REDMOND, Wash., May 7, 2003 — Mixing today’s hottest music with the cultural phenomenon of gaming, Microsoft Corp. and Lollapalooza today announced that Xbox®
will be the presenting sponsor for the upcoming summer tour. Lollapalooza, on hiatus since its last tour in 1997, will hit the road starting in Grand Rapids, Mich., at the Ionia County Fairgrounds on July 3 and continue with more than 30 dates throughout the country (itinerary below). This marks one of Xbox’s largest sponsorship deals since the gaming console launched 17 months ago.
Tapping into the much sought-after and trend-setting Generation Y, Lollapalooza and Xbox will join forces to host festival activities and
“play the band”
opportunities. Both Lollapalooza and Xbox draw on the same key audience of 16–24 year-olds (Gen Y), making the Xbox sponsorship and strong presence at Lollapalooza venues an added value to the festival experience.
“Video games and music are intrinsically linked, making this an ideal sponsorship,”
said Michael Kassan, the entertainment media expert who brought the transaction together.
“And we know Xbox is a brand Lollapalooza fans want to get their hands on — now they can.”
Gaming competitions, contests and free playtime will be hosted at each Lollapalooza event in a centrally located GameRiot pavilion, featuring activities for everyone from casual to hard-core gamers. Concertgoers will be invited to test Xbox games and services during each daylong show.
“I love a challenge, and while we’re on the road, I get off on Xbox,”
said Perry Farrell, co-owner and mastermind of Lollapalooza, as well as frontman for touring band Jane’s Addiction.
“We are practicing our music for the tour and our video gaming skills for tournament.”
Lollapalooza is known as the nation’s leading lifestyle concert tour. Launched in 1991 by Farrell, Lollapalooza showcased such bands as Jane’s Addiction, Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Smashing Pumpkins, Metallica and Snoop Dogg. This year’s lineup again includes today’s most popular modern rock and hip-hop bands, including Jane’s Addiction, Audioslave, Incubus, Queens of the Stone Age, A Perfect Circle, Jurassic 5 and The Donnas.
“Knowing how closely the Lollapalooza and Xbox audiences mirror each other, we jumped at the opportunity to be a presenting sponsor with the tour, and provide fans with the combination of technology and entertainment that is sweeping the nation,”
said Mitch Koch, corporate vice president of marketing for Xbox at Microsoft.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be a part of everything Lollapalooza symbolizes.”
The sponsorship package includes
“presented by Xbox”
printed in all Lollapalooza references, the Xbox logo prominently placed on all advertising, tickets and materials, inclusion in radio promotions, and a huge presence at concerts.
About Xbox
Xbox ( http://www.xbox.com/ ) is Microsoft’s future-generation video game system that delivers the most powerful games experiences ever. Xbox empowers game artists by giving them the technology to fulfill their creative visions as never before, creating games that blur the lines between fantasy and reality. Xbox is now available in the continents of North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
About Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Game Studios is a leading worldwide publisher and developer of games for the PC, Xbox video game system and online platforms. Comprising a network of top developers, Microsoft Game Studios is committed to creating innovative and diverse game portfolios for the PC ( http://www.microsoft.com/games/ ), including such franchises as
“Age of Empires® ,” “Flight Simulator”
and
“Zoo Tycoon (TM)”
; Xbox ( http://www.xbox.com/ ), including such franchises as
“Halo (TM) ,” “Project Gotham Racing (TM)”
and
“NFL Fever”
; and Zone.com ( http://www.zone.com/ ), the official games channel for the MSN®
network and home to such hits as
“Bejeweled”
and
“OutSmart (TM) .”
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
Microsoft, Xbox, Age of Empires, Zoo Tycoon, Halo, Project Gotham Racing, MSN and OutSmart are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Lollapalooza is a registered trademark under license to Lollapalooza LLC.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft®
Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.asp .
2003 Lollapalooza Tour Schedule
July 3: Ionia County Fairgrounds, Grand Rapids, Mich.
July 5:Verizon Wireless Music Center, Indianapolis
July 8: Sandstone Amphitheatre, Kansas City, Mo.
July 9: Riverport Amphitheatre, St. Louis
July 11: Marcus Amphitheatre, Milwaukee
July 12: New World Music Theatre, Chicago
July 13: Polaris Amphitheatre, Columbus, Ohio
July 16: Riverbend Music Center, Cincinnati
July 18: DTE Energy Music Theatre, Detroit
July 19: Post-Gazette Pavilion, Pittsburgh
July 20: Blossom Music Center, Cleveland
July 23: PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, N.J.
July 25: Great Woods Amphitheatre, BostonJuly 27: E-Centre, Philadelphia
July 30:GTE Amphitheatre, Virginia Beach, Va.
Aug. 1: Nissan Pavilion, Washington, D.C.
Aug. 2: ALLTEL Pavilion, Raleigh, N.C.
Aug. 3: Hi Fi Buys Amphitheatre, Atlanta
Aug. 5: MARS Music Amphitheatre, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Aug. 8: Smirnoff Music Centre, Dallas
Aug. 9: Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, San Antonio
Aug. 10: Cynthia W Mitchell Pavilion, Houston
Aug. 13: Fiddlers Green Amphitheatre, Denver
Aug. 15: Cricket Pavilion, Phoenix
Aug. 16: Glen Helen, Los Angeles
Aug. 17: Coors Amphitheatre, San Diego
Aug. 19: Shoreline Amphitheatre, San Francisco
Aug. 21: USANA Amphitheatre, Salt Lake City
Aug. 23: White River Amphitheatre, Seattle
Aug. 27: Hershey Stadium, Hershey, Pa.
Aug. 28: Randall’s Island, New York
Aug. 30: Vernon Down’s Raceway, Syracuse, N.Y.
Note: Itinerary is subject to change.
High-resolution JPEGs and up-to-date artist and festival information are available at http://www.lollapalooza.com/press/ .
