Pepsi Announces the Next Wave of Sound Drop Artists Beginning with Bebe Rexha

The music platform continues to support emerging artists in partnership with iHeartMedia, Shazam and Viacom

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Feb 15, 2017, 12:54 ET

PURCHASE, N.Y., Feb. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Pepsi announced Bebe Rexha as the next artist to join its The Sound Drop platform, signaling the brand's continued dedication to emerging artists and upcoming generation of featured talent. The Sound Drop partners with iHeartMedia, Shazam and Viacom to provide artists with a powerful stage to share their story, music and connect on a deeper level with their fans. Additional artists for this second wave of The Sound Drop platform will be announced throughout the rest of the year.

"I am so excited to be joining the Pepsi family as their newest Sound Drop artist," said Rexha. "Pepsi's roots are deep within pop culture and entertainment, especially music. I'm looking forward to not only collaborating with Pepsi, but also connecting with my fans in a new way."

The Sound Drop initially launched in August 2016 with artists Lukas Graham, Alessia Cara and Jidenna. The program offers talent access to iHeartMedia's networks, heightening awareness of each artist and allowing for additional amplification through artist discovery and introduction. Additionally, Viacom offers content production and creative storytelling through the company's integrated marketing and internal agency Velocity. Each touch point tells the surround-sound story of the artist and helps support them in their journey to create and connect. Shazam will also provide additional exposure through their various artist-discovery platforms and channels. During last year's initial campaign, The Sound Drop saw 105% growth in video views since their MTV VMA kickoff, totaling 5.8 million views. The program also aided Lukas Graham's album sales, with an increase of 158%.

The goal of The Sound Drop is to support artists within the family during their journeys, providing corresponding content throughout the year and featuring intimate, live performances. First phase R&B artist Jidenna is slated to perform with The Sound Drop later this month.

"We're pleased to not only welcome Bebe Rexha to The Sound Drop family, but also to help elevate her story and support her journey as an artist," said Emma Quigley, Head of Music, PepsiCo. "The Sound Drop continues to be an important amplification platform for emerging artists looking to stand out and find new ways to connect with their fans. We've seen the success firsthand through our initial group of artists and are looking forward to doing the same with our newest additions. As music runs through Pepsi's veins, we hope to create success for each of our artists and with the help of our partners, through a new, fresh avenue."

For more information visit http://www.thesounddrop.com and #thesounddrop to join the conversation.

About PepsiCo:
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $63 billion in net revenue in 2015, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our goal to deliver top-tier financial performance while creating sustainable growth and shareholder value. In practice, Performance with Purpose means providing a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to healthy eats; finding innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment and reduce our operating costs; providing a safe and inclusive workplace for our employees globally; and respecting, supporting and investing in the local communities where we operate. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

About iHeartMedia:
With over a quarter of a billion monthly listeners in the U.S. and over 85 million social followers, iHeartMedia has the largest national reach of any radio or television outlet in America. As the leader in multiplatform connections, it also serves over 150 local markets through 858 owned radio stations, and the company's radio stations and content can be heard on AM/FM, HD digital radio, satellite radio, on the Internet at iHeartRadio.com and on the company's radio station websites, on the iHeartRadio mobile app, in enhanced auto dashes, on tablets, wearables and smartphones, and on gaming consoles.

iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia's digital radio platform, is the fastest growing digital audio service in the U.S. and offers users thousands of live radio stations, personalized custom artist stations created by just one song or seed artist and the top podcasts and personalities. With over a billion downloads, iHeartRadio reached 95 million registered users faster than any other radio or digital music service and even faster than Facebook.

iHeartMedia's platforms include radio broadcasting, online, mobile, digital and social media, podcasts, personalities and influencers, live concerts and events, syndication, music research services and independent media representation. iHeartMedia is a division of iHeartMedia, