Mochilla has produced five music videos, four documentaries, several ad campaigns, a remix album and more than 40 album covers and continues to grow. Both Coleman and B+ have taken their respective fields to new heights, selling films to the Sundance Channel, being distributed by Ninja Tune and touring Europe several times to execute campaigns for Adidas, Dickies, Alphanumeric and Vans. They both have successful solo careers but their continuing collaboration is housed at Mochilla.

    Media Contact:  Jeanette Liang
    GolinHarris
    213-438-8760
    jliang@golinharris.com

Nominations Announced for the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music(R) Awards Country Music's Party of the Year(TM)

2009-02-11T13:45:00.000+02:00

FANS WILL VOTE AGAIN FOR ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR; TOP NEW ARTIST CATEGORY FAN VOTED FOR FIRST TIME EVER

TELECAST TO AIR LIVE FROM MGM GRAND IN LAS VEGASSUNDAY, APRIL 5th AT 8:00 PM LIVE ET/ DELAYED PT ON CBS TELEVISION NETWORK

Brad Paisley leads with 6 nominations; Heidi Newfield receives 5 nominations; Kenny Chesney, Jamey Johnson and George Strait each receive 4 nominations; Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban each receive 3 nominations; Trace Adkins, Brooks & Dunn, Little Big Town, James Otto, Jake Owen, Taylor Swift and Sugarland each receive 2 nominations

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Nominations were announced today for the 44th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS a star-studded event produced for television by dick clark productions broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 5 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.

Nominees were announced at a press conference this morning at the Country Music Hall of Fame(R) and Museum in Nashville. Country Super Stars Julianne Hough, Kellie Pickler, LeAnn Rimesand Jessica Simpsonread the nominations live during CBS' The Early Show broadcast.

For the first time ever, the three newcomer categories for the Annual Academy of Country Music Awards -- Top New Female Vocalist, Top New Male Vocalist and Top New Vocal Duo or Group - will be opened up to interactive fan voting on GACTV.com, beginning Friday, February 13. The winners will then move on to compete in a new category, Top New Artist. For the second year, fans will also select the winner of the Academy's most prestigious honor, Entertainer of the Year. Online voting will be available at www.voteACM.com, and this year fans will also be able to text their votes for Entertainer of the Year during the broadcast. The winners of each category will be announced live during the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

This morning Brad Paisley led with six nominations, including Entertainer of the Year and Top Male Vocalist. In addition, Paisley was nominated for Single Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Video of the Year for "Waitin' on a Woman," and Vocal Event of the Year for "Start a Band" with Keith Urban. Paisley is the reigning Top Male Vocalist.

Heidi Newfield is nominated for five awards, including Top Female Vocalist. She is also nominated for Single Record of the Year and is nominated as an artist and composer for Song of the Year for "Johnny & June," for which she is also nominated for Video of the Year.

Kenny Chesney is nominated for four awards, including Entertainer of the Year, Top Male Vocalist and as an artist and producer for Vocal Event of the Year for "Down the Road" with Mac McAnally. If Chesney wins Entertainer of the Year, it will be his fifth consecutive win, which will tie Alabama for the most consecutive wins in this category.

Jamey Johnson received four nominations, including Top New Male Vocalist, Single Record of the Year and as an artist and composer for Song of the Year for "In Color." This is the first time Johnson has been nominated as an artist. He previously won an Academy of Country Music Award in 2006 for Song of the Year for "Give It Away," which was recorded by George Strait.

George Strait received four nominations, including Entertainer of the Year, Top Male Vocalist and Song of the Year for "I Saw God Today." He is also nominated for Video of the Year for "Troubadour." If Strait wins Entertainer of the Year, it will be his second win in that category, previously winning the award in 1989. Strait has also been named the Academy of Country Music's Artist of the Decade and will be honored in a television special to air later in the year on CBS.

Carrie Underwood is nominated for three awards, including Entertainer of Year. If Underwood wins Entertainer of the Year, she will be only the 7th female to take the award; previous winners include Loretta Lynn in 1975, Reba McEntire in 1994 and most recently the Dixie Chicks in 2000. Underwood is also nominated for Top Female Vocalist, and her video "Just a Dream" is nominated for Video of the Year. If she wins Top Female Vocalist, it will be the third consecutive year she has won the category.

Keith Urban received three nominations, including Entertainer of the Year, Top Male Vocalist and Vocal Event of the Year for his duet with Brad Paisley for "Start a Band." Urban is a five-time ACM award winner, including Top Male Vocalist in 2004 and 2005, Album of the Year in 2004 and Top New Male Artist in 2000. If he wins Entertainer of the Year, he will be eligible for the Triple Crown Award, the Academy's recognition of those who have taken Top New Artist, Top Artist and Entertainer of the Year awards.

Trace Adkins, Brooks & Dunn, Little Big Town, James Otto, Jake Owen, Taylor Swift and Sugarland are each nominated for two awards. Adkins is nominated for Single Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "You're Gonna Miss This." Brooks & Dunn are nominated for Top Vocal Duo and Vocal Event of the Year. If they win Top Vocal Duo, it will be their 16th straight win in the category. Little Big Town received two nominations for Top Vocal Group and Vocal Event of the Year. James Otto-- a first-time nominee -- is nominated for Top New Male Vocalist and as a producer for Song of the Year for "In Color." Jake Owen is nominated for Top New Male Vocalist and Vocal Event of the Year, and was previously nominated for Top New Male Vocalist in 2007. Swift is nominated in two categories including Top Female Vocalist, and her video "Love Story" is nominated for Video of the Year. She won Top New Female Vocalist last year. Sugarland is nominated for Top Vocal Duo and Vocal Event of the Year. Last year they won Single Record of the Year for "Stay."

Members of the Academy of Country Music select the nominees and winners of the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, and select the final top five nominees of the Entertainer of the Year category and the top three nominees in newcomer categories, Top New Female Vocalist, Top New Male Vocalist and Top New Vocal Duo or Group. Presenters and performers who will appear at the ceremony will be announced at a later date. As previously announced, Reba McEntire will return for an unprecedented 11th time to host this year's show.

Following is the list of final nominees; Nominees for Album of the Year will be announced in March. Winners in each of the following categories, except where noted, will be presented with an ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARD during the television broadcast:

    Entertainer of the Year
    -- Kenny Chesney
    -- Brad Paisley
    -- George Strait
    -- Keith Urban
    -- Carrie Underwood


    Top Male Vocalist
    -- Kenny Chesney
    -- Toby Keith
    -- Brad Paisley
    -- George Strait
    -- Keith Urban


    Top Female Vocalist
    -- Miranda Lambert
    -- Heidi Newfield
    -- Taylor Swift
    -- Carrie Underwood
    -- Lee Ann Womack


    Top Vocal Group
    -- Lady Antebellum
    -- Little Big Town
    -- Rascal Flatts
    -- Randy Rogers Band
    -- The Lost Trailers


    Top Vocal Duo
    -- Big & Rich
    -- Brooks & Dunn
    -- Joey & Rory
    -- Montgomery Gentry
    -- Sugarland


    Top New Male Vocalist**
    -- Jamey Johnson
    -- James Otto
    -- Jake Owen


    Top New Female Vocalist**
    -- Sarah Buxton
    -- Julianne Hough
    -- Ashton Shepherd


    Top New Vocal Duo or Group**
    -- Eli Young Band
    -- The Lost Trailers
    -- Zac Brown Band


    Single Record of the Year [Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company]

    -- Gunpowder & Lead
       Miranda Lambert, Produced by Frank Liddell and Mike Wrucke
       Columbia

    -- In Color
       Jamey Johnson, Produced by The Ken Hardley Playboys
       Mercury

    -- Johnny & June
       Heidi Newfield, Produced by Tony Brown
       Asylum-Curb

    -- Waitin' On A Woman
       Brad Paisley, Produced by Frank Rogers
       Arista Nashville

    -- You're Gonna Miss This
       Trace Adkins, Produced by Frank Rogers
       Capitol Nashville


    Song of the Year [Award to Composer(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]

    -- I Saw God Today
       George Strait
       Composers:   Rodney Clawson, Monty Criswell, Wade Kirby
       Publishers:  Big Red Toe Music (BMI), Blind Mule Music (BMI),
                    Extremely Loud Music (BMI), Steel Wheels Music (BMI)

    -- In Color
       Jamey Johnson
       Composers:   Jamey Johnson, Lee Thomas Miller, James Otto
       Publishers:  Big Gassed Hitties (BMI), Eldorotto Music Publishing
                    (BMI), EMI Blackwood Music, Inc., Lucky Thumb Music (BMI),
                    New Song of Sea Gayle (BMI), Noah's Little Boat Music
                    (BMI)

    -- Johnny & June
       Heidi Newfield
       Composers:   Deanna Bryant, Heidi Newfield, Stephony Smith
       Publishers:  Amylase Music (ASCAP), Big Hit Makers Music (BMI), Rainy
                    Graham Publishing LLC (BMI), Souljet Music Tell Texas Tune
                    III (ASCAP)

    -- Waitin' On A Woman
       Brad Paisley
       Composers:   Don Sampson, Wynn Varble
       Publishers:  EMI April Music, Inc. (ASCAP), Sea Gayle Music LLC
                    (ASCAP), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI)

    -- You're Gonna Miss This
       Trace Adkins
       Composers:   Ashley Gorley and Lee Thomas Miller
       Publishers:  EMI Blackwood Music, Inc. (BMI), Music of Windswept
                    (ASCAP),  Noah's Little Boat Music (BMI), Song of
                    Combustion (ASCAP), Songs of Sea Gayle (BMI)


    Video of the Year [Award to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]

    -- Johnny & June - Heidi Newfield
       Producer:  Karen Martin
       Director:  Eric Welch

    -- Just A Dream - Carrie Underwood
       Producer:  Randy Brewer
       Director:  Roman White

    -- Love Story - Taylor Swift
       Producer:  Trent Hardville
       Director:  Trey Fanjoy

    -- Troubadour - George Strait
       Producer:  Dominic Cancilla
       Director:  Trey Fanjoy

    -- Waitin' On A Woman - Brad Paisley
       Producer:  Mark Kalbfeld, Jim Shea
       Director:  Jim Shea, Peter Tilden


    Vocal Event of the Year [Award to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company]

    -- Another Try - Josh Turner Featuring Trisha Yearwood
       Produced by: Frank Rogers
       MCA Nashville

    -- Cowgirls Don't Cry - Brooks & Dunn Featuring Reba McEntire
       Produced by: Kix Brooks, Tony Brown, Ronnie Dunn,
       Arista Nashville

    -- Down The Road - Kenny Chesney With Mac McAnally
       Produced by:  Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney
       Blue Chair/BNA

    -- Life In A Northern Town - Sugarland Featuring Little Big Town & Jake
                                 Owen
       Mercury

    -- Start A Band - Brad Paisley Duet With Keith Urban
       Produced by: Frank Rogers
       Arista Nashville

** Fan voting for Top New Male Vocalist, Top New Female Vocalist and Top New Vocal Duo or Group will begin at GACTV.com on Friday, February 13, and will close on Thursday, March 5. The winner in each of the three categories will be announced March 9, and will move on to compete in a brand new Academy of Country Music Awards category, Top New Artist.

About the Academy of Country Music Awards

For more information on the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC and the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, please visit www.acmcountry.com.

Photos will be available on www.cbspressexpress.com

RealNetworks Now Powers V CAST Video from Verizon Wireless

2009-02-11T11:01:00.000+02:00

SEATTLE, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- RealNetworks(R), Inc. (RNWK), the digital entertainment services company, today announced that it has become the power behind Verizon Wireless' V CAST Video service. The service transitioned to Real's platform -- based on Helix technology and customized specifically to meet Verizon's needs -- in January 2009.

