SPIN Magazine Announces Plans for 25th Anniversary Celebration

NEW YORK, March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- SPIN, America's premier music resource, today announced the elements that will form the brand's 25th anniversary celebration. Starting in March and continuing throughout the year, SPIN will develop a series of live events, editorial features, products, and promotions that will showcase the excitement and relevance that have defined the brand for a quarter century.

Starting at March's South by Southwest music conference in Austin, Texas, SPIN will produce a series of 25 music events that will run through the rest of the year. The inaugural show will be the annual "SPIN@STUBB'S" party on March 19th. It's always the hottest ticket at SXSW, and headlining this year's concert will be five-time cover artist Courtney Love and Hole. Also appearing on the bill are Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Miike Snow, and more. Sponsors for "SPIN@STUBB'S" include Rock Band, MySpace Music, Chevy, VTech, Pepsi, SESAC,TIGI, Mike's Hard Punch, and UV Vodka.

The pinnacle of the 25th anniversary events will be a marathon week of music programming in July, called "SPIN's 25 Hours of Music." In partnership with the Bowery Presents, SPIN will produce five consecutive nights of concerts throughout New York City, featuring artists that have made the greatest music of the past 25 years. These ticketed events are being sponsored by VTech and Vitamin Water.

In other 25th Anniversary programming, SPIN will be producing an array of special events, including an intimate series entitled "An Evening With...," in partnership with The Hard Rock Cafe and CITI. Each live performance by some of today's best-known artists will be followed by a Q&A with a SPIN editor.

SPIN magazine will also be getting special treatment during the 25th Anniversary celebration. The March, April, and May issues will all be special editions with unique content and packaging. March and April include such features as "Where Are They Now?" "The Greatest Rock Fashion Icons of the Past 25 Years," and "Under the Influence: Musicians Interview Their Idols." Finally, in May, SPIN will present its Official 25th Anniversary Issue, which will be dedicated to the 100 Moments That Rocked Music in this past quarter century. The issue will feature pieces written by such past contributors as SPIN founder Bob Guccione, Jr., Chuck Klosterman, Marc Spitz, Jim Greer, Craig Marks, and Sue Cummings.

Other highlights of SPIN's 25th Anniversary include:

• The SPIN25 Microsite: This hub page at SPIN.com will feature unique editorial and user-generated content, video from SPIN's Anniversary events, "Best of…" lists, schedules, trivia contests, and sweepstakes. SPIN will also partner with mobile innovator Foursquare for a contest that challenges users to compete by seeing the most live music in a month.
• As a way to highlight the breadth and quality of its 25 years of music journalism, SPIN, in conjunction with Google, will release the entire magazine catalog digitally later this spring on SPIN.com. This archive of every issue of the past quarter century will be searchable and free of charge.
• SPIN and Wiley publishing will produce a book, SPIN: Greatest Hits, containing the very best writing of the magazine's storied history, including features, artist Q&A's, essays, and oral histories. The book is expected to hit stores in the fall.

About SPIN:  

Since 1985, SPIN has been known for giving the first national exposure to many of history's most important recording artists. The publication has since expanded to be a monthly resource for all things prominent in music. Its leading web presence offers daily unique content and breaking news for readers and listeners through www.spin.com and with www.spinearth.tv, correspondents from around the globe have the opportunity to upload their unfiltered thoughts on everything happening in the world of music. SPIN celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2010.  

SOURCE SPIN