MTV Sites Intro Artist-Focused Channels

MTV Networks wants to establish its Web properties as the go-to outlets for fans to track all of their favorite artists’ social media activities.The company today will introduce channels on MTV.com, VH1.com and CMT.com under the brand "Posted." These venues will focus on specific artists for one-month periods, aggregating Twitter and Facebook updates and Foursquare recommendations, along with original and archival photos and videos. To start things off, American Idol rocker Adam Lambert is the focus of Posted.VH1.com; LeAnn Rimes is featured on Posted.CMT; and the band All Time Low will be showcased on Posted.MTV.com.MTV executives said the initiative is aimed at "super-serving" music enthusiasts that expect back-and-forth relationships with their favorite performers, while enabling fans to foster those relationships in a single locale.“There is this outpouring of social media activity in the music world, but it hasn’t been filtered in one place,” said Dermot McCormack, evp, MTV Networks Music & Logo. "Until now, you needed a compass and a degree in computer science to follow everything that is going on.”According to Chris Ficarra, VH1’s vp of integrated marketing, the company deliberately sought artists that were already active in social media -- but also tasked them to produce more content during their Posted spotlight periods. For example, VH1 shot original videos of recent Lambert rehearsals. Down the road, MTV will likely produce unique live streaming events on each of the Posted sites.MTV has signed AT&T as the official Posted sponsor, and is using the launch to debut a new custom ad unit. When viewing clips on Posted sites, users will be able to mouse over AT&T ads that will expand into 3-D images of the new Motorola Backflip phone. Via those images, they’ll be able to call the Posted artists and leave voicemails. MTV will eventually feature a collection of fan voicemails on the sites.In addition, artists will be seen in various videos using the Backflip, which utilizes Google’s Android software.The Posted program is scheduled to run through September. Upcoming artists scheduled to receive the Posted treatment are Maroon 5 and Sara Bareilles.(The second annual Music and Advertising Conference, hosted by Billboard and Adweek, will take place June 15-16 at the Edison Ballroom in New York. For more information, visit MusicAndAdvertising.com.)

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MTV Sites Intro Artist-Focused Channels

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