"We view this successful transition as evidence of our growing leadership in delivering carrier-grade digital entertainment services to mobile operators," said Vern Poyner, senior vice president, RealNetworks. "The transition was simple for subscribers and shows off the power of our technology."

Real's ASP services are currently available through 80 different mobile operators in 42 countries worldwide, making them available to 797.1 million subscribers. Real offers mobile operators a comprehensive selection of mobile services including: Music-On-Demand; Video-On-Demand; personalization features such as Ringtones, Ringback Tones and Multimedia Ringback Services; and messaging services.


RNWK-G

ABOUT REALNETWORKS

NormSoft Releases Pocket Tunes 5.0 for Windows Mobile and Palm OS Smartphones

2009-02-10T19:34:00.000+02:00

BOSTON, Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- NormSoft, Inc. today announced the availability of Pocket Tunes(TM) 5.0 for Windows Mobile and Palm OS smartphones. This latest update to the award winning mobile audio player for phones includes new features for subscribing to podcasts, scrobbling(TM) with Last.fm, synchronizing with iTunes, and listening to Internet radio using Windows Media Audio (WMA).

Version 5.0 increases the breadth of supported audio content and integrates with two of the most popular music related applications, iTunes and Last.fm. Users can now subscribe to their favorite podcasts and have them automatically download directly to their phone. With the searchable catalog of over 1,000 popular podcasts, finding and enjoying podcasts is easy and fun. In addition, support for the most popular Internet radio format WMA has been added, dramatically increasing the number of playable local stations and the size of the built-in radio station catalog. Every time a song is played it can be tracked to the listener's Last.fm music profile - this is called scrobbling. Owners can also automatically synchronize playlists of songs from iTunes to their phone when it is connected to their computer.

http://www.pockettunes.com

Pocket Tunes - Your Phone. Your Music. (TM)

About NormSoft

Founded in 1999, NormSoft has been a leading provider of quality mobile software applications, including their award-winning music player Pocket Tunes Deluxe. NormSoft, Inc. continues to bring new, high-quality software to handheld and smartphone users looking to unleash the power of their mobile device. For more information, visit www.normsoft.com.

NOTE: NormSoft and Pocket Tunes are among the trademarks owned by NormSoft, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

http://www.normsoft.com

Johnathon Arndt Gallery of Jewels

2009-02-10T02:45:00.000+02:00

Carrie Underwood Shines in Johnathon Arndt Jewels at the 51st GRAMMY Awards

NEW YORK, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Driven by passion and inspiration, Johnathon Arndt and Newman Arndt traveled the world to realize their vision. The Founders sought the finest jewels the world had to offer. Their all consuming love affair with jewels is expressed in the perfection of their designs.

With locations opening in London, Dubai, New York and Nashville, Johnathon Arndt Gallery of Jewels offers exquisite, one-of-a-kind designs to their international clientele. Most popular in the Asian market, clients fly to and from the United States to obtain Johnathon Arndt designs. Additional locations are set to open in all areas of the world.

Johnathon Arndt Gallery of Jewels catapulted into the national spotlight when they formed an alliance with Academy of Country Music, Country Music Associate, MusiCares, the Starlight Foundation and The Society of Singers. The collected has graced the red carpet on a number of high profile events, including the Academy Awards, Grammy's, Academy of Country Music Awards, and the Country Music Association Awards.

At this year's 51st GRAMMY Awards, Carrie Underwood glistened in Johnathon Arndt Jewels. As she walked the red carpet, Underwood sparkled in one-of-a-kind pieces made exclusively for her on this special night. Underwood wore magnificent 12 carat Diamond Drop Earrings and a beautiful 5 carat Yellow Diamond Cluster Ring. Underwood has been a fan of Johnathon Arndt Jewels for years! She wore custom pieces to the 2007 and 2008 CMA Awards.

"We could not have a chosen a better star to wear our jewelry. The pieces we design for Carrie each year compliment her impeccable style and do not distract from her natural beauty," says Johnathon Arndt, co-owner and designer of Johnathon Arndt Gallery of Jewels.

Celebrity clients include Elton John, Carrie Underwood, Celine Dion, Garth Brooks, Reba McIntyreand Keith Urban. The exclusive Johnathon Arndt Gallery of Jewels can be viewed by appointment only.

Having seen the beauty and perfection that the world has to offer, the Founders of the Johnathon Arndt Gallery of Jewels are equally passionate about improving the lives of those around them. As entrepreneurs and philanthropists, the Founders have committed their resources to helping those non-profit organizations and charitable foundations that champion causes close to their heart. Over the years, the Founders have worked with a number of international and national non-profit organizations to raise awareness and funds for good causes. Deeply committed to improving the lives of societies forgotten and those in need, the Johnathon Arndt Gallery of Jewels focuses its resources on aiding those charities and non-profit organizations all over the world that touch the lives of children and the elderly. Working and Sponsoring with Star-Light Star Bright Foundation honoring Steven Spielberg, Grammy Music Cares Foundation honoring Brian Wilson, Grammy Music Cares Foundation honoring James Taylor, Society of Singers honoring Celine Dion, Society of Singers honoring Sir Elton John, The Dorough Lupus Foundation with Howie Dorough and The Academy of Country Music Foundation.

For additional information on the Johnathon Arndt Gallery of Jewels,

Please visit www.JohnathonArndt.com or email media@JohnathonArndt.com

Sticky & Sweet & Hot, Hot, Hot MADONNA Summer Shows Sell out in Minutes!

2009-02-09T23:11:00.000+02:00

With special guest PAUL OAKENFOLD

London, Manchester, Werchter, Oslo, Helsinki & Gothenburg - SOLD OUT! Extra Madonna Shows added in London and Manchester

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Already the biggest grossing tour in history for a solo artist, Madonna's "Sticky & Sweet Tour" is once again set to be the sweet success story of the summer. Ticket sales for the 2009 leg of Madonna's phenomenally successful "Sticky & Sweet Tour" went on sale this weekend and tour promoters Live Nation have already reported immediate sell-outs.

In London and Manchester where tickets sold out in minutes on Friday, second shows have now been confirmed for July 5th in London and July 8th in Manchester, marking Madonna's final UK dates in 2009. On Saturday, having never previously performed in Belgium, over 70,000 tickets were sold for the Werchter Festivalpark concert, making it an incredible one-day sell-out event.

This morning, tickets in Oslo sold out as quickly as they could be processed and disappeared in under 30 minutes. In Helsinki, Madonna's Sticky & Sweet August 6th performance (76,000 tickets sold), will be the biggest show by one artist ever organized in Finland. Gothenburg's performance was also an immediate sell-out with over 55,000 tickets sold in two hours.

In 2008, the "Sticky & Sweet Tour" was seen by 2,350,285 fans in 58 cities. With record breaking ticket sales everywhere, including 650,000 tickets sold in her series of South American dates, 72,000 tickets at Zurich's Dubendorf Airfield - the largest audience ever assembled for a show in Switzerland, 75,000 tickets in London and four sell outs in New York'sMadison Square Garden (60,364 tickets).

Special Guest for Sticky & Sweet 2009, Paul Oakenfold has long been one of the most important names in modern club culture. He has remixed The Rolling Stones, U2, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Snoop Dog, Muse, New Order, The Cure, Massive Attack and even Elvis Presley and produced The Happy Mondays. The two time Grammy nominee is in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the biggest DJ in the world. His new artist album, 'Pop Killer' is due out later this year.

viagogo is the Official Premium Ticketing Partner for Madonna's European Tour 2009. Premium tickets and VIP packages will be available from Friday 6th February on www.viagogo.co.uk. In addition, viagogo will be the Official Secondary Ticketing Exchange where fans can buy and sell their tickets. viagogo facilitates the exchange between someone who wants to sell and someone who wants to buy a ticket for a live event. It guarantees that buyers receive their tickets in time for the show and sellers receive payment. viagogo is Europe's leading ticket exchange. *Not applicable for Sticky & Sweet shows in Germany & Italy.

For complete Tour and Ticket Information, Fan Club Memberships, VIP Packages, Merchandise and more visit: WWW.MADONNA.COM

Produced by Live Nation Global Touring.

                                       MADONNA
                                 With special guest:
                                   PAUL OAKENFOLD
                          2009 'STICKY & SWEET TOUR' ITINERARY

    4-July    London, United Kingdom        The 02 London            Sold Out!
    5-July    London, United Kingdom        The 02 London            On sale
                                                                      Feb. 12
    7-July    Manchester, United Kingdom    MEN Arena                Sold Out!
    8-July    Manchester, United Kingdom    MEN Arena                On sale
                                                                      Feb. 12
    11-July   Werchter, Belgium             Festivalpark             Sold Out!
    14-July   Milan, Italy                  San Siro                 On sale
                                                                      now
    21-July   Barcelona, Spain              Olympic Stadium
    23-July   Madrid, Spain                 Vicente Calderon
    28-July   Hamburg, Germany              Trab-Arena Hamburg       On sale
                                             Bahrenfeld               Feb. 13
    30-July   Oslo, Norway                  Vallehovin               Sold Out!
    04-Aug    Tallinn, Estonia              Tallinn Song Festival
                                             Ground
    06-Aug    Helsinki, Finland             West Harbour             Sold Out!
    09-Aug    Gothenburg, Sweden            Ullevi                   Sold Out!
    11-Aug    Copenhagen, Denmark           Parken                   On sale
                                                                      now
    13-Aug    Prague, Czech Republic        Chodov Natural           On sale
                                             Amphitheatre             Feb. 14
    15-Aug    Warsaw, Poland                Bemowo Airport
    18-Aug    Munich, Germany               Olympic Stadium          On sale
                                                                      Feb. 13
    20-Aug    Ljubljana, Slovenia           Hippodrome

              In 2009, Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour will also visit
         Marseille in addition to performances in Bulgaria, Hungary, Russia,
                                 Romania, and Serbia.

ABOUT LIVE NATION:

Live Nation's mission is to maximize the live concert experience. Our core business is producing, marketing and selling live concerts for artists via our global concert pipe. Live Nation is the largest producer of live concerts in the world, annually producing over 16,000 concerts for 1,500 artists in 57 countries. The company sells over 45 million concert tickets a year and expects to drive over 60 million unique visitors to LiveNation.com in 2008. Live Nation is transforming the concert business by expanding its concert platform into ticketing and building the industry's first artist-to-fan vertically integrated concert platform. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol "LYV." Additional information about the company can be found at www.livenation.com/investors.

Columbia Records Set to Release 'Chris Botti In Boston,' the New Live CD & DVD Collections Capturing the Chart-Topping Jazz Trumpeter's Star-Studded Concerts at the Landmark Boston Symphony Hall

2009-02-09T11:00:00.000+02:00

Special Guest Artists Include Sting, Josh Groban, Steven Tyler, Yo-Yo Ma, John Mayer, Katharine McPhee, Lucia Micarelli, Sy Smith and More Performing with Keith Lockhart & the Boston Pops Orchestra

"Chris Botti In Boston" Available Everywhere On CD, CD/DVD, and Blu-ray On Tuesday, March 31

NEW YORK, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- On Thursday, September 18 and Friday, September 19, 2008, American jazz trumpeter Chris Botti, one of the world's top-selling instrumental artists, invited an extraordinary variety of musical artists -- including Sting, Josh Groban, Steven Tyler, Yo-Yo Ma, John Mayer, Katharine McPhee, Lucia Micarelli, and Sy Smith -- to join him on-stage with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops Orchestra for a pair of once-in-a-lifetime concerts, produced by Bobby Colomby and directed by Jim Gable, at Boston's historic Symphony Hall, one of the world's most exquisite performance venues.

A master artist and performer, Botti, who's sold nearly three million albums worldwide, worked closely with an unparalleled roster of the world's greatest musicians, drawing from a wide-ranging repertoire of pop, jazz, and classical music to create a series of aesthetically rewarding performances and two-night's worth of unforgettable concert experiences. Chris Botti In Boston, an extraordinarily luxurious film of the two-night event, captures and accentuates the warmth, excitement, chemistry and spontaneity of the shows.

