Pepsi And Billboard Join Forces To Produce First-Ever Summer Beats Concert Series

Concerts To Take Place in Los Angeles, Nashville & New York City Livestream via Twitter Will Allow Fans To Directly Impact Performance Elements

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PepsiCo

Jun 20, 2012, 09:00 ET

PURCHASE, N.Y., June 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Pepsi and Billboard today announced the first-ever "Summer Beats Concert Series." This new and exciting program will include three Twitter enabled shows during music's hottest season featuring performances by Billboard chart-topping artists across multiple genres, marking yet another extension of Pepsi's "Live for Now" global campaign. The series will kick off on Tuesday, June 26th with a surprise performance in Los Angeles, followed by a Nashville concert at the end of July and a spectacular event in New York City in late August.

For the first time, fans watching the concerts via the Pepsi Twitter page livestream will be able to influence elements of the performance in real-time. The live events will cater to crowds of up to 1,000 people, while millions of music fans around the world will be able to watch online through Pepsi's enhanced Twitter profile page and on Pepsi.com. The concerts will be promoted on Billboard.com and will be available on-demand after the show as well.

The "Summer Beats Concert Series" will serve as an integral part of the broader partnership with Twitter. The program launched last month with free weekly music downloads and original recap videos.

"The Summer Beats Concert Series truly brings Pepsi's Live for Now mindset to life by offering fans the ability to interact with and impact a live concert event," said Javier Farfan, Senior Director of Cultural Branding at PepsiCo. "This component supports our overall Twitter program by inserting spontaneity and social media engagement into the concert experience and changing the way fans enjoy music."

As part of this partnership, Pepsi will also present the "Billboard Songs of the Summer" chart on Billboard.com. Launched in 2010, this chart ranks the most popular songs of the summer season, based on cumulative performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 from Memorial Day through Labor Day. The official Billboard Summer Song for 2012 will be announced the week following Labor Day.

"We're thrilled to be working with Pepsi to build on the compelling content and exciting experiences that Billboard brings fans throughout the summer," said Tommy Page, Publisher, Billboard. "Billboard has significantly increased its presence during this major music season from the launch of the Songs of the Summer chart in 2010 to the Summer Blowout event in 2011, and the Summer Beats Concert Series is the perfect platform for the brand to expand its footprint and engage with even more fans in 2012."

In addition, through its recently announced partnership with Viacom, Pepsi will be awarding fans with the opportunity to win tickets to a Summer Beats concert. Simply by tweeting images of their "Live for Now" moments using a designated hashtag, consumers will have a chance to win tickets to a show and document their experience as the exclusive Pepsi NOW Photo Correspondent.

For more information and for upcoming announcements on participating artists, go to www.pepsi.com or www.billboard.com. You can also follow Pepsi at www.twitter.com/pepsi or Billboard at www.twitter.com/billboard.

About Pepsico

PepsiCo is a global food and beverage leader with net revenues of more than $65 billion and a product portfolio that includes 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales. Our main businesses – Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola – make hundreds of enjoyable foods and beverages that are loved throughout the world. PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet, which we believe also, means a more successful future for PepsiCo. We call this commitment Performance with Purpose: PepsiCo's promise to provide a wide range of foods and beverages for local tastes; to find innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment by conserving energy and water and reducing packaging volume; to provide a great workplace for our associates; and to respect, support and invest in the local communities where we operate. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

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About Billboard

Billboard is the world's most influential music media brand reaching key executives and tastemakers in and around the music business through Billboard magazine, Billboard.biz, Billboard conferences, Billboard Bulletin, and other targeted newsletters; and millions of music fans through Billboard.com consumer events and awards shows, the mobile chart app, and social media extensions. The Billboard brand is built on it's over 200 exclusive charts - the measure of success of in music - that are constantly updated to reflect the changing music landscape. Billboard charts and content are consumed and referenced by millions of people in more than 100 countries through a content syndication deal with global news network, The Associated Press, and strategic relationships with other major companies around the world. In addition to North America, Billboard operates businesses in Brazil, Greece, Japan, Korea and Russia.

Billboard is owned by Prometheus Global Media, a diversified company with leading assets in the media and entertainment arenas, including: Music (Billboard and its related conferences, events, and awards shows such as The Billboard Music Awards on ABC, and The Billboard Latin Music Awards on Telemundo), Entertainment (The Hollywood Reporter, Backstage, ShowEast, Cineasia, and CineEurope); and Advertising & Marketing (Adweek, Adweek Conferences and The CLIO Awards).

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