American Express, YouTube to Live-Stream Concerts

American Express and Google's YouTube are partnering to live-stream five concerts through the YouTube music video site VEVO. "Unstaged: An Original Series From American Express" will kick off August 5 with Arcade Fire live from Madison Square Garden. Amex sponsored two live-streamed concerts featuring Alicia Keys and The National earlier this year. The new agreement with YouTube and VEVO expands on that prior deal. The live concerts will also offer new levels of interactivity for those watching at home. Users can choose to watch the director's feed, or view any of the other camera feeds, and can switch between them. There will also be other opportunities to interact with the bands. In the case of Arcade Fire, users can submit photos of their suburbs, which may be used on stage as the backdrop to a performance. "This new partnership with VEVO and YouTube not only celebrates the marriage of music and social media, but also demonstrates the exceptional access that American Express provides to Cardmembers and music lovers across the world," said Courtney Kelso, vice president, Sports and Entertainment Access Strategy, American Express. "Following our successful live stream of The National at Brooklyn Academy of Music with American Express and YouTube, we are excited to enter into a bigger partnership where we can help deliver live concert experiences to music fans everywhere," said David Kohl, EVP, Sales and Customer Operations, VEVO. The press release is after the jump. AMERICAN EXPRESS ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH VEVO AND YOUTUBE, UNVEILS "UNSTAGED: AN ORIGINAL SERIES FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS" August 5 Kick-Off Concert with Arcade Fire to be Live-Streamed from Madison Square Garden NEW YORK, July 23, 2010 -- American Express unveiled today the launch of "Unstaged: An Original Series from American Express," a new partnership with VEVO, the web's leading premium music video and entertainment service, and YouTube, to live-stream five concerts over the course of the year. The news comes on the heels of American Express' two previous live and digitally streamed performances this year with award-winning singer Alicia Keys, which included a surprise performance by superstar Jay-Z, and Brooklyn sensation, The National. Bringing both the in-concert and at-home viewing experiences to entirely new heights, "Unstaged: An Original Series from American Express," will feature some of the music industry's most breakthrough artists playing at landmark venues across the country, tap some of today's most influential filmmakers to direct the live-streams, and use digital and social media to connect the online audience to the live shows in unexpected ways. Music sensations John Legend and The Roots will join the lineup later this year, with a complete list of artists set to be unveiled in the coming months. As part of American Express' ongoing efforts to create an unforgettable concert viewing experience for Cardmembers and music enthusiasts alike, the Series is scheduled to also feature a variety of surprise musical guest performances along the way. Officially beginning August 5, the Concert Series will kick-off with Arcade Fire live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The performance will be live-streamed from the world's most famous arena and will coincide with the band's highly anticipated third album release, The Suburbs, on August 3. "This new partnership with VEVO and YouTube not only celebrates the marriage of music and social media, but also demonstrates the exceptional access that American Express provides to Cardmembers and music lovers across the world," said Courtney Kelso, vice president, Sports and Entertainment Access Strategy, American Express. Each of the five concert performances will be live-streamed for both Cardmembers and music enthusiasts through the artists' dedicated VEVO page on YouTube. The August 5 live-stream performance by Arcade Fire will give audiences a visually stunning home viewing experience. Additionally, viewers can access the Arcade Fire live-stream at: www.youtube.com/arcadefirevevo. "Following our successful live stream of The National at Brooklyn Academy of Music with American Express and YouTube, we are excited to enter into a bigger partnership where we can help deliver live concert experiences to music fans everywhere," said David Kohl, EVP, Sales and Customer Operations, VEVO. "It's an honor for YouTube to help bring Arcade Fire live from Madison Square Garden, straight to your laptop, in this first concert of the Unstaged series," says Glenn Otis Brown, head of YouTube Music Partnerships. "We look forward to bringing more great artists to fans worldwide in partnership with American Express and VEVO." American Express Ã‚Â® Cardmembers and music enthusiasts can digitally connect to these live music experiences in ways that further blur the line between an at-home and in-concert experience: * Choose Your Cam: The audience will be able to control their viewing experience throughout the concert performance by switching between the main director's stream and a second camera to capture alternative vantage points, from backstage to the front row; and * Digital "Happenings": Featured artists will collaborate with the online audience in creative ways. In the case of Arcade Fire, fans will have the opportunity to submit photos of their suburbs which may be get featured on stage during the band's performance of one song off their new album, The Suburbs. For more information about American Express and music, please visit americanexpress.com/entertainment. About American Express American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpress, twitter.com/americanexpress and youtube.com/americanexpress. About VEVO VEVO is the web's number one premium music video and entertainment service with over one billion worldwide streams and nearly 60 million unique visitors in the U.S. and Canada each month. VEVO's programming is made available across the VEVO Network, which includes VEVO.com (the service's marquee destination site), VEVO on YouTube, and a VEVO-branded embedded player. The service also serves as a syndication platform for additional internet destination sites, including AOL and CBS Interactive Music Group, expanding the reach of the VEVO Network across the worldwide web. VEVO was created in partnership by Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and the Abu Dhabi Media Company. It is operated independently by a dedicated management team with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and San Francisco. Explore VEVO at http://vevo.com. Journalists/Bloggers can stay updated on VEVO news at http://twitter.com/VEVO_Media About YouTube YouTube is the world's most popular online video community allowing millions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos. Our mission is for YOU to discover and shape the world through video. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. YouTube, LLC is based in San Bruno, CA and is a subsidiary of Google Inc.

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American Express, YouTube to Live-Stream Concerts

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