The CD version of Chris Botti In Boston features Botti along with his special guests and core band -- Billy Childs (piano), Billy Kilson (drums), Mark Whitfield (guitar), and Robert Hurst (bass) -- performing definitive versions of "Ave Maria," "When I Fall In Love," "Seven Days," "Emmanuel," "I've Got You Under My Skin," "Cinema Paradiso," "Broken Vow," "Flamenco Sketches," "Glad To Be Unhappy," "Hallelujah," "Smile," "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You," and "Time To Say Goodbye."

The full-concert DVD and Blu-ray configurations of Chris Botti In Boston include the bonus performances of "Caruso," "The Look of Love," "Cryin'," "Indian Summer," and "Shape of My Heart" in addition to an exclusive behind-the-scenes documentary chronicling the making-of-the-concert as well as a deeply resonant performance of "Fragile" unavailable anywhere else. In addition, the Blu-ray configuration features Dolby TrueHD audio providing master quality, high-resolution, 7.1 surround sound.

Following the exclusive televised premiere of Chris Botti In Boston during PBS's March Pledge Drive, Columbia Records will release the concert extravaganza in three configurations -- CD, a CD/DVD package and a Blu-ray edition -- on Tuesday, March 31.

Chris Botti In Boston is a visionary expansion of, and worthy successor to, the artist's first PBS pledge drive special, "Chris Botti Live with Orchestra & Special Guests." Originally aired on PBS during March Pledge Week 2006, Botti's first television special became a perennial pledge drive favorite nationwide while a DVD of that show has achieved RIAA platinum status.

About Chris Botti

Trumpeter Chris Botti is a gifted instrumentalist, a talented composer, and a charismatic performer who -- since the release of his first solo album in 1995 -- has created a series of recordings which have made him one of the world's top-selling instrumental artists. Drawing from the worlds of pop, jazz, classical and other genres, Botti created his own signature sound, transforming the world of contemporary jazz while simultaneously finding success in the pop music sphere. Praised for the warmth and complexity of his tone and musical ideas, Botti combines a soulful ambience with naturally flowing improvisation. He has earned both critical acclaim and mainstream appreciation for a succession of best-selling albums including When I Fall In Love (2004, #1 Top Jazz Album, #37 Billboard Top 200), To Love Again: The Duets (2005, #1 Top Jazz Album, #18 Billboard Top 200), and Chris Botti Live with Orchestra & Special Guests (2006, #2 Top Jazz Album).

Botti's association with Sting -- who appeared with the trumpeter on To Love Again and When I Fall In Love -- dates back to 1999, when Chris joined music legend's band as featured soloist on the "Brand New Day" tour, which lasted two years.

In the studio and on stage, Chris Botti has worked with such leading singer-songwriter/composers as Paul Simon and Joni Mitchell as well as renowned film composer John Barry, among others; as a sideman, he has appeared on dozens of albums, compilations and soundtracks.

In addition to receiving an RIAA gold-certification for When I Fall In Love in 2004 and To Love Again (both produced by Bobby Colomby) in 2005, "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" (with vocals by Sting) earned a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals.

Released in 2007, Italia, Chris Botti's most recent studio album, links the worlds of jazz and pop and classical music in a suite of songs and music inspired by the romance of Italy. Featuring duets with Andrea Bocelli, Paula Cole and Dean Martin, Italia is rapidly approaching the RIAA gold record sales mark.

One of the world's most popular concert attractions, Chris Botti maintains one of the busiest touring schedules monitored by the industry. Performing more than 250 concerts this past year, Chris's 2008 concert itinerary included concerts at the Hollywood Bowl and New York's Carnegie Hall.

www.chrisbotti.com

www.columbiarecords.com

Blink-182 Reunites for Tour, Album.

2009-02-09T10:00:00.000+02:00

The Band Released the Following Statement

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Hi. We're blink-182. This past week there've been a lot of questions about the current status of the band, and we wanted you to hear it straight from us. To put it simply, We're back. We mean, really back. Picking up where we left off and then some. In the studio writing and recording a new album. Preparing to tour the world yet again. Friendships reformed. 17 years deep in our legacy.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090209/LA68203)

Summer 2009.

Thanks and get ready...

For more information:

www.blink182.com & www.myspace.com/blink182 or text BLINK182 to 30303 for band updates

Music's Biggest Night Rocks Classic Diamond Looks at the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards

2009-02-09T06:28:00.000+02:00

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Music industry veterans celebrated a star-studded evening to honor the best in music with their fellow music nominees, while classic diamonds sparkled both on the red carpet and on stage at tonight's 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards, held at Staples Center Los Angeles.

Diamond jewelry was the foundation of the best-dressed looks of the evening, including Katy Perry who wore elegant diamond drop earrings; diamond bangle bracelets; and a diamond Right Hand Ring to complement her pink full-length strapless gown. And tonight's GRAMMY Award winner Jennifer Hudson who donned square diamond dangle earrings and a diamond cuff bracelet against her origami-pleated black and white dress.

THE LEGACY AND BEAUTY OF DIAMONDS WERE SHOWCASED IN THE EVENING'S TOP DIAMOND TRENDS featured at the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards. The top diamond trends included:

Diamond Drop Earrings

Adel - Stephen Russell - Diamond drop earrings, 3.96-carats
Carrie Underwood- Johnathan Arndt - Diamond drop earrings
Chrisette Michele- Irit Designs - Rose-cut diamond triangular earrings
Duffy - Diamond stud earrings
Fantasia Barrino - Loree Rodkin - Diamond earrings
Giuliana Rancic- Bochic - Diamond earrings
Janelle Snowden- Diamond earrings
Jazmine Sullivan- Neil Lane - Diamond stud earrings
*Jennifer Hudson- Square diamond dangle earrings
Jordin Sparks- Damiani - Diamond stud earrings
Kate Beckinsale- Lorraine Schwartz - Black and white diamond knot earrings
Kim Kardashian- Bochic - Diamond earrings
*Katy Perry- H. Stern - Diamond drop earrings
Miley Cyrus- Mimi So (red carpet) - Diamond drop earrings
Natalie Cole- Diamond pave drop earrings
Paris Hilton - Diamond oval hoop earrings
Paula Patton- Neil Lane - Darkened diamond chandelier earrings
Sara Bareilles- Neil Lane - Diamond earrings
Sheryl Crow- Lorraine Schwartz - Diamond chandelier earrings
Taylor Swift- Lorraine Schwartz - Brown diamond mesh earrings
Whitney Houston- Lorraine Schwartz - Diamond fan earrings
Zooey Deschanel- Platt Jewelers - Old-cut antique diamond earrings

Stacked Diamond Bracelets, featuring stylish diamond bangle bracelets, and diamond cuffs

Chrisette Michele- Irit Designs - Rose-cut diamond bracelet; two rose-cut diamond bangles; diamond chain bracelet; and three small rose-cut diamond flower cuff bracelets
Estelle - Damiani - Two diamond bracelets
Fantasia Barrino - Loree Rodkin - Diamond and black Rhodium bracelet
Janelle Snowden- Diamond bracelets
Jazmine Sullivan- Neil Lane - Diamond pave disco ball bracelet; two diamond pave disco ball bangle bracelets; and rose-cut diamond bangle bracelet
*Jennifer Hudson- Diamond bracelet
Jordin Sparks- Damiani - Diamond link bracelet
Kate Beckinsale- Lorraine Schwartz - Eight stacked diamond and black jade bangle bracelets
*Katy Perry- H. Stern - Diamond bangle bracelets
Miley Cyrus- Mimi So (red carpet) - Stacked diamond bangle bracelets; Loree Rodkin (performance)- Diamond oval egg shape link bracelet with Appliques
Paris Hilton - Diamond bangle bracelets
Paula Patton- Neil Lane - Diamond and platinum bracelet
Sara Bareilles- Neil Lane - Diamond bracelet
Sheryl Crow- Lorraine Schwartz - Diamond and Lavender Jade bracelet
Taylor Swift- Lorraine Schwartz - Bronzed diamond cuff bracelet
Whitney Houston- Lorraine Schwartz - Diamond cuff bracelet

Diamond Right Hand Rings

Carrie Underwood- Johnathan Arndt - Diamond band
Chrisette Michele- Irit Designs - Rose-cut diamond Right Hand Ring
Duffy - Diamond Right Hand Ring
Fantasia Barrino - Loree Rodkin - Black and white diamond cigar ring
Giuliana Rancic- Bochic - Diamond Right Hand Ring
Gwyneth Paltrow- Chopard - Heart shape diamond Right Hand Ring, 11-carats
Janelle Snowden- Diamond Right Hand Ring
Jordin Sparks- Damiani - Two diamond Right Hand Rings
*Katy Perry- H. Stern - Diamond Right Hand Ring
Kim Kardashian- Bochic - Diamond Right Hand Ring, 15-carats
Miley Cyrus- Loree Rodkin (performance) - Three Rose-cut diamond pave trefoil Marquee ring
Sheryl Crow- Lorraine Schwartz - Diamond and Lavender Jade Right Hand Ring

The following celebrities wore DIAMONDS to the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards:

Adele - Stephen Russell - Diamond drop earrings, 3.96 carats; antique diamond flower brooch worn on her dress, 28-carats; antique diamond and tortoise hair comb worn in her hair
Baby from Cash Money - Chris Aire - Chris Aire parlay "black watches" with full black diamond chase, dial and bracelet, 20-carats
Carrie Underwood- Jonathon Arndt - Diamond drop earrings; and diamond band
Chrisette Michele- Irit Designs - Rose-cut diamond triangular earrings; long diamond tassel chain necklace; three rose-cut diamond flower chain necklace; rose-cut diamond bracelet; two rose-cut diamond bangles; diamond chain bracelet; three small rose-cut diamond flower cuff bracelets; and rose-cut diamond ring
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson" - Loree Rodkin - Large diamond cross; diamond cushion cross link chain
Duffy - Diamond stud earrings; and diamond Right Hand Ring
Emily Proctor- Damiani - Diamond Eden earrings; diamond Eden bracelet
Estelle - Damiani - Diamond Mimosa earrings; and diamond Material Girl bracelet
Faith Evans- Damiani - Insieme diamond earrings; Insieme diamond ring
Fantasia Barrino - H. Stern - Diamond pave golden stones earrings and diamond bracelet; Loree Rodkin diamond and black Rhodium bangles and black and white diamond cigar ring
Giuliana Rancic- Bochic - Diamond earrings; and diamond Right Hand Ring
Gwyneth Paltrow- Chopard - Heart-shaped diamond Right Hand Ring, 11-carats
Jamie Foxx- Neil Lane - Diamond stud earrings; and diamond cuff links
Janelle Snowden- Diamond earrings; diamond bracelet; and diamond Right Hand Ring
Jay-Z - Neil Lane - Diamond and black onyx tie pin; and diamond shirt studs (performance)
Jazmine Sullivan- Neil Lane - Diamond stud earrings; two diamond by the yard chains, diamond pave disco ball diamond by the yard chain; diamond pave disco ball bracelet, two diamond pave disco ball bangle bracelets; and a rose-cut diamond bangle bracelet
*Jennifer Hudson - Square diamond dangle earrings; and diamond bracelet
Jordin Sparks- Damiani - Diamond stud earrings; diamond link bracelet; two diamond Right Hand Rings
Kate Beckinsale- Lorraine Schwartz - Black and white diamond knot earrings; eight stacked diamond and black jade bangle bracelets
*Kate Perry- H. Stern/Jacob & Co. - Jacob & Co. Six-stone Princess-cut diamond drop earrings; H. Stern - vintage diamond bracelet and diamond Sofia bangle bracelet; H. Stern - Floral diamond Right Hand Ring
Keyshia Cole- Damiani - Diamond statement necklace
Kim Kardashian- Bochic - Rose-cut diamond earrings; Diamond Right Hand Ring, 15-carats
Lil Wayne- Chris Aire - Chris Aire Parlay "Black Watches" with full black diamond case, dial and bracelet, 20-carats
Lisa Rinna- Bochic/Siera - Bochic Rose-cut diamond earrings; Siera diamond Right Hand Ring
Miley Cyrus- Mimi So/Loree Rodkin (performance)/Stephen Webster (performance) - Mimi So - Diamond drop earrings; Stephen Webster 3D hoop earrings; Mimi So - Stacked diamond bangles; Loree Rodkin -Diamond oval egg shaped link bracelet with Appliques; Loree Rodkin - Three Rose-Cut diamond pave trefoil Marquee Ring (performance)
Natalie Cole - Diamond pave drop earrings
Nick Jonas- Neil Lane - Diamond and onyx tie pin
Paris Hilton -Damiani - Diamond Sunset Boulevard earrings; and diamond bangle bracelets
Paula Patton- Neil Lane - Darkened diamond chandelier earrings; diamond and platinum bracelet
Sara Bareilles- Neil Lane - Diamond earrings; two diamond bracelets; and diamond Right Hand Ring
Sheryl Crow- Lorraine Schwartz - Diamond chandelier earrings; diamond and lavender jade bracelet; diamond and lavender jade Right Hand Ring
Taylor Swift- Lorraine Schwartz - Brown diamond mesh earrings; bronzed diamond cuff bracelet
Whitney Houston- Lorraine Schwartz - Diamond fan earrings; diamond cuff bracelet
Zooey Deschanel-Platt Jewelers - Old-cut antique diamond earrings

