From College to Rock Star in 4 Weeks

From College to Rock Star in 4 Weeks

NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- It's not a dream. Sixty-five college students will have their brush with stardom in Music City, U.S.A.

Starting May 27th, 65 hand-picked participants in Vanderbilt University's Accelerator business program are taking their turn at "making the band" -- move over MTV.

Working in close partnership with PassAlong Networks, echomusic, and four up-and-coming artists, Accelerator teams will learn first-hand what it takes to make a music artist a music star.

Teams will be matched with one of four artists -- Crew, Florez, Pound Lamb and the Whiskey Trippers, and BYoung -- to develop and execute ideas on marketing these new musicians. The assignment: create that first "big break" for each artist and increase their fan base at the same time. The culmination of the students' work will be a festival concert at a legendary Music City rock hall. The concert will benefit the Country Music Association's "Keep the Music Playing" charity which supports music education with the Nashville Alliance for Public Education.

The web technology comes courtesy of two Nashville-based music companies. The first is echomusic, a Music Row "visual identity and product development company" whose clients include LeAnn Rimes and double platinum country superstars Sugarland. The second is PassAlong Networks, which provides e- commerce platforms and distribution technology to promote digital media from labels and indie artists. The company has created digital music solutions for eBay, Proctor & Gamble and the recent exclusive Nashville Star music store.

Making four artists Nashville legends is only part of the program for Accelerator students, however.

Over the course of a month these students will work with over 100 companies from Fortune 500 to non-profits. The client list includes a global car maker, a NASCAR track, a professional baseball team and a national restaurant chain.

Accelerator is the brainchild of a small team led by Mike Sicard, former COO of a billion dollar company, a previous McKinsey consultant and currently a business school professor. "There's an unmet need out in the business world for 'go to' talent -- the kind of people who can take on challenging problems with uncertain information and tight time frames and make something happen. Accelerator is designed to meet that need and produce the kind of talent that can hit the ground running."

As one Accelerator graduate said after last summer's inaugural program, "I don't think I could be overwhelmed by a project or assignment anymore. I feel that I can always find a way to start and have the practical knowledge and skills to attack any problem." (Eric, a Junior at Vanderbilt University)

Accelerator teams will make rock star dreams come true, and create some new Nashville legends too.

Key dates:
* May 27: Vanderbilt Accelerator program kickoff
* May 30: Accelerator teams meet the artists
* June 3: Accelerator teams present their marketing ideas to the artists
* June 24: Rock the House benefit concert

About PassAlong Networks

PassAlong Networks provides solutions that revolutionize the way people experience digital entertainment. Its B2B2C technology platform includes a suite of private-label applications that enable clients to offer their customers a unique digital media experience. PassAlong powered digital music stores provide the end-consumer with more than 1.6 million licensed songs and the industry standard Passing-and-Points(TM) program. The PassAlong Networks platform offers interoperability through FREEDOM(TM) which provides cross- platform, multi-format security, rights protection, and media empowerment for both content creators and content users. PassAlong's Concert-of-the-Future(TM) initiative extends the live experience beyond traditional limits, empowering fans with detailed, accurate and relevant concert notifications through OnTour(TM) and enabling venues and artists to offer exclusive, wirelessly- delivered content before, during and after an event. Founded in 2002, PassAlong Networks is privately held and based in Franklin, Tenn. For more information, visit http://www.passalongnetworks.com/ .

Vanderbilt Accelerator Program website: http://www.owen.vanderbilt.edu/vanderbilt/Programs/accelerator/index.cfm

Contacts:
Mike Sicard, Faculty Director,
Vanderbilt Accelerator Program
615-496-5775, 615-400-5885

Corey Cleek
PassAlong Networks
615-425-5858
ccleek@passalongnetworks.com

Abbie Johnson
echomusic.com
abbie.johnson@echomusic.com

Source: PassAlong Networks

CONTACT: Mike Sicard, Faculty Director, Vanderbilt Accelerator Program,
+1-615-496-5775, +1-615-400-5885; or Corey Cleek of PassAlong Networks,
+1-615-425-5858, ccleek@passalongnetworks.com; or Abbie Johnson of
echomusic.com, abbie.johnson@echomusic.com

Web site: http://www.passalongnetworks.com/
http://www.echomusic.com/

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