Nokia and Live Nation Connect North American Music Fans to the Biggest Concert Tours

Nokia and Live Nation Connect North American Music Fans to the Biggest Concert Tours

-After successful UK launch, Nokia Ticket Rush offers fans access to hard-to-get tickets for select shows and unprecedented marketing reach for artists by speaking directly to fans-

IRVING, Texas, May 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nokia and Live Nation today announced the North American launch of Nokia Ticket Rush, a free membership program providing unparalleled access to hard-to-get tickets for the hottest concerts, tours and live entertainment events. By delivering promotions for these shows directly into millions of mobile handsets, the Nokia Ticket Rush program also gives touring artists unprecedented marketing access to music fans. Multiple programs are being made available to Nokia Ticket Rush members including pre-sales of tickets before they are made available to the general public, special lots of tickets made available only to members and more. Registration for the Nokia Ticket Rush program is free and easy at http://www.ticketrush.com/.

Once members sign up for the Nokia Ticket Rush program, they are alerted to exclusive ticket offers either via e-mail and/or by text message (SMS) alerts sent directly to their mobile device. Members can also access current Nokia Ticket Rush offers from their Internet-enabled mobile phone. Once members are alerted to an event of interest, they can either call a dedicated Nokia Ticket Rush hotline (1-866-604-RUSH) or visit http://www.ticketrush.com/ to purchase tickets.

"Not only is the Nokia Ticket Rush program a perfect tie-in for Nokia to showcase our new range of highly featured music devices, it also creates positive word of mouth for Nokia. After all, who wouldn't want to brag about how Nokia hooked them up with great seats to the season's hottest concert," said Candace Netzer, Senior Marketing Manager, Nokia. "We are also excited to work with Live Nation to offer additional valuable benefits exclusively for Nokia device owners at a number of their venues."

As part of the Nokia Ticket Rush program, which will offer tickets for thousands of concerts at Live Nation venues across North America, Nokia is also offering exclusive perks for Nokia device owners at select events at 10 Live Nation venues in seven cities, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and the New York Metro area. While anyone is eligible to sign up to become a member of the Nokia Ticket Rush program, Nokia phone owners will be able to enjoy expedited venue access through a designated "Nokia Speed Line" as well as the opportunity to win seat upgrades and artist meet and greets at select events.

Nokia Ticket Rush was first initiated last year in the UK where the program has resulted in a substantial increase in ticket sales across the board for all participating artists. Now in North America, this powerful Nokia/Live Nation alliance provides hundreds of touring artists an unparalleled opportunity to market and promote their live concerts directly to Nokia's enormous customer base. With a substantive national media push planned behind Nokia Ticket Rush, as well as a direct marketing campaign to both Live Nation and Nokia's respective databases, this innovative new program provides an important additional marketing campaign open to all Live Nation tours.

"There is no single place where the intersection of mobile phone technology and live music is more evident than at one of our concerts, where mobile phones have replaced lighters as a way of showing unity with the artist," said Live Nation President of Alliances, Russell Wallach. "Nokia's unparalleled ability to communicate directly with music fans through their mobile handsets, giving them early access to tickets and broadcasting news about upcoming shows, makes this innovative partnership valuable for both artists and fans. Nokia Ticket Rush also provides a substantial marketing push on behalf of our tours which we expect to positively affect ticket sales for all of the participating artists this summer."

Among the first events for Nokia Ticket Rush will be the multi-city Download 2007 Festival, Live Nation's acclaimed music and technology festival offering fans unparalleled connectivity to the bands they love. Download 2007 will feature such marquee bands as Modest Mouse, The Shins, Incubus, Wolf Parade, and other artists to be announced soon (each market has a distinct lineup). Download aims to take the fan experience to an entirely new level, with multiple opportunities for fan and artist interaction including meet and greets, Q & A sessions, artist master class workshops and autograph activities. Nokia Ticket Rush will offer pre-sale tickets three days prior to the general public on-sale at each of the four festival events. Tickets go on sale via Nokia Ticket Rush on June 6th (Washington State), June 13th (Boston), June 20 (Chicago) and July 18 (San Francisco).

About Nokia

Nokia (NYSE:NOK) is the world leader in mobility, driving the transformation and growth of the converging Internet and communications industries. Nokia makes a wide range of mobile devices and provides people with experiences in music, navigation, video, television, imaging, games and business mobility through these devices. Nokia also provides equipment, solutions and services for communications networks.

http://www.nokia.com/

About Live Nation

Live Nation is the world's largest live music company. Our mission is to inspire passion for live music around the world. We are the largest promoter of live concerts in the world, the second-largest entertainment venue management company and have a rapidly growing online presence. We create superior experiences for artists and fans, regularly producing tours for the biggest superstars in the business, including The Rolling Stones, Barbra Streisand, Madonna, U2 and Coldplay. Globally, we own, operate, have booking rights for and/or have an equity interest in more than 160 venues, including House of Blues(R) music venues and prestigious locations such as The Fillmore in San Francisco, Nikon at Jones Beach in New York and London's Wembley Arena. Our websites collectively are the second most popular entertainment/event websites in the United States, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. In addition, we also produce, promote or host theatrical, specialized motor sports and other live entertainment events. In 2006, we connected nearly 60 million fans with their favorite performers at approximately 26,000 events in 18 countries around the world. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Live Nation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol "LYV." For more information regarding Live Nation and its businesses or concerts near you, please visit our website at http://www.livenation.com/.

Contact:
Nokia Americas
Media Relations
972-894-4573
communication.corp@nokia.com

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Photo: NewsCom:

http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20040130/NOKIALOGO
AP Archive:

http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Source: Nokia; Live Nation

CONTACT: Media Relations of Nokia Americas, +1-972-894-4573,
communication.corp@nokia.com

Web site:

http://www.nokia.com/
http://www.livenation.com/

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