*The Diamond Information Center (DIC) has purchased the rights to red carpet diamond photos to be used for editorial purposes.

For detailed descriptions and jeweler information, please see credit chart sent separately from this release.

RCA Music Group Artists Win 3 Grammy Awards

2009-02-09T05:48:00.000+02:00

Jennifer Hudson, Kings of Leon and Alicia Keys each take home an award

NEW YORK, Feb. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- RCA Music Group wins a total of 3 Grammy Awards at this year's 51st Annual Grammy Awards ceremony held this evening in Los Angeles at the Staples Center.

Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album for her chart topping self-titled debut album. Jennifer debuted at #2 on Billboard's Top 200 chart and R&B/Hip Hop album charts and was the biggest first week sales for a debut R&B female artist since 2004 at the time of its release.

RCA Records recording artist Kings of Leon took home the Grammy award for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group with Vocals for their track "Sex on Fire" off their latest album, Only By The Night. Kings of Leon's 4th album for RCA earned them their first ever Grammy nominations and debuted at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 and #1 on the Billboard Digital Albums chart, marking the highest debut and the largest single sales week for the band in the US. Their Grammy-winning track "Sex on Fire" has been # 1 at rock radio for 8 consecutive weeks to date.

The recipient of 2 Grammy Awards last year for her hit single "No One," 11 time Grammy award winning, J Records/MBK Recording artist Alicia Keys, earned the Grammy award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Superwoman."

The one and only Whitney Houston took to the stage to present the first award of the evening to Arista Recording artist Jennifer Hudson. Hudson then kicked off the second hour of the show with a beautifully moving and emotional performance of "You Pulled Me Through" from her self-titled, RIAA certified Gold album, bringing the entire crowd to their feet for an extended standing ovation. Later in the show Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl joined the legendary Paul McCartney for a rousing rendition of "I Saw Her Standing There." J Records recording artist Jamie Foxx joined Ne-Yo, Smokey Robinson and original Four Tops member Abdul "Duke" Fakir, for a star-studded tribute to the iconic group.

RCA Music Group

RCA Music Group, comprised of J Records, Arista Records, RCA Records, Polo Grounds, Black Seal and Battery Records, is a unit of Sony Music Entertainment. RCA Music Group includes a diverse roster of internationally renowned artists representing all genres of music including Grammy Award winning and multi-platinum selling recording artists such as Alicia Keys, Foo Fighters, Christina Aguilera, Leona Lewis, Jamie Foxx, Rod Stewart, Barry Manilow, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Daughtry, Sarah McLachlan, Avril Lavigne, Fantasia, Dave Matthews Band and Whitney Houston among others. The roster also boasts burgeoning superstars including Kings of Leon, David Cook, Jazmine Sullivan and Ray LaMontagne.

Adele is Best New Artist at This Years Grammy Awards

2009-02-09T04:32:00.000+02:00

ADELE SNAGS 2 GRAMMY AWARDS

US TOUR KICKS OFF MARCH 9

NEW YORK, Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- 20 year old British songstress Adele is the Best New Artist at this year's Grammy Awards, besting such competition as Jonas Brothers, Duffy, Jazmine Sullivan and Lady Antebellum. The London native also scored an additional Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Viewers who tuned into the live ceremony, which took place from the Staples Center in Los Angeles earlier this evening, witnessed Adele deliver an astonishing performance of her song "Chasing Pavements."

Adele recently completed a tour of the U.S. which left the press celebrating her incredibly beautiful, intimate and special live performances. The Boston Herald proclaimed "Adele's amazing. Strikingly, staggeringly amazing." The San Jose Mercury News said Adele is a true musician while The Minneapolis Star Tribune raved "Adele left us wanting more - again."

Adele will return to the U.S. for a 9 city tour on March 9 in San Diego, CA at House of Blues. The tour will conclude on March 21 in Cleveland, OH at House of Blues (see below for full itinerary). Adele is set to headline Roseland Ballroom in New York on May 5 in celebration of her 21st birthday. Adele is also set to headline a very special evening at Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on June 28.

Adele's XL/Columbia Records debut 19, was released in the U.S. in June of 2008 and instantly began receiving raves from US press. People magazine exclaimed "Adele is Britain's best new singer" in their four star review. Adele made a series of high profile television appearances in support of the record, most notably performing on the highest rated episode of Saturday Night Live in over 14 years. 19 shot straight to #1 on iTunes charts and peaked at #11 on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart. Adele can next be seen performing her song "Right As Rain" on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (Feb 9) and performing her songs "Crazy For You" and "Melt My Heart To Stone" on Last Call with Carson Daly (Feb 10).

Adele - iTunes Live from Soho, was released on February 3, 2009 and immediately became a hit on the iTunes album chart. Both the live EP and her debut 19 occupy spots in the top 10 iTunes album chart). The stunning and intimate performance, recorded last Fall, features her hit "Chasing Pavements" as well as a spirited cover of Etta James' "Fool that I Am" and Sam Cooke's classic "That's It, I Quit, I'm Moving On." In eight songs, Adele quickly shows her range and the abilities that make her the most moving voice in Pop music in a very long time.

    Adele on tour:
    March 9        San Diego, CA       House of Blues
    March 10       Phoenix, AZ         Martini Ranch
    March 12       Austin, TX          La Zona Rosa
    March 14       Houston, TX         Warehouse Live
    March 15       Dallas, TX          Granada
    March 17       Atlanta, GA         Variety Theatre
    March 18       Nashville, TN       Cannery Ballroom
    March 20       Detroit, MI         St. Andrews Hall
    March 21       Cleveland, OH       House of Blues

For more information on Adele, please contact Benny Tarantini at Columbia Records, 212 833 5858 or benny.tarantini@sonymusic.com

For information on Adele's tour, please contact Winnie Lam at Columbia Records, 212 833 8092 or Winnie.Lam@sonymusic.com

adele.tv

myspace.com/adelelondon

xlrecordings.com

columbiarecords.com

Dr. John's 429 Records Debut 'CITY THAT CARE FORGOT' Wins Grammy for 'Best Contemporary Blues'

2009-02-08T23:18:00.000+02:00

'A Rambunctious And Furious Post-Katrina Polemic' - USA TODAY

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Iconic American musician and unofficial ambassador to New Orleans, the legendary Dr. John (aka Mac Rebennack, Jr.) has won the Grammy Award for "Best Contemporary Blues Album" for his 2008 recording CITY THAT CARE FORGOT. He recently signed to the Savoy Label Group's 429 Records which released the heartfelt homage to his hometown of New Orleans. Described by USA TODAY as "a rambunctious and furious post-Katrina polemic," CITY THAT CARE FORGOT is both an eloquent and an angry musical venting of emotions surrounding the devastation and lack of response to the Katrina disaster. This is Dr. John's 5th Grammy Award overall having won the award in 1989, 1992, 1996 and 2000.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090208/LA67886LOGO)

With the help of guests such as Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Ani Di Franco and Terence Blanchard, Dr. John fuses the blues, funk and soul in his distinctive and irrepressible swamp-voodoo style and comes up with a bold and heartfelt homage to his hometown in response to the tragedy that is post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans. Noted SLG President, Steve Vining: "It's an elegant, elegiac and angry collection of songs that mark a career highlight -- we're thrilled for Mac and his Grammy win and the chance to have been a part of such a powerful project."

"CITY THAT CARE FORGOT" is a bold musical statement and a cry for justice and humanity from an artist who is inseparable from the vibrant and colorful culture of the Crescent City. Says Mac in New Orleans' Times-Picayune newspaper: "This is only the second time I made a record solely for the people of New Orleans. This is a record I just could not not do. I couldn't have lived with myself if I didn't make this record."

429 Records is a unit of the Savoy Label Group (SLG). SLG is the North American unit of CME (Columbia Music Entertainment), the oldest music company in Japan. The Savoy Label Group has evolved into a leading independent company in the adult music genres consistently outperforming competitors in key music categories as monitored by Billboard Magazine. SLG is lead by Steve Vining and CME is headed by Chairman Strauss Zelnick, founder of Zelnick Media which owns interests in and manages an array of media companies.

Rock Icon Paul McCartney to Headline Grand Opening Weekend at The New Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas

2009-02-06T23:56:00.000+02:00

Tickets On-Sale Saturday, February 14 at noon

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The legendary Paul McCartney will headline grand opening weekend of The New Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas on Sunday, April 19.

"I'm looking forward to Rockin' The Joint!" said Paul McCartney.

"We are honored to have the multi-Grammy award winning artist and rock legend, Paul McCartney, launch us into a new era of rock 'n' roll at the all new Joint concert venue scheduled to open at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in April," said Randy Kwasniewski, President and COO of Morgans Hotel Group Las Vegas and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. "The new Joint will be the most sophisticated, intimate, and authentic venue in Las Vegas - unlike anything the city has ever seen."

"We could not have asked for a greater rock and roll legend than Paul McCartney to open The New Joint at Hard Rock Hotel," said President & Co-CEO of Concerts West/AEG Live John Meglen. "The booking of Paul McCartney reinforces The Joint's image as the legendary home of rock. The new venue will be THE place for artists to play and fans to experience a concert in Las Vegas."

Tickets go on-sale Saturday, February 14 at noon at the Hard Rock Hotel Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, online at Ticketmaster.com or charge-by-phone at 800-745-3000.

The New Joint inherited its name from the legendary original Hard Rock venue and was designed by the renowned Montreal-based architectural design firm Sceno Plus. The New Joint will double in size while keeping the same atmosphere of the original venue and will carry on the up-close and authentic feel with the furthest seat in the house only 155 feet from the stage. The New Joint will be a multipurpose facility featuring a state-of-the-art sound system, an innovative lighting system, WiFi access throughout the venue, a full blogging station for press covering events, and 38 flat screens throughout the venue to guarantee the ultimate viewing experience. The New Joint's $60 million project is part of the widely-publicized $750 million expansion the Hard Rock broke ground on in 2007; slated for completion in late 2009.

About Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, newly owned and operated under Morgans Hotel Group and equity partner, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, is a premier destination entertainment resort located on 16.7 acres situated strategically on Harmon Avenue, one of Las Vegas' fastest growing entertainment corridors. Built in 1995 and expanded in 1999, the property is currently undergoing another expansion set for completion in early 2010 more than tripling its current size. Hard Rock Hotel & Casino offers an energetic entertainment and gaming experience with the services and amenities associated with a boutique luxury resort hotel. The property is known for its innovative nightlife and music scene where such acts as The Rolling Stones, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, David Bowie, Snoop Dogg, Nine Inch Nails and The Killers have all performed. Features of the property include an 11-story Hard Rock Hotel tower with 647 guest rooms; a 30,000 square foot casino; The Beach Club with a swimming pool that was selected by the Travel Channel as one of "The Top 10 Pools" in the world; Rehab, the trendsetting Sunday afternoon pool party; Body English nightclub which was selected by Cosmopolitan Magazine as one of the "Top 25 Sexiest Places in the World"; The Joint concert venue; newly opened rock lounge Wasted Space, owned by motocross star Carey Hart; restaurants including the newly opened AGO, world-renowned Nobu, Pink Taco and Mr. Lucky's; three cocktail lounges; several retail stores; and Rock Spa, an 8,000 square foot spa, salon and fitness center. For room availability and additional information call 800.HRD.ROCK (800.473.7625) or visit www.hardrockhotel.com.

About AEG Live

AEG Live joined forces with Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in February 2007 as the exclusive promoter of all booking activities for the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino entertainment venue The Joint. AEG Live, the live-entertainment division of Los Angeles-based AEG, is dedicated to all aspects of live contemporary music performance, touring for a variety of programming, and multi-media production. AEG Live, the nation's second-largest concert promotion and touring company, is comprised of special event, broadcast and exhibition divisions, fourteen regional offices, and numerous state-of-the-art venues nationwide. AEG Live Las Vegas currently produces Bette Midler "The Showgirl Must Go On" and Cher at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. Recent concerts promoted by the company's national touring division have included artists such as Celine Dion, Tina Turner, Justin Timberlake, Bon Jovi, Hannah Montana, Spice Girls, Prince, Christina Aguilera, Kenny Chesney, So You Think You Can Dance, Paul McCartney, High School Musical, American Idols Live and The Color Purple. The company's Exhibition Division produces and promotes "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs," an international tour of the artifacts of King Tut. Goldenvoice, the company's Southern California-based regional promotion division, created and operates the award-winning annual Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival as well as Stagecoach: California's Country Music Festival. AEG Live first made a mark in Las Vegas as the producer of Celine DionA New Day... Since then, legendary entertainers like Elton John, Jerry Seinfeld, Bette Midler, and Cher have taken residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. AEG Live co-produces The Comedy Festival (TCF) which is a gathering of the world's top comedic talents in Las Vegas and has featured artists such as Chris Rock, George Lopez, John Stewart, Dave Chappelle and Ellen DeGeneres. For more information, go to www.aeglive.com.

Despite Controversy, Florida Singer 'Redd' Forges Ahead with CD Release - Redd, Discovered ... At Last

2009-02-06T18:26:00.000+02:00

SANTA ROSA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Local singer and local TV reporter Redd (http://www.reddsings.com) is pushing ahead with the release of her latest CD, Redd, Discovered ... At Last.

The CD title track happens to be a cover of Etta James' "At Last." Redd said today, "It's impossible to top Etta's astonishing rendition of At Last; it gives me chills any time I hear her," said Redd. "Of course, I like what I did with the song on my CD, too."

Redd, Discovered ... At Last has been a year in the making, with the official release in September 2008, but has been gaining momentum since international release by Redd's publicist Danie Cortese.

"I am so proud of the CD," said Redd. "The Guffman Trio did a great job backing me. Other tracks such as Stars and the Moon and My Funny Valentine are my favorites. I am so excited to have My Funny Valentine as an entry in the Billboard Song of the Year contest (jazz), and to see the great reviews by places such as Radio Indy."

To hear At Last and other preview song tracks from Redd, Discovered ... At Last, you can go to http://www.reddsings.com or search for "Redd Discovered" on iTunes, Amazon, and CD Baby to purchase.

    Contact information:

    Helen ("Redd")
    Phone: 305-923-1627
    Email: redd@reddsings.com

Website: http://www.reddsings.com

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com.

Rascal Flatts Thanks Fans by Letting Them Choose Cover Art for New Album, Unstoppable

2009-02-06T15:59:00.000+02:00

New Cover to be Revealed Live at Madison Square Garden Concert

NEW YORK, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- People's Choice Award winner for Favorite Group of 2008, Rascal Flatts pays tribute to their fans by asking them to choose the cover art for their next album, Unstoppable, due out April 7, 2009. In January, Rascal Flatts teamed up with People's Choice and invited fans to submit original cover designs for their upcoming album. The top four submissions have been chosen by the band and voting is now open to all at www.pcaVOTE.com.

The new cover art for Unstoppable is scheduled to be revealed live during a Rascal Flatts concert in New York City's Madison Square Garden on Thursday, February 12. The top four designs were submitted by Rick Brewer from Fenton, MO, Christopher Cox from Venus, TX, Garret Dickerson from Greenbrier, TN and Chris Kubik from Arlington Heights, IL.

"We were very impressed with all the entries and it was a difficult decision to narrow down the possibilities to just these four," said Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts. "We can't imagine how hard it will be for the fans to choose just one!"

"At the beginning of this partnership, Rascal Flatts came to us looking for a way to thank their fans for years of unwavering support and dedication," said Fred Nelson, President, People's Choice. "By working together to develop this album cover contest and vote, we at People's Choice are thrilled to help bring this request to fruition and get the fans involved in such an important decision."

By partnering with Rascal Flatts, People's Choice continues its mission to empower music, movie and television enthusiasts with a voice in the entertainment industry. Last November, through a partnership with E! Entertainment Television, People's Choice members programmed a marathon for the network's Thanksgiving Day lineup. Currently, People's Choice is working with Queen Latifah to discover a new talent that will be featured on her next album, Persona.

About People's Choice

The People's Choice community at www.pcaVOTE.com serves as a year-round destination for entertainment enthusiasts to voice their opinions on pop culture. The community was created in 2007 in conjunction with The People's Choice Awards which remains the only show voted on entirely by the public for awards in music, movies and television. Fred Nelson is the President of the People's Choice. The show is produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. 13 million entertainment enthusiasts voted for the 35th Annual People's Choice Awards which aired January 7, 2009 on CBS.

About Rascal Flatts

Since their career launched in 2000, Rascal Flatts has sold over 17 million albums, scored 9 #1 singles and 17 top 10 hits and each of their five albums are multi-platinum sellers. They are the reigning AMA, CMT, ACM and CMA Vocal Group of The Year with two, six, five and six respective consecutive wins. They were honored as the 2008 Academy of Country Music/The Home Depot(R) Humanitarian Award recipients during the recent ACM Awards show in May. This honor, in part, due to their dedication to raising funds for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, where in the past 4 years they have donated 3 million dollars, as well as their work on the American Red Cross Celebrity Cabinet board.

NEP Screenworks Receives Video Company of the Year Award

2009-02-06T15:13:00.000+02:00

PITTSBURGH, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- NEP Screenworks, the premiere designer and provider of mobile and modular LED video screens and systems, was named the Video Company of the Year at the 20th Annual Pollstar Concert Industry Awards ceremony. This exciting event took place on January 30, 2009 at Club Nokia L.A. in Los Angeles, and attracted the major players in the live music industry throughout the world.

Screenworks is a four-time recipient of this top honor -- more than any other company in the industry since the Award was first given in 2004.

"It is such a privilege to be recognized by our peers as an industry leader, and we thank our friends and colleagues for recognizing the work that we have done. As we look forward to a big year, I know we will work hard to earn this title with each event we do," says NEP Screenworks Vice President of Sales Danny O'Bryen.

Several of Screenworks' touring clients received recognition at this year's festivities as well, including: Major Tour of the Year-AC/DC; Road Warrior of the Year-AC/DC Production Manager Dale Skjerseth; Most Creative Stage Package-Walking with the Dinosaurs; Best New Touring Artist-Jonas Brothers; and Music Festival of the Year-Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.

For 20 years, Screenworks has been known for their innovation, providing top-of-the-line facilities and expertise to leading entertainment and sporting events, including: the Super Bowl, NASCAR, WWE, The Rolling Stones, Justin Timberlake and Police concert tours.

Screenworks is a proud member of the NEP Broadcasting Family. For more information, visit www.screenworksnep.com.

About NEP: NEP Broadcasting is the leading international provider of outsourced broadcasting services vital to the delivery of live sports and entertainment events. Serving the world's premiere broadcast networks and production companies, NEP provides state-of-the-art facilities, engineering expertise and technical management to support telecasts of major events and programs around the globe. With more than 500 employees worldwide, including the finest engineering and technical management in the field, NEP Broadcasting is proud to serve networks, producers and organizations through services provided by its six specialized divisions: Supershooters, Denali, Visions, Screenworks, Studios and Roll to Record along with mobile facility services provided by New Century Productions. NEP is majority-owned by American Securities, a private equity firm headquartered in New York, and NEP management. For more information on NEP, please visit our website at www.nepinc.com.

LP33.tv Today Launches a SXSW Web Site Channel Following a Sponsorship Agreement with the World's Leading Music Conference

2009-02-06T14:00:00.000+02:00

SANTA MONICA, Calif. and LONDON, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The On Demand New Music TV website LP33.tv announced today it is an official sponsor of the world's leading music conference and festival, SXSW'09 (South by Southwest).

LP33.tv will provide an opportunity for music fans to discover and experience the unique SXSW music conference. This includes a "SXSW News Channel" during the event providing access to the bands through exclusive band interviews, behind-the-scene coverage, artist-provided music videos, hour by hour video blogs and other news shows throughout the music event in March.

Starting today, fans will be able to find video rich pages from artists invited to participate and preview LP33.tv's newly launched SXSW TV channel (http://lp33.tv/sxsw). It features content about a selection of the bands already announced, with more shows to be added as artists join the Festival line-up. The channel features regularly updated music news, previews, music videos and interviews.

LP33.tv's professional site theMIDB (http://themidb.com) will also offer a video rich experience featuring interviews with major industry players during the event.

Chief Creative Officer Vlad Lodzinski comments, "There is nothing that replaces being at a live music event, but we'll aim to capture the excitement and breadth of the conference and festival. It features around 2,000 of the world's best emerging artists and we'll be fielding a 25+ strong production team". LP33.tv's Head of A&R, Michael Rosenblatt adds, "I'm psyched to check out the best music talent at SXSW, and help them tell their story through LP33".

This announcement is one of a series of major music initiatives the business is launching as it moves out its early Beta stage. Paula Moore, SVP Music Strategy, states "As Sponsors of the SXSW Artist Lounge, it's great that we can showcase our vision for the future of music via this premier event for new music, not just in the US, but globally".

About LP33.tv's coverage of SXSW

LP33.tv today launches its online SXSW channel at http://lp33.tv/sxsw. The constantly updated playlist will include exclusive pre-event shows, interviews, regularly updated music news and music videos. Once the event starts, the channel will be updated hourly with the latest news, video blogs from our bloggers on the ground, videos featuring the best talent live and other shows. During the conference, LP33.tv will host an incredible artist lounge at the Convention Center featuring an interview lounge, bar, balcony hang, DJ's, and a laid back meeting area with wireless access, giving artists a place to hang out and get to know LP33.tv. These will be complemented by a constantly updated blog featuring videos and news allowing viewers to get a real time feel for events across the massive festival. LP33.tv visitors will also be able to browse Artist Pages of the performers invited to participate in official events via specially branded pages featuring video and audio content. LP33's talented team of music reporters will be led by British celebrity Catalina Guirado-Cheadle of seminal UK Music shows TFI Friday who will be leading a fresh team of in-house music expert video bloggers.

