Music Superstar Wyclef Jean to Choose Winner of 'VIBE Verses 3'
November 16, 2007
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VIBE Media Group launches VIBE Verses 3 today, an online, user-generated rap battle contest on the VIBE.com website. The social media and viral video contest series is powered by KickApps' hosted social media platform and will be promoted in collaboration with MySpace, the world's most popular social network, to reach a broad audience of hip-hop and rap music fans. The contest is being held through the month of November at: http://www.vibeverses.com and www.myspace.com/hiphop.
The VIBE Verses contest challenges aspiring rap artists to upload videos of themselves performing original lyrics over pre-selected music tracks. Finalists will be selected by votes from the VIBE Verses community and the winner will be chosen by acclaimed music artist Wyclef Jean. The winner will be given a full page ad in VIBE Magazine, and the opportunity to open for Wyclef at a live concert in Los Angeles on December 4th. MySpace will provide promotional support for the contest.
"VIBE Verses showcases undiscovered and emerging music talents," said Steve Aaron, CEO, VIBE Media Group. "By teaming up with MySpace and KickApps, VIBE will provide aspiring rappers with exposure to a worldwide audience. We're also excited to be working with Wyclef Jean, who will choose the contest winner, in what should be the biggest and best VIBE Verses ever."
Today's announcement follows on the success of VIBE Verses 1 and 2, which have collectively attracted more than 1 million unique visitors. Since the first contest debuted in May 2007, over 1000 videos have been uploaded, generating more than 2.5 million page views and over 700,000 audience votes cast. So far, over 70,000 rappers and hip hop enthusiasts have created profiles in the VIBE Verses community.
"This is a perfect marriage for MySpace and VIBE on the Versus 3 rap battle contest," said Josh Brooks, VP of Marketing and Content for MySpace. "VIBE is a pillar in hip-hop and this partnership will help solidify MySpace as the place online for established and developing hip-hop Artists. MySpace thrives on giving our 200,000,000 members the tools and opportunity to showcase artistic talent and the Verses 3 rap battle is a contest where our community can do just that."
In the previous two contests, VIBE drove a great deal of participation by encouraging VIBE Verses community members to embed KickApps Widgets with their favorite videos into other social networks, such as MySpace. As a result, the VIBE Verses contest series represents a powerful example of how web publishers and marketers can partner with large social networking sites to spur growth, engagement, and profit within their own online communities.
"We're very proud to have helped VIBE create a highly engaged community in the first two contests through the user-generated content powered by our platform," said Alex Blum, CEO for KickApps. "Building successful online communities requires the right blend of context, technology, marketing, programming and management. The VIBE Verses campaign is yet another proof point of the potential impact social media can have for media and entertainment brands. This collaboration with MySpace is a major step in how brands will begin integrating social media into their business models."
About VIBE Media Group
The VIBE Media Group is a leading music/lifestyle media company that publishes the award-winning VIBE magazine, the preeminent brand in urban and music culture, which was founded by Quincy Jones in 1993. Additional VIBE Media Group properties include VIBE.com, a website that draws 1.4 MM unique visitors a month (Nielsen Netratings, May, 2007); Comcast's VIBE Video-on-Demand channel; The VIBE Awards, and the wireless content service mVibe.
About MySpace
MySpace, a unit of Fox Interactive Media Inc., is the premier lifestyle portal for connecting with friends, discovering popular culture, and making a positive impact on the world. By integrating web profiles, blogs, instant messaging, e-mail, music streaming, music videos, photo galleries, classified listings, events, groups, college communities, and member forums, MySpace has created a connected community. As the first ranked web domain in terms of page views(c), MySpace is the most widely-used and highly regarded site of its kind and is committed to providing the highest quality member experience. MySpace will continue to innovate with new features that allow its members to express their creativity and share their lives, both online and off. MySpace's international network includes 20 localized community sites in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Mexico, Australia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, Denmark, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Japan and New Zealand. Fox Interactive Media is a division of News Corp. (NYSE:NWS).
*Among the top 2000 domains comScore Media Metrix, September 2007. For more information on comScore Networks, please go to http://www.comscore.com.
About KickApps
KickApps' on demand social media applications enable web publishers and marketers to quickly and easily grow, engage and monetize online audiences. Our platform features a broad spectrum of applications, including social networking, user-generated content, online video players and viral Widgets, that are tightly integrated with media and community management tools for complete control of the community. KickApps is highly customizable and flexible for seamless integration with any website using HTML, CSS, JavaScript and APIs. Customers include: ABC Family, CW Television, Scripps Network Interactive, VIBE Magazine, HBO, Cinemax, BET Networks, Cox Television, Fila, Kraft Foods, P&G, the Phoenix Suns, among many others. For more information, please visit www.kickapps.com and www.kickdeveloper.com.
Contacts
VIBE Media Group:
Rubenstein Communications
Carolyn Nurnberg, 212-843-9316
cnurnberg@rubenstein.com
or
MySpace:
Roslynn Cobarrubias, 310-969-7463
rcobarrubias@myspace.com
or
KickApps:
The Bateman Group
Bill Bourdon, 415-602-1491
kickapps@bateman-group.com
