Billboard Announces First Music App Awards At Mobile Entertainment Live!: The Music App Summit

NEW YORK, April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Billboard – the world's premier music brand - announced today that it will hold its first-ever Music App Awards at Mobile Entertainment Live!: The Music App Summit on October 5, 2010.  The event will take place in conjunction with the CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2010, Fall Show, in San Francisco, CA.

The first-ever Billboard Music App Awards will reward the most innovative music-focused apps created for the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Nokia platforms.  A panel of industry visionaries will choose finalists and winners, and Billboard is encouraging any developers and companies creating music applications to apply at www.MobileEntertainmentLiveFall.com.

"There have been plenty of app awards, but none have focused solely on music-specific apps," said Antony Bruno, Billboard's Executive Director of Content and Programming for Digital/Mobile. "Given how important the mobile and app market is to the music industry, Billboard wanted to showcase the most innovative apps out there from the artists and services defining the opportunity today. We're looking forward to seeing what people have come up with, and giving the best of the best their rightful due."

Selected finalists will be featured in a pre-show special section of Billboard magazine, and will have the opportunity to demonstrate their apps in Billboard's "App Lounge" at Mobile Entertainment Live!: The Music App Summit.

Any app built for the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Nokia platforms are eligible if they were released between July 1, 2009 and July 30, 2010. The participating apps must be available for sale to the public by the submission deadline.  Companies may submit as many apps as they like, but cannot nominate the same app for multiple categories.

Award Categories Include:

• Best Artist-Based App: Apps created specifically for an artist
• Best Music Streaming App: Apps that feature music, such as Internet Radio or On-Demand
• Best Music Engagement App: Apps that engage in music in various ways outside of creating or just listening
• Best Music Creation App: Apps that let users make their own music via the phone
• Best Branded App: Apps that incorporate a sponsor with music capabilities to promote both the sponsor's message and highlight the music

The deadline for all submissions is July 30, 2010, and finalists in each category will be announced on September 1, 2010.  The winners will be revealed at Mobile Entertainment Live!: The Music App Summit on October 5. To submit an app or for more information about the awards, please visit: www.MobileEntertainmentLiveFall.com.

Mobile Entertainment Live!: The Music App Summit will also feature keynote presentations and panel sessions covering the business of investing in mobile apps, current tech trends such as the iPad, streaming vs. downloading on mobile phones and a roundtable discussion of music executives and artists outlining what has and has not worked so far.  The moderated panels will each include Q&A opportunities with open feedback sessions with industry experts.

About Billboard

Now in its 116th year, Billboard is the world's premier music brand consisting of Billboard magazine, Billboard Events and Billboard.com - the online destination of choice for millions of music fans. The Billboard brand is built on its exclusive charts and unrivaled reporting on the latest news, issues and trends across all genres of music. The brand is owned by e5 Global Media, and reaches tens of millions of consumers daily through many strategic relationships with major companies, including Reuters, SanDisk, Telemundo, Ticketmaster, Microsoft Zune, Napster, MTV, GTech, Virgin Mobile, AT&T, Sony Music Entertainment and Amazon. These relationships leverage Billboard's brand recognition, proprietary chart data and information resources to develop products, live events and print, television, radio, digital and mobile platforms.

About e5 Global Media

e5 Global Media is a diversified company with leading assets in the media and entertainment arenas, including: Music (Billboard and its related conferences and events, including The Billboard Latin Music Awards), Film (The Hollywood Reporter, Backstage, ShoWest, ShowEast, Cineasia, and Cinema Expo International); and Advertising & Marketing (Adweek, Mediaweek, Brandweek, Adweek Conferences, and The Clio Awards).

SOURCE Billboard