About LP33.tv:

LP33.tv has two connected offerings in the entertainment space.

LP33.tv is an On Demand music television and digital entertainment network featuring shows around music videos, artist interviews, and music culture and lifestyle content. LP33.tv has a scout network that scours the globe focusing on early discovery of the most promising new and emerging artists.

We curate content and create shows for music lovers to discover and share. Every artist has a story to be told, and LP33.tv is where you will find those stories.

LP33.tv is complemented by the Music Industry offering, the Music Insiders Database (theMIDB.com), a comprehensive, personalized online directory of music professionals.

LP33.tv had a 'soft' public launch in October 2008 and is still in Beta. LP33.tv is the trading name of myAWOL LLC of the U.S., a wholly owned subsidiary of myAWOL.com Ltd of England. Initial investors include members of the band Genesis and Tony Smith (Genesis Manager and Pink Floyd co-Manager).

About SXSW:

South By Southwest (SXSW) Music and Media Conference, taking place March 18 - 22, 2009, features a legendary festival showcasing more than 1,800 musical acts of all genres from around the globe on over eighty stages in downtown Austin. By day, the Austin Convention Center comes alive with conference registrants doing business in the Trade Show and partaking of a full agenda of informative, provocative panel discussions featuring hundreds of speakers of international stature. In its 23rd year, SXSW remains an essential event on the music industry calendar. For more information, access our website at http://sxsw.com.

Teens From Girls Incorporated Sing Original Theme Song for President Obama!

2009-02-06T10:30:00.000+02:00

OMAHA, Neb., Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Six girls at Girls Incorporated in Omaha, Nebraska are trying all means of reaching President Obama with their original theme song - 'President Obama Gives Us Hope In Our Heart!' They want all media to see their letter to the president and help in their efforts!

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090206/LA67005)

'Dear President Obama: We recorded an original song just for you: 'President Obama Gives Us Hope In Our Heart!' It expresses everything we feel about you - how you will bring change to this country and how you inspire us! We are from Girls Incorporated of Omaha, Nebraska. A friend of ours, Karen Sokolof Javitch, wrote the song and helped us record it!

Someday we will tell our children and our grandchildren how proud we were that we sang a song for the first African-American President of the United States - President Barack Obama! We would love to sing our song for you in person! Then we'd make history too!

We hope we can get our song to you and that you will play it for Sasha and Malia! We are just a little older than they are and we know how lucky they are to have you for their father!

We sent a copy of our song to you at the White House but we know a lot of mail never gets to you, so we are writing this letter to you in the news! You can also find us singing it on youtube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2k2e84NjtU We sang it at the Obamaha Inaugural Ball in Omaha the night of your inauguration. Thanks for showing us that we can do anything! Sincerely yours, Latisia, Morgan, Ciera, Brittney, Makayla and Ashley - Your Teenage friends at Girls Incorporated of Omaha.'

In the midst of all the troubling news, help us plant a little hope in hearts across America!

For more information call at 402-393-3893 or 402 850-7177.

Lincoln Breaks from Traditional Advertising During 51st Grammy(R) Awards, Showcases New MKS

2009-02-06T05:01:00.000+02:00

Dearborn, Mich., Feb. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Expect the unexpected from Lincoln during commercial breaks for the 51st Grammy(R) Awards, which air Sunday, at 8 p.m. EST on CBS as it debuts the winners from its "Project Rising Stars: Lincoln Video Music Challenge."

Lincoln and its creative agency, Y&R Team Detroit, created "Project Rising Stars" in collaboration with Gary Calamar -- renowned DJ and Grammy-nominated producer and music supervisor. The team selected 10 songs from some of the country's top emerging music artists and developed a music video-based competition in partnership with Filmaka, an online community for filmmakers and other artists, to create their own original content.

More than 300 submissions were received from hopeful writers and directors seeking to showcase their own creative videos featuring the all-new 2009 Lincoln MKS. The quality of work delivered from entrants throughout the country was so positive that Lincoln -- a co-sponsor of the show -- decided to air five 30-second trailers of the top original music videos during the Grammys rather than traditional vehicle ads.

"What we've learned from research is that the Lincoln MKS is attracting a new group of buyers that are tough to reach with traditional advertising. They're into technology, film and a wide array of music," said Thomais Zaremba, Lincoln Mercury Communications Manager. "This opportunity is a great way to create fresh content and put Lincoln in front of a new audience."

"Project Rising Stars: The Lincoln Music Video Challenge" was designed to showcase new talent, both in front of the camera and behind it.

"Our goal was to create a unique opportunity for undiscovered musical artists and directors and present it in a way that people watching the Grammys would enjoy and appreciate," she said.

"We provided Filmaka with the song options, a description of the Lincoln MKS' dynamic design and smart features and asked them to develop a creative treatment for a music video based on the song that best spoke to them," said Greg Braun, executive creative director, Y&R Team Detroit. "In the end, we were blown away by the submissions. The Filmaka community really jumped in with both feet."

Jason Haikara, who heads up Marketing and Publicity for Filmaka, says the competition provided an amazing opportunity for the Filmaka community and the musical artists.

"Not only is it a chance to work with a major automotive brand and top ad agency, but it's an opportunity for them to have their work seen and heard by millions of viewers," he said.

Though the way in which the Lincoln MKS was portrayed in the videos was significant, Zaremba says it was not the main factor used to determine which videos won the competition. "The primary driver of our decision was, 'Is it a cool music video? Does it have strong entertainment value? And will it engage the viewer?'" she explained.

With that said, Haikara says the filmmakers had a lot of fun figuring out how to incorporate the vehicle in the videos.

"They employed a variety of creative approaches," he said. "The MKS is a classy, high-tech vehicle, and many of the directors incorporated some of the technology -- like SYNC and the SecuriCode(TM) Keyless Entry system -- into the videos."

Following the Grammy show, viewers will be able to watch the five winning videos -- and several additional videos -- in their entirety at www.cbs.com/lincoln. Viewers also can learn more about the musical artists and filmmakers at www.filmaka.com/lincoln.

At the end of the day, Zaremba says "Project Rising Starts" follows an entirely fresh marketing campaign for MKS that represents a new way of communicating for Lincoln.

"It is yet another example of Lincoln doing something that no one would expect in a way that no one would expect," said Zaremba. "We're very proud of what the MKS is and what it stands for, and we believe that we're offering a relevant message on an amazing product."

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F)

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 213,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide, the company's wholly owned brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury and Volvo. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.ford.com.

Team Detroit

Team Detroit brings together five of WPP's largest marketing and communications agencies in one central location, including JWT, Y&R, Wunderman, Ogilvy & Mather and Mindshare. Created in January, 2007, Team Detroit is structured to offer best-in-class talent and more effective marketing partnerships to its client base. For more information, please visit www.teamdetroit.com.

Filmaka

Filmaka is an on-line global creative community and marketplace, committed to inspiring, celebrating and rewarding creativity and talent by providing professional opportunities for directors and writers from all around the world. For more information, please visit www.filmaka.com.

Wallets May be Light, But Hearts (and Mobile Phones) are Filled With Love

2009-02-05T13:02:00.000+02:00

-- Thumbplay Data Indicates that the Mobile Generation is Feelin' the Love this Valentine's Day, Despite Tough Times --

NEW YORK, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Thumbplay (http://www.thumbplay.com), the #1 mobile entertainment destination in the U.S., continues to keep a finger on the evidently racing pulses of the mobile generation. Today, the company reports that from November 2008 through January 2009, they have seen a 40 percent rise in love ballad downloads compared to the same period a year ago. Despite depressing economic indicators, it appears romantic indicators are decidedly on the rise heading into Valentine's Day '09.

As of Feb. 4, following is the top love-inspired content helping to spread the "mobile love" at Thumbplay.com and m.thumbplay.com:

Top-Selling Favorite Valentine MP3s:

Tina Turner's "What's Love Got To Do With It"
Kanye West's "Love Lockdown"
Keyshia Cole's "Heaven Sent"

Top-Selling Love Tunes "Country Style:"

Taylor Swift's "Love Story"
Brad Paisley's "Waitin' On A Woman"
Rascal Flatts' "Love You Out Loud"

Top-Selling "Naughty or Nice" Videos:

Beyonce's "Single Ladies"
Akon's "Don't Matter"
Robin Thicke's "Lost Without You"

Top-Selling Valentine's Day Voicetones:

"I'm Taken"
"Cupid Calling"
"Who Needs A Man"

Top-Selling Tear-Jerkers:

Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman"
Lionel Richie & Diana Ross' "Endless Love"
Foreigner's "I Want to Know What love Is"

Top-Selling Anti-Love Downloads:

Ne-yo's "So Sick"
Pussycat Doll's "I Hate This Part"
Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name"

Dedicated to providing the best and most sought-after entertainment for the mobile generation and beyond, Thumbplay.com is home to the broadest selection of seasonal content available.

ABOUT THUMBPLAY

Thumbplay's award-winning, direct-to-consumer service features licensed content from some of the world's largest entertainment companies, including EMI Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Pictures Television, as well as several independent labels and artists and video game companies. Thumbplay's mobile entertainment catalog is integrated into Clear Channel Radio, AOL and MSN Mobile sites, as well as iLike.com, one of the Web's leading social music discovery services. Moreover, based on Thumbplay's reputation for exceptional customer care and technological innovation, MTV recently tapped the company to power personalization content for the music giant's mobile content site. The recently-launched Thumbplay Open provides independent music and visual artists, application developers and Web site publishers the opportunity to package and sell their own digital media to millions of mobile customers (open.thumbplay.com).

Each month, Thumbplay.com gets more than five million unique visitors and its mobile (WAP) site (m.thumbplay.com) receives more than 12 million page views, making it one of the most popular mobile Web sites.

Headquartered in New York City, Thumbplay was founded in September 2004 by Are Traasdahl and Evan Schwartz. It is backed by Bain Capital Ventures, SoftBank Capital, i-Hatch Ventures, Redwood Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Meritech, Brookside Capital Partners and Cross Creek Capital. More information can be found at www.thumbplay.com or at m.thumbplay.com from a mobile phone.

    For More Information:
    Sumika Bajaj / Brent Harney            Susan Lietz
    Bratskeir & Company                    Thumbplay
    212.679.2233                           646.808.1556
    sbajaj@bratskeir.com                   susan.lietz@thumbplay.com
    bharney@bratskeir.com

Black Eyed Peas Peapod Foundation, Adobe Foundation and Entertainment Industry Foundation Launch Partnership at February 5 Benefit Concert

2009-02-05T05:01:00.000+02:00

Partnership to Help At-Risk Youth Develop Creative Skills Through Video, Dance, Music and Art

SAN JOSE, Calif. and LOS ANGELES, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The Adobe Foundation, the Black Eyed Peas and the Entertainment Industry Foundation today announced a new partnership to help underserved youth access and learn to use multi-media production tools, including those for video, dance, music and art, to comment on critical issues and spark social change in their communities. The collaboration will be highlighted this evening at a benefit concert hosted and performed in Los Angeles by the Black Eyed Peas and other musical artists.

"As a group, we've made a commitment to help give teens the artistic tools and opportunities to help them realize their fullest potential," says will.i.am, who grew up in the projects in Boyle Heights, Calif. "Thanks to the incredible generosity of Adobe Youth Voices, we are able to expand our vision and give even more kids a chance to be productive, enterprising adults."

"Creativity and digital literacy are as fundamental to a quality education as every other skill taught in the classroom today," said Shantanu Narayen, president and chief executive officer of Adobe Systems Incorporated and president of the Adobe Foundation. "We're proud to be working with such talented and committed artists to nurture self-expression among young people in underserved communities. We hope this is just the beginning."

