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Virgin Mobile USA : Virgin Mobile USA Asks Music Fans to "Book the Band" for the 2009 Virgin Mobile FreeFest

^{Published on 2009-07-27 05:29:19, Last Modified on 2009-07-27 05:29:27 - Market Wire}
 

WARREN, NJ--(Marketwire - July 27, 2009) - The Virgin Mobile FreeFest, one of the largest and most critically acclaimed music festivals in the U.S., has built a reputation for bringing together the world's best bands with the world's newest. Along with Kyocera, Virgin Mobile USA (NYSE: [ VM ]) is launching "Book the Band By Virgin Mobile" -- an opportunity for five emerging bands with different sounds to vie for a slot in the Virgin Mobile FreeFest lineup. FreeFest is scheduled to take place August 30th at [ Merriweather Post Pavilion ] in Columbia, Maryland. Headliners include [ Weezer ], [ Blink-182 ], Franz Ferdinand and [ Public Enemy ], along with a dozen other acts.

As an added twist to this year's festival, fans of the winning band will have a chance to snap up tickets to the "Free'd out" festival.

The bands participating in this year's "Book the Band" are:

 -- ALESANA, Raleigh -- BLACK GOLD, Brooklyn -- IGLU & HARTLY, Los Angeles -- THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE, Toronto -- THIS PROVIDENCE, Seattle 

Information about the five contending bands debuts today on the FreeFest website, [ www.virginmobilefestival.com ].

"Last year's 'Book the Band' was an amazing success, with hundreds of thousands of fans voting and selecting Hollywood Undead, a band that had never even played a live show before they appeared at the Virgin Mobile Festival," said Ron Faris, Senior Director of Brand Marketing and Innovation at Virgin Mobile USA. "We're very excited to host this program again with Kyocera and look forward to giving fans the opportunity to choose who they want to see rock out at this year's Virgin Mobile Freefest."

Fans checking out the videos at [ www.virginmobilefestival.com ] will also be able to stream original MP3s, read bios and vote for their favorite band. Voting will take place from today through August 14. The band receiving the most votes will be announced on August 17 and appear at Virgin Mobile FreeFest on August 30.

Kyocera, the premier sponsor of the Festival, is making "Book the Band" possible for the third consecutive year. "Music inspires such a passionate response from fans and we've loved empowering those fans to put their stamp on the Festival lineups," said Tom Maguire, head of global marketing at Kyocera Communications, Inc. "It's also been so rewarding to see up-and- coming bands like Hollywood Undead get an incredible break on their way up. We're very excited to see this year's winner perform at FreeFest."

Fans can vote online or via text message by sending the band's short code name to #59907 on any wireless carrier (standard text messaging rates apply):

 Alesana TEXT "ALESANA" TO 59907 [ http://www.myspace.com/alesana ] The Birthday Massacre TEXT "BIRTHDAY" TO 59907 [ www.thebirthdaymassacre.com ] Black Gold TEXT "GOLD" TO 59907 [ www.blackgoldmusic.com ] Iglu & Hartly TEXT "IGLU" TO 59907 [ http://www.myspace.com/igluandhartly ] This Providence TEXT "PROVIDENCE" TO 59907 [ www.thisprovidence.com ]

The winning band will be given scores of tickets to Virgin Mobile FreeFest to distribute among fans that voted to choose them as the winner of "Book the Band."

Virgin Mobile USA, the wireless company and creator of one of the largest and most critically acclaimed music festivals in the U.S., gave away 35,000 FreeFest tickets -- in just minutes -- so loyal fans could enjoy Virgin Mobile FreeFest. Last week, the company announced another way to get into the show: people who volunteer through "The Re*Generation Free I.P." program have a chance to score a VIP ticket. Virgin Mobile USA is also encouraging people, regardless of wireless carrier, to text "FREEFEST" to 20222, to make a $5 donation(1) which will go to select youth homeless centers through The RE*Generation program, Virgin Mobile USA's initiative to help homeless youth. More than two million young people will experience homelessness in the U.S. this year, much of it due to domestic violence, abuse or neglect.

(1) About Txt2Donate: Standard messaging rates apply to all messages sent and received in connection with Txt2Donate. All charges will be applied to individual's wireless carrier account. Donations are collected by Virgin Unite by the Mobile Giving Foundation for the benefit of The RE*Generation and are subject to the terms found at [ www.hmgf.org/t ]. Virgin Unite will deduct $0.50 of each donation to cover administrative costs and the rest will benefit The RE*Generation.

About I.M.P.

Formed in 1980, I.M.P. is a Bethesda, MD-based concert promoter and event production company. In addition to launching Virgin Mobile Festival in the U.S., the principals at I.M.P. own Washington, D.C.'s award-winning 9:30 Club, [ www.930.com ], renowned as the premier place to see and hear cutting-edge live music of all varieties. I.M.P. also programs and operates Merriweather Post Pavilion, [ www.merriweathermusic.com ], in Columbia, MD. Over the last 29 years, I.M.P. and the 9:30 Club have put on nearly 10,000 events, hosting millions of music fans.

About Kyocera Communications Inc.

Kyocera Communications Inc. (KCI) is the sales, marketing, customer engineering and service headquarters for Kyocera- and Sanyo-branded wireless products and accessories in the Americas. The company's devices are driving the convergence of telecommunications, broadband and multimedia. KCI was formed in April 2009 through the combination of Kyocera Wireless Corp. and Kyocera Sanyo Telecommunications Inc., two wholly owned subsidiaries of Kyocera International Inc. The former was created when Kyocera purchased QUALCOMM Incorporated's consumer wireless phone business in 2000, while the latter was formed when Kyocera purchased the wireless phone business of Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. in 2008. Based in San Diego, KCI leverages Japan's history of creating advanced consumer technologies around humanism and respect for the environment and blending them with a Western entrepreneurialism and style, resulting in a unique design language and a natural, user-friendly interface. For more information, please visit [ www.kyocera-wireless.com ].

[ Kyocera Corporation ] (NYSE: [ KYO ]) (TOKYO: 6971) ([ http://global.kyocera.com/ ]), the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of [ fine ceramics ] (also known as "advanced ceramics"). By combining these engineered materials with metals and plastics, and integrating them with other technologies, Kyocera has become a leading supplier of telecommunications equipment, office-document imaging equipment, solar power generating systems, semiconductor packages, electronic components, cutting tools and industrial ceramics. During the year ended March 31, 2009, the company's net sales totaled 1.13 trillion yen (approximately US $11.5 billion). Kyocera marks its 50th anniversary in 2009, and the 40th anniversary of its U.S. operations. It is ranked #418 on Forbes magazine's 2009 "Global 2000" listing of the world's largest publicly traded companies.

About Virgin Mobile USA

Virgin Mobile USA, Inc. (NYSE: [ VM ]), through its operating company Virgin Mobile USA, L.P., offers its millions of customers control, flexibility and choice through Virgin Mobile's Plans Without Annual Contracts, with coverage powered by the Nationwide Sprint Network. Virgin Mobile USA also offers unlimited all-in contract plans with advanced devices like the Ocean 2, and recently launched a prepaid nationwide broadband device with Best Buy Mobile.

More than 90% of its customers report satisfaction. Virgin Mobile USA service recently announced its Pink Slip Protection program, which provides eligible monthly plan customers who lose their jobs and become eligible for state unemployment benefits free service for up to three months(1). Its full slate of smart, stylish and affordable handsets are available at approximately 40,000 top retailers nationwide and online at [ http://www.virginmobileusa.com/ ], with Top-Up cards available at almost 150,000 locations.

(1) Subject to certain terms and conditions