trueAnthem Launches First Live Concert Widget Hooties 25City Homegrown Concert Series Tour Up for Grabs



With trueAnthem's Homegrown trueWidget (www.trueanthem.com/hootie), people attending two-time Grammy-award winner Hootie & The Blowfish's 25-city Homegrown Concert Series tour this summer can take home more than a T-shirt, poster or wristband. Beginning with the July 3 Westbury, NY stop, fans will be able to SMS text to purchase - and enjoy - the evening's live performance via the first live concert widget (www.trueanthem.com/hootie/). trueAnthem, the breakthrough music label for the modern age, will make each show available for $14.99.

"Live, summer concerts evoke strong, long-lasting memories - the kind that stay with you for a lifetime. Now, concert-goers can take home more than the T-shirt as the keepsake from the show - they can take home the concert itself. And, what's even better, they can share it with their friends, follow the band from city to city and re-live their memories over and over with fellow fans," said trueAnthem CEO Brad Barnes.

trueWidgets (http://www.trueanthem.com/home/) are sleek, viral music players that allow fans to play, download and pass along music from their favorite bands to their friends. Along each of the Homegrown Concert Series tour stops, Hootie fans simply text: Hootie <space yourname@youremailaddress.com to 878787 and a trueWidget loaded with all of the audio from that night's show will be delivered within 24 hours. No long wait for a USB jump drive bracelet or a label's CD release.

"This tour is particularly meaningful for us as it is supporting a cause that is incredibly important: the education of our nation's youth. To add the opportunity for us to sustain the connection we make with our fans at each show is truly incredible and until today, not possible," said Darius Rucker.

The Homegrown trueWidget (www.trueanthem.com/hootie/) will expand as the tour travels, ultimately carrying each of the 25-city stops so fans can download and collect them all. Fans can pre-order upcoming shows or request to be notified when they are available.

trueAnthem first landed on the social networking scene in April with its brand-sponsored trueWidgets. trueAnthem unveils the product on the heels of new music releases by popular MySpace music sensations such as Ultraviolet Sound (www.trueanthem.com/ultravioletsound) and Ryan Huston (www.trueanthem.com/ryanhuston). Viral and easily shared, the small portable applications can be embedded in any html page, including (but not limited to) many of the popular social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Friendster.

To date, trueAnthem's releases continue to illustrate an impressive increase in fan exposure - as much as 457 percent - validating the opportunity to monetize a social, online music scene.

About Hootie & The Blowfish

With the rich, bluesy vocals of Darius Rucker and gleeful harmonies of guitarist Mark Bryan, bassist Dean Felber and drummer Jim "Soni" Sonefeld, two-time Grammy award-winning Hootie & The Blowfish sold over 25 million records worldwide after their infectious melodies hit the airwaves in 1994 with hits such as ''Hold My Hand,'' ''Let Her Cry'' and ''Only Wanna Be With You.'' Hootie & The Blowfish hit the road again this summer in support of their sixth annual Homegrown Tour, which encourages audience members to bring school supplies as a donation to the show. All supplies collected are donated to schools in need. To date, the band has raised more than $150,000 in needed school supplies. More information on the Homegrown trueWidget, the first live concert widget, can be found at www.trueAnthem.com/hootie/ or www.hootie.com.

About trueAnthem

Based in San Francisco, Calif., trueAnthem is a unique, advertising supported, online music distribution, promotion and marketing company. As a music label for the modern ages, trueAnthem provides online and offline services to promote independent and undiscovered talent, as well as new ways for established artists to connect with fans. The company's success strategy leverages the viral nature of information distribution on the Internet to become a leader in the new world of music.

Media Contact:

Liana Miller

eLuminatePR for trueAnthem

(949) 276-8920

liana@eluminatepr.com





trueAnthem Launches First Live Concert Widget Hooties 25City Homegrown Concert Series Tour Up for Grabs