Last year, internationally acclaimed hip-hop group The Black Eyed Peas - will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo and Fergie - opened the first Peapod Academy, a state-of-the-art music and educational center and recording facility serving foster care youth and other at-risk teens, at the Watts/Willowbrook Boys and Girls Club. AYV, introduced by Adobe in 2006, continues to expand worldwide, building on more than 160 sites in 31 countries. Together, the organizations will launch two new integrated music and multi-media academies in the San Francisco Bay Area in Fall 2009. Plans to scale the program over time include combining Peapod Academies and Adobe Youth Voices (AYV) sites worldwide.

Moving forward, the joint Adobe Youth Voices/Peapod Academy sites will incorporate high-tech curriculum developed by AYV with the latest multi-media production tools, recording studio tools and expertise and mentoring in the performing arts. Past students enrolled in AYV programs have had their work showcased at prestigious venues including the Sundance Film Festival and the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, addressing topics such as domestic violence, drug abuse and migrant labor. AYV participants from the Bay Area will appear on stage tonight with the Black Eyed Peas; their work will be shown in and around the concert venue.

The Adobe Foundation's commitment includes a $1 million cash donation along with other in-kind support, including a comprehensive training program designed for youth and educators, and volunteer support from Adobe employees. The Peapod Foundation will contribute an on-site fully-equipped recording studio at each site, along with expertise and mentoring.

About the Adobe Foundation and Adobe Youth Voices

The Adobe Foundation is a 501(c)(3) private foundation created and funded by Adobe Systems Incorporated to leverage human, technological and financial resources to drive social change and community improvements. The Foundation's Adobe Youth Voices global philanthropic program brings digital and multimedia tools and training to students and educators and empowers youth to comment on their world, share their ideas and demonstrate their potential to take action in their communities. The AYV global network currently includes more than 160 sites, grantees, and organizations in 31 countries engaging youth and educators in schools and out-of-school programs. For more information, visit www.adobe.com/go/youthvoices.

About the Black Eyed Peas Peapod Foundation

The Black Eyed Peas Peapod Foundation encourages social change by uniting people, especially children, through the universal language of music. The Peapod Foundation was established as a Charitable Service Fund administered by the Entertainment Industry Foundation. For more information, visit www.thepeapodfoundation.com.

About the Entertainment Industry Foundation

The Entertainment Industry Foundation, as a leading charitable organization of the entertainment industry, has distributed hundreds of millions of dollars to support charitable initiatives addressing critical health, education and social issues. For more information visit www.eifoundation.org.

Son of Rock Icon Mounts Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Write-In Effort

2009-02-05T03:40:00.000+02:00

HOUSTON, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The son of one of rock's earliest stars is reaching out to his dad's fans for help.

The Big Bopper (J. P. Richardson, Jr.), a music visionary and the gifted songwriter/singer of CHANTILLY LACE, died at 28 in a plane crash on February 3, 1959, with Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens.

His son Jay P. Richardson was born 84 days later.

"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame lists CHANTILLY LACE as one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll," says Jay, "but Dad hasn't been inducted with Buddy and Ritchie."

"Dad deserves this recognition not because of his death or because he wrote three songs that topped the charts but because he is now recognized as the innovator of the music video."

Bopper's music or persona have also been a staple in films from "American Graffiti" to "Happy Feet" to "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story."

"As the anniversaries fly by, I worry about keeping his music alive. I need all his fans, young and old, to write the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame requesting his induction."

"Elvis has Priscilla and Buddy has Maria Elena to carry on their legacies. My mother was so devastated by Dad's death, decades passed before she could speak about him. I need to make up for lost time."

Jay (Bopper, Jr.) tours with the Winter Dance Party tribute show (www.winterdanceparty.com) so he meets many of the original fans...and their children...and grandchildren.

"Emails from teenagers in places like Holland or Australia arrive weekly, saying their parents or grandparents loved the music and passed that love to them. These young fans will keep Dad's memory alive - his music cuts across age and cultural boundaries."

RUNNING BEAR, WHITE LIGHTNIN' and BEGGAR TO A KING are his best-known compositions - listen to a mix on www.chantillylacethemusical.com. A prolific songwriter, The Big Bopper recorded many of his own songs (a greatest hit compilation of 19 is available at Amazon.)

The Big Bopper's own story remains untold - a slight Jay hopes to rectify with planned film and stage projects THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED (www.bigboppermovie.com) and the stage musical CHANTILLY LACE.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (www.rockhall.com) is at 1100 Rock and Roll Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio 44114.

Contact Susy Smith - sjsmithpr@aol.com - 281.799.7212

Snoop Dogg's All-Star Bash: Phoenix, Arizona

2009-02-05T00:43:00.000+02:00

PHOENIX, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Kiss FM and Live Presents Snoop Dogg All-Star Weekend Blowout Saturday, February 14, 2009 from 7:00pm-2:00am at Barcelona Nightclub. Hosted by Grammy Award winning artist Snoop Dogg, Special K, and DJ Triple XL. Attending will be some of the biggest celebrities in the world including, Major Motion Picture stars, the recording industry's biggest artists, NBA, MLB players and Terrell Suggs, Vernon Davis, Ovie Mughelli and Isaac Keys from the NFL. This event is guaranteed to be one of the hardest tickets to get in town. And if that was not enough do not miss the Sensual Seduction Lingerie Fashion Show hosted by 20 of the most beautiful models in America.

As a multi-platinum selling artist, Snoop has taken the hip-hop generation to another level. His latest CD, Ego Trippin,' with number one hits such as, "Sexual Eruption" and "Life of da Party," sold more than 100,000 copies in its first week of release. Snoop has appeared in a number of big screen movies such as, Half Baked, Starsky and Hutch, Training Day and Soul Plane. The Grammy Award winning artist has also launched a number one hit reality show on E!, Snoop Dogg's Father Hood and in August of 2008 Snoop launched his new clothing line, Rich and Infamous. Snoop will be signing autographs and taking pictures throughout the night. This is your chance to meet the biggest stars in the World and party with Snoop Dogg!

There are a limited amount of tickets that will be available to the general public. Tickets can be purchased at www.allstarpresents.com or call toll free (866) 448-1928 to purchase by phone. Pre-Sale ticket prices are General admission tickets are $75 and VIP tickets are $200. This will be the celebrity star studded event and it will sell out so buy your tickets now. Barcelona Nightclub is located at 15440 N Greenway Hayden Loop Scottsdale, AZ 85260

For more information on Snoop Dogg's All-Star Bash Party please email Jeremy@livepresents,com or call Jeremy Ostermiller at 303-695-7039. Brought to you by LivePresents.com, Jeremy Ostermiller and Damian Maldonado.

LivePresents.com

Three-Time Grammy Nominee Raphael Saadiq to Perform at 17th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards(R) Viewing Party

2009-02-04T22:30:00.000+02:00

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The Elton John AIDS Foundation announced today that Grammy-nominated artist Raphael Saadiq will perform at the 17th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) Academy Awards(R) Viewing Party on Sunday, February 22, 2009, at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles. The event will be co-hosted by Sir Elton John and David Furnish, and will be co-sponsored by Chopard, Jo & Raffy Manoukian, and Vh1.

Oakland native Raphael Saadiq made his entree into the music world in the late 1980s as the lead singer and bass player for the multi-platinum R&B group Tony! Toni! Tone!. After leaving the group, the multi-talented Saadiq took his love of music and began writing and producing for some of today's top musicians including Joss Stone, John Legend, Snoop Dogg, and Mary J. Blige. In 2000, his work as a producer won Saadiq a Grammy for the song "Untitled" off D'Angelo's Voodoo, and in 2002, he released his much-anticipated first solo album Instant Vintage, a collection of soulful songs that earned him five Grammy nominations. In September 2008, Saadiq released his third solo album, The Way I See It, which landed him the #1 position on iTunes Top Albums of the Year as well a spot on Rolling Stone's Best Album's of 2008 list and 2008 Billboard Critics Top 10 list. The Way I See It has earned Saadiq three Grammy nominations, including Best R&B Album, Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group for his song "Never Give You Up" featuring Stevie Wonder and CJ Hilton.

'The Way I See It' is a masterpiece," said Sir Elton John. "I think it is one of the best albums of the year and certainly the best R&B album of the year. I'm absolutely thrilled and excited that he will be performing at our Oscar party. I can't wait to hear the songs live."

The Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Award(R) Viewing Party, the most successful fundraising event in Hollywood on Oscar(R) night, has once again tapped New York City-based event design company Antony Todd Incorporated to transform the "Outdoor Plaza" of the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood into an elegant arena for this year's event. Todd's design will take a modern approach on the classic supper club, mixing traditional elements with modern and whimsical touches. This year's guests, who will arrive at 4:00pm for a cocktail reception, can also expect some decadent treats, such as Godiva Chocolate Truffletini's and a five-course dinner consisting of menu items such as aged 24-month Parmigiano Reggiano with pear compote and Entu jelly and Carnaroli risotto flavored with dry Marsala wine and crystallized flowers prepared by Chef Wayne of Los Angeles-based Crumble Catering.

EJAF also announced today the evening's event chairs: David and Victoria Beckham, Mary J. Blige, Joseph Blount and Craig Reynolds, Tom Calderone, Richard Cook, Elvis Costello and Diana Krall, Stephen Daldry, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele, Diane Jenkins, Nicole Kidman, Ed Limato, Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Stone, Dame Elizabeth Taylor, Donatella Versace and John Walters

VH1: Vh1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with TV series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. Vh1 is available in 95 million households in the U.S. Vh1 also has an array of digital channels and services including Vh1Classic, Vh1 Soul, Vh1 Mobile, Vh1Games and extensive broadband video on Vh1.com. Connect with Vh1 at www.vh1.com.

For more information on Raphael Saadiq please visit www.RaphaelSaadiq.com.

    Contact:  Christina Lee/ Ivy Mollenkamp
              ROGERS & COWAN
              310-854-8100

4th Annual 'Jazz In The Gardens' Hosted by Tom Joyner March 28 & 29, 2009, at Dolphin Stadium

2009-02-04T17:00:00.000+02:00

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla., Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The City of Miami Gardens announces the star-studded lineup for the 4th Annual "Jazz in the Gardens" hosted by #1 rated, nationally syndicated radio personality Tom Joyner, taking place on Saturday, March 28th and Sunday, March 29th at Dolphin Stadium, 2269 Dan Marino Blvd, Miami Gardens, Florida 33056.

Confirmed artists include the dynamic and popular Maze featuring Frankie Beverly; soul singing sensation, Anthony Hamilton; renowned Grammy award-winning saxophonist, Kenny G; hip-hop emcee and actor, Common; Grammy-winning soul singer and writer, Erykah Badu; R&B singer and songwriter, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds; smooth and sexy, Will Downing; funk, soul and old school jazz composer, Roy Ayers; West-African-born and critically acclaimed jazz vocalist, Angelique Kidjo; and two-time Grammy-nominated songwriter, guitarist and producer, Jonathan Butler.

"Four years ago, we were just another jazz festival, now it is really amazing to know that nationally and internationally, we are a well-known and respected music festival. 'Jazz in the Gardens' has become an economic resource; infusing a new stream of revenue into the South Florida area; creating business opportunities for local businesses and sponsors; and driving tourists into South Florida and the local community. In 2009 we will exceed our past attendance records and continue to make Miami Gardens the winter-break destination for adults," says Mayor Shirley Gibson.

With attendance doubling each year, "Jazz in the Gardens" is one of the top cultural events in South Florida and across the country. The jazz festival is a diverse mix of music genres that range from Jazz, R&B, Caribbean and African sounds. "Jazz in the Gardens" is an exciting multi-cultural event that has something to offer all music aficionados. With an expected turnout of 30,000, it is positioned to break its own attendance record yet again.

