Music Sponsorship Spending To Total $1.04 Billion In 2008

North American-based companies will spend an estimated $1.04 billion to sponsor music venues, festivals and tours this year, a four percent increase from $1 billion in '07, according to IEG Sponsorship Report, the world's leading authority on sponsorship.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) April 14, 2008 -- North American-based companies will spend an estimated $1.04 billion to sponsor music venues, festivals and tours this year, a four percent increase from $1 billion in '07, according to IEG Sponsorship Report, the world's leading authority on sponsorship.

Among developments in the world of live music sponsorship are new efforts to create bundled offerings for sponsors that in the past may have been satisfied with one-off concert, venue or event deals.

Such a strategy has been adopted by Live Nation, Inc. and other players in the music space. For example, The Festival Network, LLC -- owner of the Dunkin' Donuts Newport Folk Festival, JVC Jazz Festivals and other national and international music events -- plans to model its sponsorship packages after the worldwide Olympic TOP sponsorship program.

Citigroup Inc.'s Citi Cards unit in February announced a multiyear deal with Live Nation that is reportedly valued at close to $100 million. The deal includes access to Live Nation tours -- including presenting sponsorship of The Police's current tour -- as well as pre-sale ticket offers, VIP hospitality, the opportunity for venue naming rights and other benefits.

"The shift away from one-off deals in favor of bundled packages by some of the industry's major venue and festival owners should lead to significantly larger deals than the music industry has seen in the past," said William Chipps, IEG Sponsorship Report's senior editor.

Spending on live music also reflects a spate of new regional and national music festivals, all of which are actively marketing partnerships. They include Michigan's Rothbury Festival, New Jersey's All Points West Music & Arts Festival and the touring Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival.

The live music industry also has benefited from new spending by categories and companies not traditionally involved in music.

Case in point: Shoe marketer Crocs, Inc. this year signed new deals with roughly 30 music festivals and venues including Milwaukee's Summerfest, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell, Seattle's Bumbershoot and Manchester, Tenn.'s Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival. Additionally, Hankook Tire America Corp. late last year announced a partnership with Eyeball Records, around which it is supplying tires for vehicles driven by the label's touring bands in exchange for exposure on the company's Web site and bands' MySpace pages.

Even companies that have long supported music are moving into new areas within the medium. For example, Toyota Motor Sales USA's Scion brand is adding heavy metal to a sponsorship portfolio that has traditionally centered around DJ performances and other urban-centric events.

"The live music industry is seeing more interest from both established companies and smaller, more niche players, all of whom are aligning with music to gain a point of differentiation," Chipps said.

Active categories sponsoring music include airlines, apparel, auto, beer, cable, computer storage makers, energy drinks, insurance, soft drinks and wireless telecommunications.

Other recent deals include Lexus' presenting sponsorship of Alicia Keys' tour; Kia Motor America's sponsorship of the Vans Warped Tour; Champion apparel's tie with Lenny Kravtiz's recent outing; and Time Warner Cable's title of Raleigh, N.C.'s Walnut Creek Amphitheatre.

About IEG, LLC
IEG is the world's leading provider of independent research, consulting, training and analysis on sponsorship. Founded in 1981, IEG provides corporations and properties with the strategies and tools to harness the sales and marketing power of sports, arts, entertainment and cause marketing.

IEG offers services that include sponsorship consulting, competitive intelligence and valuation. IEG also publishes IEG Sponsorship Report, the international biweekly newsletter on sponsorship; the IEG Sponsorship Sourcebook, the definitive guide to sponsors, properties and agencies; and other industry publications and sources.

IEG also is the leader in sponsorship training. Its internationally renowned Sponsorship Conference, now in its 26th year, attracts a capacity crowd of delegates each year. Through its conferences, seminars and webinars, IEG has trained more than 45,000 sponsorship executives worldwide.

For more information about IEG and the sponsorship industry, please visit www.sponsorship.com or call 800/834-4850 (outside the U.S. and Canada, 312/944-1727).

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