OurStage Announces Strategic Partnership with AOL Music

AOL Music to Expand Independent Music Offering by Distributing OurStage's Music Content


BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OurStage (http://www.OurStage.com) has announced a strategic partnership with AOL Music (http://music.aol.com) that will extend the reach of OurStage's independent music content to AOL Music, the web’s top ranked music site in both total page views and unique visitors.*

Under the agreement, OurStage, a leading destination for discovering independent music and the only web site that empowers fans to identify the best emerging artists using a tamper-proof voting process, will provide content, including new music by top-ranked artists, interviews, streaming audio, and videos for distribution on AOL Music. In addition, AOL's Platform A will become the exclusive ad-serving network for OurStage.com, working to help monetize the site through ad creation and placement.

"As music fans rely more heavily on the web to discover new artists, we strive to provide innovative ways to enhance this exploration," says AOL Music Editor in Chief/Vice President Bill Crandall. "By partnering with sites like OurStage, which allows fans to be an integral part of the artist-development process, we’re delivering on our promise to deliver the best music programming on the Web.”

"OurStage has become an important tool for artists seeking to develop the kind of grass-roots fanbase that can really launch their careers," said Ben Campbell, CEO of OurStage. "AOL's position as the number one web destination for music fans with over 20 million people using the site offers OurStage artists unbelievably valuable exposure. It also offers a much broader audience of fans the opportunity to discover and enjoy the very best music by emerging artists. We are pleased to have such a powerful partner that is as committed as we are to building a vibrant new arena for independent music to flourish."

* Source: comScore media metrics

About OurStage, Inc.

OurStage is where the world's music fans come to discover, enjoy and reward the best emerging artists - and where the world's artists come to find their fans, get amazing gigs and launch their careers. OurStage lets fans choose the best emerging talent by using a tamper-proof judging process. The result is the most extraordinary collection of new music available anywhere, already ranked from best to worst for the pleasure of the listening public. In addition, top-ranked artists have the opportunity to receive significant career-building promotion and support in collaboration with celebrity artists, industry professionals, and a broad assortment of music industry partners, including AOL Music, Bonnaroo, Virgin Festival, Bumbershoot, CMJ, PLUG Awards, Newport Folk, Newport Jazz, Paste Magazine, Relix, Noise Pop, and many others. Just one year old, OurStage streams great new music online to over a million fans in 140 countries around the world each month.

About AOL Music

AOL Music is the web’s most trafficked music site with over 20 million unique visitors per month providing music fans with unparallel access to artist videos, songs, photos, news and lyrics. AOL Music’s network of sites includes Spinner.com, PopEater.com, and theboombox.com and it is home to some of the web’s most popular original series including Sessions, The DL, Top 11 Video Countdown, 3X3, and The Interface.

About AOL

AOL® is a global Web services company that operates some of the most popular Web destinations, offers a comprehensive suite of free software and services, runs one of the largest Internet access businesses in the U.S., and provides a full set of advertising solutions. A majority-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., AOL LLC and its subsidiaries have operations in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. Learn more at AOL.com.