Tickets are on sale now, available through the Dolphin Stadium Box office, www.jazzinthegardens.com or www.ticketmaster.com. For additional information about "Jazz in the Gardens" 2009 visit www.jazzinthegardens.com or contact the City of Miami Gardens (305.622.8043). For media inquiries contact Circle of One Marketing (305.576.3790). Artists' photos and interviews are available upon request.

Buddy Stubbs Arizona Harley-Davidson Throws 5th Annual Bash to Heat Up Bike Week!

2009-02-04T16:00:00.000+02:00

FREE event on March 28th at Phoenix's premier dealership will feature a two acre beer garden, unique vendors, acclaimed live music acts and more; Over 13,000 revelers expected to attend.

PHOENIX, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Known as the "Biggest Party of Bike Week," Buddy Stubbs Bike Week Bash will rev its engines from 11 AM - 8 PM on Saturday, March 28th in the adjacent lot north of the dealership. Free motorcycle parking will be available in front of the dealership and free vehicle parking will be furnished by Phoenix First Assembly across Cave Creek Road with free shuttle service. Miller Brewing Company and Patron are the alcohol sponsors for the event which will feature three incredible bands including Arizona favorite, Harry Luge and Breakdown, a Tom Petty tribute band. New this year, the evening will culminate with a raffle of a 2009 Sportster 1200. Raffle tickets are just $10 each and may be purchased at Buddy Stubbs Arizona Harley- Davidson or Buddy Stubbs Anthem Harley-Davidson starting February 4th. Only 2000 raffle tickets will be sold with proceeds benefiting the Phoenix Harley Owners Group Charities, Inc. Entrants must be present at time of drawing to win. Complete rules are available at http://www.buddystubbshd.com.

Bike Bash is also proud to boast an impressive group of vendors that will offer something for everyone, including patch sewers, custom motorcycle paint and accessories outfitters, top-shelf cigars, MotorClothes(R) only available at Buddy Stubbs H-D, Chuck Franklin Law and much more. The Bash will be one of the first opportunities to check out the new 2009 Iron 883(TM) and XR1200(TM) motorcycles at the dealership's open house. For schedule of events and details, call 602-971-3400.

Owner and Founder Buddy Stubbs invites everyone to the event: "This year's Bike Week Bash will be bigger than ever. I'll be there all day, so come party with me!"

Throughout the day, Buddy will be giving tours of the Southwest's premier motorcycle museum located inside the dealership. The museum is 3000+ sq. ft. of classic two-wheeled history with over 35 different motorcycle manufacturers and a collection of over 125 rare machines from 1903 through the late 20th Century. His tours will start promptly at Noon, 1 PM and 2 PM. Space is limited.

Following an extensive racing career, which included winning the Daytona 100 mile race in 1963, Buddy started Arizona Harley-Davidson. On July 16, 1966, Buddy Stubbs Arizona Harley-Davidson became the Valley's only Harley-Davidson franchise. Buddy Stubbs continues to own and operate the business with the help of his two sons, Frank and Jack. Buddy Stubbs prioritizes customer satisfaction and sells motorcycles at the Manufacturers Suggested Retail Pricing. All the Harley-Davidson(R) genuine parts, accessories, MotorClothes(R) apparel, and collectibles are also sold at M.S.R.P. Arizona Harley-Davidson employs over 60 people in five departments (Sales, Rentals, Service, Parts, and MotorClothes(R)/General Merchandise). For more information, go to http://www.buddystubbshd.com.

American Idol Former Finalist, Brooke White, Helps Teens Cast Flu Prevention Vote

2009-02-04T13:00:00.000+02:00

With Only 16 Percent of Parents Aware of the CDC's Flu Vaccination Recommendations, New Contest Encourages Their Teens to Join Education Effort

NEW YORK, Feb. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- No teenager wants their Facebook status to read "Home with the flu," when their friends are all out having fun. That is why singer/songwriter and former American Idol finalist, Brooke White, is teaming up with infectious diseases specialist and author, Dr. Harley Rotbart, and The Clorox Company to launch "I Don't Want to Miss...," a national contest that puts teens in the spotlight to talk about flu education and prevention and the special events in their life they don't want to miss.

This year, for the first time ever, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expanded flu vaccination recommendations to include all children from six months through 18 years old, but a new survey shows that only 21 percent of teens within this recommendation actually received a flu vaccination this winter. According to the CDC, in some areas of the country, flu activity can occur as late as May, indicating it is not too late for parents to get their teens vaccinated.

"Last year, during American Idol we couldn't imagine missing our shot at becoming the next American Idol because of the flu," said Brooke White, singer/songwriter and former American Idol finalist. "With so few parents and teens aware of the CDC's recommendations, I want to encourage them to adopt healthy habits and simple prevention steps so they don't miss out on all the exciting moments in their lives."

Your Chance to Audition

The heart of the "I Don't Want to Miss..." program is a Public Service Announcement (PSA) contest that lets teens do the talking. Teens can submit video entries at www.IDontWanttoMiss.com, highlighting what they don't want to miss. A judges' panel will select five finalists, but the winner will be America's choice, through an online vote for the favorite video. The student that submits the winning video will receive a personal appearance and acoustic concert by Brooke White for his or her school!

IDontWanttoMiss.com is also the interactive homeroom for teens, parents and teachers, featuring prevention tips and expert advice from Dr. Harley Rotbart, author of Germ Proof Your Kids, as well as information on the PSA contest. The site also features interactive polls for teens and an opportunity for parents to submit their own healthy habit tips.

Keep the Flu Out of Your "Top 12" This Winter

From the gym to the band room, schools are breeding grounds for germs. It is easy for teens to pick up illness-causing germs from their friends. In fact, according to a recent survey, more than a third of teens (34 percent) share their electronic devices among other teens at least several times a week.

"Research shows that teenagers and their parents may not understand the importance of prevention, but it's not too late to take action," said Dr. Harley Rotbart. "Since flu season can last as long as May, and this year's flu strains are resistant to some medicines that usually treat the flu, parents should still take teens to get a flu shot so they do not miss out on upcoming spring activities, like prom, a big musical or the basketball championship."

Don't Want to Be Out of the Competition?

Teens and their families can help "eliminate" the flu virus so they don't miss out on the things they care about the most. Once the family is vaccinated, follow these simple steps to help prevent the flu virus from spreading:

After You Hi-Five, Wash Your Hands: In order to kill germs, wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds after any activity that involves others (like sports practice, play practice or school dances).
Disinfecting 101: It is important that frequently touched surfaces in the home and items you share with your friends -- like cell phones, light switches and MP3 players -- are disinfected as directed.
Share the Scoop... Not Your Sneeze: Cough and sneeze into your elbow instead of your hands to help prevent the spread of germs from touch.
Your Health Teacher Was Right: Eat right (especially foods with lots of vitamin C), exercise, dress warmly when it's cold, and get plenty of sleep to help boost your body's ability to fight the effects of colds and the flu.

Voting is Closed, and the Results are Not Good

In a national survey conducted by The Clorox Company and Ipsos, a leading global market research firm, findings indicate:

Parents Have Homework, Too

Only 16 percent of parents (and only nine percent of teens) understand that the CDC currently recommends the flu vaccination for all children age six months through 18 years.
Among parents of teens who have not received the flu vaccination this season, nearly half (47 percent) think the flu vaccination is not necessary or that their teen does not need it -- despite the current CDC recommendations.
Among teenagers who haven't yet gotten the flu vaccination, 40 percent said it was because their parent or guardian has not taken them to get it.

Teens Are Playing Hooky on Flu Prevention

Only 21 percent of teenagers said they have received a flu vaccination within the past three months.

Parents Want to Raise the Next Brooke White

The top activity parents do not want their teen to miss because of the flu or a bad cold is a school play, recital or other arts event.

About The Clorox Company

The Clorox Company is committed to helping families live easier, healthier and better lives. As part of this commitment, Clorox is honored to support the "I Don't Want to Miss..." program to educate parents about the importance of flu prevention and the role of disinfecting to help reduce the spread of surface germs that cause the flu. For more information, visit www.Clorox.com.

About the Survey

These results are based on 509 online interviews with U.S. adults who are the parent of a child ages 12 to 17. Additionally, these results are based on 507 online interviews with teens, ages 12 to 17. Interviews were conducted by Ipsos, a global survey-based market research company, between Dec. 19 and Dec. 23, 2008. The final data are statistically weighted to reflect the regional population distribution of the United States.

With a sample of 509, one can say with 95% certainty that the overall results are within plus/minus 4.3 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire population of U.S. parents been surveyed. With a sample of 507, one can say with 95% certainty that the overall results are within plus/minus 4.4 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire population of U.S. teens been surveyed.

Academy of Country Music, dick clark productions & GAC Television Partner to Give Fans the Power to Name Top New Artist Categories for the First Time Ever

2009-02-04T12:00:00.000+02:00

Unprecedented Television Exposure for New Artists Planned

ENCINO, Calif., Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The Academy of Country Music, dick clark productions and Great American Country (GAC) announced today that for the first time ever, the three newcomer categories for the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS - Top New Female Vocalist, Top New Male Vocalist and Top New Vocal Duo or Group - will be opened up to interactive fan voting through GACTV.com.

The 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las VegasSunday, April 5, 2009 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.

Fan voting for these three categories will begin at GACTV.com on Friday, February 13, and will close on Thursday, March 5. The winner in each of the three categories will be announced March 9, and will move on to compete in a brand new Academy of Country Music Awards category, Top New Artist. Voting for the Top New Artist category will begin on March 16, and will close on April 5, with the winner being announced live during the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

As part of this new partnership, GAC will air several stand-alone specials, including a show featuring all the nominees from each of the three categories, as well as a special on the winner.

"GAC is honored to be part of this fan-focused selection process particularly because so many of these top new artists get their first exposure to TV on GAC," said Sarah Trahern, senior vice president of programming for GAC. "Country Music fans everywhere will get the rare opportunity to show their support for the many talented new artists in our country format."

"The Academy has been at the forefront of supporting new artists and introducing them to new audiences. This alliance felt like a natural fit and extension of that support," said Bob Romeo, executive director of the Academy of Country Music.

Orly Adelson, president of dcp said, "dick clark productions has always celebrated the instrumental role music fans play in the popularity of new and emerging artists. The ability for country artists to vote directly online will provide them with an even greater opportunity to make their voices heard."

The first GAC special, hosted by reigning Top New Male Vocalist Jack Ingram, will feature the nine nominees, three from each newcomer category, and will premiere on Friday, February 20. This special will re-air through March 5, when voting closes.

On March 10, GAC will tape a special hosted by Sara Evans, wherein the winner in each category will be named and presented with the award for Top New Female Vocalist, Top New Male Vocalist, and Top New Vocal Duo or Group. Each winning act will perform on this special, which will air March 19 with multiple re-airs scheduled.

The winner of the new Top New Artist category will be awarded on the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las VegasSunday, April 5, 2009 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.

Nominees for the Academy of Country Music Awards will be announced on Wednesday, February 11, in Nashville.

About the Academy of Country Music Awards

About Great American Country (GAC)

Great American Country is the leader in country music entertainment. GAC delivers to viewers the widest variety of country music, its artists and the lifestyles they influence. GAC broadcasts original country music programming, country music performance specials, live concerts, music videos, and is the exclusive television home of the Grand Ole Opry. GAC is available in more than 55 million households and online athttp://www.GACTV.com. GAC is owned by Scripps Networks, the leading developer of lifestyle-oriented content for television and the Internet, including HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network and Fine Living Network. Scripps Networks is based in Knoxville, Tenn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta and Nashville, and is a unit of Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI).

    Media Contacts:

    Julie Smith/Enjoli Duval
    BNC PR
    310.854.4800
    jsmith@bncpr.com/eduval@bncpr.com

    Lee Hall
    Great American Country (GAC)
    865.560.3853
    LHall@scrippsnetworks.com