AOL and Spinner.com Announce Broken Bells to Kick Off Pop-Up Show Series in Austin During SXSW’s…

AOL and Spinner.com Announce Broken Bells to Kick Off Pop-Up Show Series in Austin During SXSW’s Music Festival

Spinner.com to Bring SXSW Experience to Web by Streaming Select Songs from Each Pop-Up Show

New York ? March 03, 2010 ? AOL Music?s Spinner.com, the most-visited rock music site on the Web*, announced today it anticipates that Broken Bells will headline the first of a series of free pop-up shows in Austin, Texas, during the South by Southwest Music Festival (March 17-21) with additional shows by Rogue Wave, VV Brown and Rival Schools. The four free pop-up shows will be held at undisclosed locations around Austin beginning March 17. The show times and locations will be revealed the day of the show on Spinner.com, AOL Music?s SXSW hub (http://music.aol.com/sxsw), Spinner?s Facebook fan page and to Spinner/SXSW Twitter followers. In addition, fans will be able to enjoy the performances virtually, with two songs from each show being available for free streaming on the site the next day.
“These shows will bring to life the essence of Spinner, a site that encourages music exploration and discovery,? said Mike Spinella, AOL Music?s head of label relations. “From parking lots to popular restaurants, these pop-up shows will offer music fans a real-life and virtual front-row seat to some of the most buzzed-about and relevant bands that we’re proud to work closely with.?
The newly formed Broken Bells, featuring artist/producer Brian Burton, aka Danger Mouse, and James Mercer, best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Shins, will make their SXSW debut on March 17 to kick off the first of four Spinner pop-up shows slated in a myriad of venues ranging from a parking lot to a popular eatery. The band will perform selections from its self-titled debut album to be released on March 9.
Additional performers include Bay Area indie rock favorite Rogue Wave on March 18, who will perform selections from their forthcoming fourth full-length album, Permalight, VV Brown, a British singer/songwriter/producer who will perform songs from her debut album, Travelling Like the Light, on March 19, and Rival Schools, a post-hardcore band hailing from New York, on March 20.
The day after each show, Spinner will debut two performances from each concert in an Interface: Live From Austin edition. In addition, AOL Music?s SXSW hub will provide on-the-ground updates, news and photos coming out of this year?s festival.
“South by Southwest is an international gathering for in-the-know fans and industry executives,? said Melissa Olund, managing editor of AOL Music. “We?re looking to provide a comprehensive editorial companion for those lucky enough to be in Austin, as well as for music lovers around the world.?
Since launching more than three years ago, Spinner has become the most-visited rock site on the Web*, with more than 4 million unique visitors a month**, offering fans free music downloads, an MP3 blog, music videos, interviews, news and live performances. Spinner is home to The Interface, http://www.spinner.com/interface, a popular Web series where bands perform selections in AOL?s studios in Los Angeles and New York. Spinner is part of the AOL Music Network, one of the world?s most popular music destinations, which also includes The Boot, The Boombox, Noisecreep, Where It?s At, AOL Radio, SHOUTcast and Winamp.

About AOL
AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is a leading global Web services company with an extensive suite of brands and offerings and a substantial worldwide audience. AOL?s business spans online content, products and services that the company offers to consumers, publishers and advertisers. AOL is focused on attracting and engaging consumers and providing valuable online advertising services on both AOL?s owned and operated properties and third-party websites. In addition, AOL operates one of the largest Internet subscription access services in the United States, which serves as a valuable distribution channel for AOL?s consumer offerings.

*comScore custom-built category by AOL, January 2010
**comScore Media Metrics, January 2010

Contact:
Kurt Patat
212/652-6323
kurt.patat@corp.aol.com
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