Billboard Korea Premieres K-Pop Masters Event Presented By MGM Grand Friday, November 25

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Billboard Korea announced today it will host the "2011 Billboard K-Pop Masters, presented by MGM Grand" Friday, Nov. 25 inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.  The recently created Billboard Korea publication released its "Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100" music chart in August and this premiere event is scheduled to showcase the top acts in K-Pop music.  The concert is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.

"We are thrilled to work with our partners at Billboard Korea to gather some of the very best K-Pop performers for this historic concert" said Howard Appelbaum, president of Brand Development at Prometheus Global Media, parent company of Billboard.  "This concert will demonstrate the universal appeal of K-Pop, one of the world's fast growing music genres."  

Richard Sturm, president of Sports & Entertainment for MGM Resorts International, said, "MGM Resorts is proud to continue its ongoing partnership with Billboard as we present the 2011 Billboard K-Pop Masters in November at MGM Grand.  This event will feature some of today's brightest stars in the Korean music industry and we're looking forward to showcasing their international talents, and the future of K-Pop music, to the fans here in Las Vegas."

MGM Grand has been working with the Las Vegas-based event organizers from the newly-formed KPMA, LLC over the past year to develop the premiere event.  KPMA anticipates the event will wrap all of the major K-Pop agencies into a unified front, under the Billboard Korea umbrella, for the first time in history.  In addition to the show, the U.S.-based Billboard now recognizes K-Pop as being an important genre of music, worthy of its own chart and has earned prominent placement online.

Additional information regarding the performers, ticketing and celebrity guests will be announced in the near future.  For updated event information visit www.kpopmasters.com or www.mgmgrand.com.

For fans anxious to purchase seats to highly anticipated concerts and events, M life – MGM Resorts International's new loyalty program – provides members with exclusive access to pre-sales for sporting events and concerts.  The program also features rewards, benefits and once-in-a-lifetime experiences at the incomparable collection of MGM Resorts' world-renowned destinations.  To join, or for more information, visit mlife.com.

The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound.  Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Oscar de la Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and George Foreman vs. Michael Moorer; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, U2, 'N Sync, Sting, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert.  The MGM Grand Garden Arena also is home to the annual Academy of Country Music Awards and the Frozen Fury NHL pre-season game which features the Los Angeles Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche.

Now in its 117th year, Billboard is the world's premier music brand consisting of Billboard Magazine, Billboard Conferences, Billboard Events, Billboard Bulletin, Billboard.biz 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. Billboard reaches tens of millions of consumers daily through many strategic relationships with major companies across various industries. 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. In addition to North America, Billboard operates businesses in Brazil, Greece, Japan, Korea and Russia.

Billboard is owned by Prometheus Global Media, 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), Entertainment (The Hollywood Reporter, Backstage, ShowEast, Cineasia, and CineEurope); and Advertising & Marketing (Adweek, Adweek Conferences and The CLIO Awards).

KPMA, LLC. is a Las Vegas-based event producer and organizer which includes a team with a broad array of experience in show production, concert promotion and large-scale exhibitions worldwide.

SOURCE MGM Grand