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Gigs & Bytes: Pearl Jam’s V Cast Hook-Up
It’s a riff on the take-a-concert-home-with-you business plan, where customers buy a complete recording of the show they’ve just experienced moments after the final encore. However, the Pearl Jam / Verizon matchup doesn’t cover the complete setlist. But complete concert recordings sold shortly after the house lights go up don’t often come with ringtones or ringback tones.
Here’s the skinny:
Starting tonight and running through the end of this month, engineers will record each Pearl Jam gig and then mix three songs on the Verizon Wireless Mobile Recording Studio Bus. The finished recordings will be released on V Cast Music, with Verizon Wireless offering one of the full-length tracks for free, and the other two songs at standard costs. At V Cast, standard pricing works out to $1.99 for downloads to V Cast-capable phones and 99 cents from the V Cast online store.
But wait, there’s more.
Fans will also be able to purchase the mobile bootlegs as ringtones and ringback tones. The free tracks will be available only until the next show on the schedule, while all purchasable tracks, ringtones and ringbacks will be available until the end of the tour.
Fans going to the Pearl Jam shows on this tour will also be able to “donate” their old cell phones, batteries and accessories, with all “donations” benefiting Hopeline, Verizon Wireless’ program helping victims of domestic violence. The first 50 people making a Hopeline donation at each show will receive a special Pearl Jam gift bag, and all Verizon Wireless customers donating their old tech will receive a free Pearl Jam ringtone and ringback tone.
But wait, there’s still more.
Now we get to the nitty-gritty of the Pearl Jam / Verizon promotion – free tickets! And the best thing about the free ticket offer is you may already have entered. That is, if you’re a Verizon Wireless customer and you’ve downloaded any Pearl Jam mobile content from V Cast since the beginning of this year. Tickets will be delivered to the winners via their phones two weeks before each concert.
The Pearl Jam / Verizon Wireless offer is good for all PJ shows through the end of this month except the band’s Bonnaroo appearance this weekend.
“Pearl Jam has long been at the forefront of generations of talented artists taking action and speaking out on what’s important to them, and mobile technology is a large part of that movement,” said Verizon Wireless’ director of digital music, Ed Ruth. “Verizon Wireless delivers the opportunity for artists to interact directly with fans – they can download music, win tickets to the show and now get the world’s first mobile bootlegs from this legendary band.”