Eventful and Billboard Launch the 2010 'Eventful Fans' Choice Award'

SAN DIEGO and NEW YORK, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Eventful Inc, the leading digital service connecting consumers with entertainment and local events, and Billboard, the world's premier music brand, today announced the launch of the third annual Eventful Fans' Choice Award, which will allow music fans across the country to vote for the artist they think should win the 2010 Billboard award for Best Concert Tour of the Year.

The twenty-five artists up for the award include AC/DC, Alicia Keys, Bon Jovi, Black Eyed Peas, Dave Matthews Band, the Eagles, Iron Maiden, Jay-Z, John Mayer, Lady Gaga, Michael Buble, Nickelback, Tim McGraw, and Taylor Swift.  Fans can access the complete list of nominees and help their favorite artist win when they "Demand it!" via Eventful's unique social media platform by logging on to http://eventful.com/fanschoice.  They can also spread the word virally across Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace by inviting their friends to Demand their favorites.

The artist who receives the most demands through Eventful's service will be announced as the winner at the 7th annual Billboard Touring Conference & Awards (www.BillboardTouringConference.com), presented by ShowClix and in association with Music Networx, taking place at The Sheraton New York in NYC on November 3-4, 2010.

This distinct award, purely based on fan votes, will be presented at the close of the conference along with the rest of the Billboard Touring Awards, which honor the concert industry's top artists and professionals based on actual data compiled through the Billboard Boxscore chart.  The conference also includes panel sessions, roundtable discussions and networking opportunities for touring industry power players and decision makers.

"There have been some incredible touring successes in 2010, and fans have shown that they still love to watch their favorite artists perform live," said Ray Waddell, Billboard's Executive Director of Content and Programming for Touring and Live Entertainment.  "With their strong connection with the concert-going public, Eventful is uniquely qualified to gauge fan demand and determine the winner of the 2010 Fans' Choice Award."

"We're excited to work with Billboard to honor the leading touring acts of 2010," said Eventful CEO Jordan Glazier.  "We love helping fans discover and enjoy live music and by working with Billboard we're able to let the fans voice their opinion regarding which artist put on the best tour of the year."

Eventful and Billboard are providing a glimpse into how technology can create a better and more compelling experience for the new digital generation of concert-goers.  This comes at a time when artists and promoters are utilizing new platforms that have the ability to develop closer relationships with consumers and greatly enhance the overall end-to-end experience surrounding live music. Eventful's "Demand it!" service helps facilitate this connection by regularly empowering fans to influence the content and location of all types of events and entertainment including concerts, movie releases, and broadcast radio and television content.  Over 100,000 performers use "Demand it!" to engage with millions of their fans to find out where they are in Demand, and then utilize this essential data to optimize future tour routing and make informed decisions about where to appear.

About Eventful, Inc.

San Diego-based Eventful, Inc. provides the leading service for discovering, sharing, promoting and creating local events throughout the world.  Eventful's community of users enjoys the world's largest selection of local events, from concerts and sports to singles events and kids' activities.  Eventful provides multi-platform services to its users via www.eventful.com, e-mail programs, mobile applications and content distributed through widgets and apps.  Promoters, venues, and event organizers use Eventful to market their events to local consumers through a unique blend of social media, direct marketing, and digital advertising campaigns.  Visit Eventful at http://www.eventful.com.

For more information about the 7th annual Billboard Touring Conference & Awards, please visit: www.BillboardTouringConference.com.

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