Interactive One Presents "It's All Black Music!", the Largest Multi-Platform Black Music Month Celebration Sponsored by Southwest Airlines and T.G.I. Friday's; Includes Exclusive Partnership With Mobile-Social Leader foursquare

NEW YORK, June 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Interactive One, LLC, the largest online media company serving Black Americans, presents its 2011 Black Music Month celebration. The program theme "It's All Black Music!" references the global influence of Black music on a variety of genres.  The initiative, in partnership with sister companies Digital Radio One and TVOneOnline.com, will turn the spotlight on emerging and legendary artists as well as notables in the music business industry.

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TheUrbanDaily.com, Interactive One's pop culture property, will power the content for "It's All Black Music!".  Fresh editorial will roll out through the month of June and will include a countdown of top movie soundtracks, profiles of one-hit-wonders throughout the years, features on key players behind the music scenes, guest blog posts by music-related celebrities such as hip hop legend Pete Rock and MTV's Sway Calloway, and a timeline of significant moments in Black music history, among other topics.  From R&B, soul and hip-hop to jazz, punk rock and electronic, a range of music styles influenced by Black people will be celebrated.

"To celebrate Black music is to celebrate all music, and with the support of our dedicated sponsors, we are bridging generations and highlighting the best and brightest musicians, executives and moments in Black music industry," said Smokey D. Fontaine, Chief Content Officer for Interactive One.  "We're reaching our audience online, on their mobile devices and at events with a multi-layered content experience."

Sponsorship partners for "It's All Black Music!" include the airline industry's largest U.S. carrier Southwest Airlines, and casual dining restaurant group T.G.I. Friday's.  Southwest Airlines is sponsoring several content pieces including "100 Rewarding Moments in Black Music," "One-Hit-Wonder Wednesdays" and "Flashback Fridays."

"The significance of Southwest Airlines' and T.G.I. Friday's support is immeasurable," said Keith Bowen, Chief Revenue Officer for Interactive One.  "Thanks to their sponsorship, more people will have more access to Black music and its influence on genres across the musical landscape, and we're thrilled to have them celebrating alongside us."

The "It's All Black Music!" program is designed to engage consumers on TheUrbanDaily.com and beyond. Interactive One has partnered with geolocation service foursquare in support of "It's All Black Music!". Readers who follow TheUrbanDaily.com on foursquare at www.foursquare.com/theurbandaily can earn an "It's All Black Music!" badge by checking into at least three locations where great moments in Black music history occurred, such as The Apollo Theater in Harlem or John Coltrane's birthplace in North Carolina. All badge holders during the month of June will be automatically entered to win prizes.

"By joining forces with Interactive One, we're helping them engage one of the largest Black audiences on the Web in a new way," said Tristan Walker, Director of Business Development for foursquare. "We're excited to partner with Interactive One in celebration of Black Music Month and look forward to introducing some of our 9.5 million users to the vast influence of Black music."

Each weekday throughout Black Music Month, a trivia question will challenge readers' knowledge of little known facts about Black music.  By texting his or her answer to 77000, the submitter of each answer will be automatically entered to win a daily prize.  In addition, the "Flashback Fridays" feature will ask music lovers to send in pictures of themselves at a concert or with artists for a chance to see their Black music moment in the "Hip Pic of the Day" photo collection at TheUrbanDaily.com.

"It's All Black Music!" will feature new content daily and will run throughout the month of June at www.ItsAllBlackMusic.com.

ABOUT INTERACTIVE ONE

Interactive One has over 15 million members and reaches more than 6 million Black Americans each month. With approximately 3 billion annual page views on its suite of sites, the Company has become the definitive social network for Black America through BlackPlanet, as well as a number of leading content sites.  These sites include: NewsOne (www.NewsOne.com), which provides up to the minute, comprehensive coverage of newsworthy events relevant to Black Americans across the country and the world; TheUrbanDaily (www.TheUrbanDaily.com), is the eyes and ears for Black Americans looking for what's hot online, on the airwaves, in theaters, and on the street; HelloBeautiful (www.HelloBeautiful.com), is the definitive lifestyle resource for today's Black woman. Relationship advice, the latest fashions, beauty tips...even inspirations for home decor; and Elev8 (www.Elev8.com) Elevate the mind, body and spirit.

Interactive One was launched by Radio One in 2008 to complement Radio One's existing portfolio of media companies targeting the African American community. Since its launch, Interactive One has quickly become the #1 online platform for the African American community.  Interactive One is powered by the mission to create an online community that engages and positively impacts the lives of African Americans.

ABOUT RADIO ONE

Radio One, Inc. (www.radio-one.com) is a diversified media company that primarily targets African-American and urban consumers. The Company is one of the nation's largest radio broadcasting companies, currently owning 53 broadcast stations located in 16 urban markets in the United States. As a part of its core broadcasting business, Radio One operates syndicated programming including the Russ Parr Morning Show, the Yolanda Adams Morning Show, the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, CoCo Brother Live, CoCo Brother's "Spirit" program, Bishop T.D. Jakes' "Empowering Moments", the Reverend Al Sharpton Show, and the Warren Ballentine Show. The Company also owns a controlling interest in Reach Media, Inc. (www.blackamericaweb.com), owner of the Tom Joyner Morning Show and other businesses associated with Tom Joyner. Beyond its core radio broadcasting business, Radio One owns Interactive One (www.interactiveone.com), an online platform serving the African-American community through social content, news, information, and entertainment, which operates a number of branded sites, including NewsOne, TheUrbanDaily, HelloBeautiful, and social networks BlackPlanet, MiGente, and AsianAvenue and an interest in TV One, LLC (www.tvoneonline.com), a cable/satellite network programming primarily to African-Americans.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES

In its 40th year of service, Southwest Airlines continues to differentiate itself from other low-fare carriers -- offering a reliable product with exemplary Customer Service. Southwest Airlines is the nation's largest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded; now serving 72 cities in 37 states. Southwest also is one of the most honored airlines in the world known for its commitment to the triple bottom line of Performance, People, and Planet. To read more about how Southwest is doing its part to be a good citizen, visit southwest.com/cares to read the Southwest Airlines One Report(TM). Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates more than 3,400 flights a day and has more than 35,000 Employees system wide.

SOURCE Interactive One, LLC