[A2k] 1st MySpace Records tour sponsored by a University

[Anne-Catherine Lorrain]

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http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/e3i29faacc3d1f770ee66422ca5de4a939e
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MySpace Records Lands First Headlining Tour Sponsor*
August 06, 2008 - Touring<http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/touring.jsp>

By Mitchell Peters, L.A.

Singer/songwriter Kate Voegele will be the first MySpace Records artist to
land a sponsored headlining tour. The University of Phoenix is sponsoring
the artist's 40-date North American "Back 2 School" trek, which launches
Friday (Aug. 8) at the Glass House in Pomona, Calif.

As part of the sponsorship, Voegele, who is a psychology major at the
University of Phoenix, will chronicle her experience on the road through
blogs and video diaries via
myspace.com/kateontour<http://www.myspace.com/kateontour>.
The 21-year-old singer will also upload behind-the-scenes footage from the
tour, post bulletin updates and maintain the site's "Ask Kate" forum. Part
of the online content will delve into Voegele's attempt to balance two
college courses while playing concerts every night.

Under the deal, University of Phoenix will cover some of Voegele's touring
expenses in exchange for branding on myspace.com, according to MySpace
Records GM J Scavo.

"It's all wrapped up in this bigger ad package sold by MySpace," Scavo tells
Billboard.biz. "The centerpiece is the media that's running on myspace.com,
which drives traffic to this co-branded page."

Scavo notes that MySpace has been proactive in organizing one-off
concerts<http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003813862>and
branding
tours<http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003694087>,
and sees tour sponsorships as the "next evolutionary step" for the social
networking site.

"The MySpace sales staff feels embolden now to go offer these far more
complex and integrated packages to advertisers," he says. "If we can keep
doing this, it adds awareness and creates some support for our efforts as a
label."

The label exec is quick to note, however, that MySpace Records will continue
to provide artists with financial tour support even if a sponsor isn't
involved. "I would never wait for an advertiser to put a band on tour,"
Scavo says. "They need to be on tour."

Meanwhile, Voegele spent much of 2007 opening shows for such artists as Ben
Lee, Matt Nathanson and Natasha Bedingfield, among others. "She's done
sporadic headlining dates but has never done a full tour," Scavo says. "This
is where it pays off."

Voegele, who launched her career on prime-time teen soap "One Tree Hill," is
touring in support of her debut album "Don't Look Away," which has sold
187,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The
artist's collective digital tracks have sold 435,000 downloads, according to
Nielsen SoundScan.

Voegele's upcoming jaunt, which wraps Oct. 5 at Holloway Hall Auditorium in
Salisbury, Md., will feature support in various cities from artists Matt
White, Amy Kuney, Keaton Simons, Brendan James, Josh Hoge and Leslie Roy.


Anne-Catherine Lorrain
TransAtlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD)
TACD Intellectual Property Expert
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Tel: +32 2 740 28 17
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Cell (US): +1 (202) 390 6264