Clear Channel Online & Radio Launch NEW! Music Initiative

CelebrityAccess MediaWire – Clear Channel Radio’s Online Music & Radio unit has launched NEW!–on-demand, online programming showcasing the music of new and developing artists to a national audience. Programming will air exclusively on Clear Channel Radio station Web sites and will be promoted online and on-air.

The program will feature hundreds of songs, available on-demand, from a range of genres including CHR/Top 40, rock, AC/soft rock, country and urban. Each quarter, 16 featured artists will have an artist-produced "home video," five streaming tracks and a link to the artist Web site. Fifty GarageBand.com artists will also have five streaming tracks, a photo, a bio and a link to the GarageBand.com site to provide more information. Additional signed artists will have a single streaming track, photo, bio and a Web-site link.

Featured artists are selected based on discussions with record labels focusing on new talent. Labels bringing talent to the program already include Atlantic, Capitol, Columbia, Def Jam, Lava, Manhattan, RMG, Rounder, Sony/BMG, Virgin, Warner Bros. and Wind-Up. The partnership with GarageBand.com offers the Clear Channel Radio audience a peek at the best unsigned artists.

Programming started on Sept. 13 and included music from the following featured artists: Antigone Rising, Augustana, Jeff Bates, James Blunt, Teddy Geiger, Brice Long, Low Millions, Lyfe Jennings, Megan McCauley, Hope Partlow, Rihanna, Ray Scott, Shout Out Louds, Rhonda Vincent, The Veronicas and Young Jeezy. By Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen

SEE AN EXAMPLE ON CLEAR CHANNEL’S KBCO-FM WEB SITE HERE.

Click below for more on this new Clear Channel initiative.

"The Internet has emerged as an important way for music fans to discover new music and NEW! is a tremendous opportunity for both newly signed and unsigned artists to reach millions of music fans," said Evan Harrison, executive vice president of Clear Channel Radio and head of the company’s Online Music & Radio unit. "With hundreds of songs available on demand, NEW! presents the ultimate new-music jukebox."

The program significantly expands Clear Channel Radio’s support for new and emerging artists. Currently, new music is programmed on-air at the local level, by local program directors. Many stations currently air shows devoted to new music, such as New York station Q104’s "Out of the Box with Jonathan Clarke." The company had also previously created an online repository so that producers, agents and managers could hear the music of unsigned acts.

"This is groundbreaking," said Ali Partovi, CEO of GarageBand.com. "We applaud Clear Channel for creating national exposure for unsigned artists chosen by music fans. The idea that a musician can submit music online for the chance to have it promoted to a nationwide audience is the American dream come true, and a major step toward democratizing how music is discovered."

Widely recognized as a filter for emerging music, GarageBand.com is the largest community for independent music. Since 1999, the site has used collaborative filtering to let ordinary listeners identify and promote songs, helping bands get feedback from listeners that promotes radio airplay, publishing deals and recording contracts for deserving artists. The site’s music is also used by amateur DJs creating podcasts.

By Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen