NME Joins Forces with Goldenvoice to Launch NME Awards in U.S. on April 23
March 3, 2008
Los Angeles (March 3, 2008) – NME – the longest-running and most famous music weekly in the world – today announces an extension of its live events business by taking its hugely successful annual awards ceremony, the NME Awards, to the U.S. market.
The NME Awards – renowned in the UK as the most important and prestigious event for British fans of cutting-edge music – will be held in the U.S. for the first time, at Los Angeles’ historic El Rey Theatre on April 23, two days before the Coachella Festival begins.
The US NME Awards are an invitation-only joint venture between NME and Goldenvoice - part of leading sports and entertainment presenters AEG Worldwide - and are set to be a star-studded affair, with live performances on stage from a host of established and breakthrough artists.
Winners will be voted for by NME.COM’s U.S. audience across a variety of categories, including Best Band, Best Album, Best Track and Best Live Band. Other categories, including the famous Godlike Genius Award, will be chosen by NME’s editorial team.
The event will be covered comprehensively on NME.COM. With 1.8 Million unique users, NME.COM is one of the world’s biggest music websites, and the fastest growing audience for its news and reviews is in the U.S.
The NME Awards Tour, which features Kate Nash, and is produced by Art Show Touring- a national touring division of Goldenvoice, kicks off in Atlanta on April 15, sweeps across U.S. cities, ending in San Francisco on May 13. It also includes two Canadian dates – Toronto on April 28, and Vancouver on May 8.
Steve Sutherland, editorial director of IPC Ignite, says: “The NME Awards have been bringing together some of the biggest names in rock 'n' roll history for over 50 years in the UK. With a special line-up planned for the U.S. as well, the U.S. NME Awards are set to be the alternative rock ‘n’ roll party of the year.”
NME publishing director Paul Cheal says: “The arrival of the awards in the U.S. not only allows us to build on our amazing heritage, but also to bring our biggest live event to a U.S. audience that is using NME.com in ever greater numbers." “NME puts on the most fun and irreverent independent awards show in the UK. Goldenvoice seemed liked the perfect partner for them in the US,” says Elyse Rogers, President of Art Show Touring.
The first round of voting starts today on NME.COM. This will result in a shortlist, which will then be voted on starting March 24
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FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT NME PLEASE CONTACT: Anna Gawan, press officer, IPC Media on 020 3148 5405 or email anna_gawan@ipcmedia.com
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT GOLDENVOICE PLEASE CONTACT: Hannah Kampf/ Scoop Marketing at 213-639-6160 or hkampf@solters.com or Erik Stein/ Scoop Marketing at 213-639-6162 or estein@solters.com
About NME
Published weekly since 1952, NME is the longest-running and most respected music magazine in the world, always providing its readers with the most exciting, incisive and authoritative coverage of the very best in contemporary music. About NME.COM: NME.COM has earned worldwide respect for its rock music news and features, which are updated around the clock. Launched in 1996, NME.COM is famous for its groundbreaking music news, breadth of reviews and in-depth features. The IPC Ignite website scooped the Best Music Magazine award for the second year in a row at the BT Digital Music Awards in October 2007, which remain the UK's only awards that are completely dedicated to digital music.
About the NME Awards
Dating back to 1953 (a year after the launch of NME), the NME Awards is the most important annual event for British fans of cutting-edge music. Over the years, NME Awards events have hosted memorable performances from some of the biggest names in rock ‘n’ roll history, including: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, New Order, Ian Brown and Primal Scream.
About Goldenvoice and AEG Worldwide
Goldenvoice produces hundreds of concerts and festivals each year all over the US including Coachella Music and Arts Festival, Stagecoach, and the new All Points West Festival in NY. AEG Worldwide is one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world. It owns or operates some of the world’s best arenas and theatres, numerous sports franchises including the Los Angeles Kings (NHL), The David Beckham Academy, and a collection of companies dedicated to producing, promoting and presenting world-class live entertainment.
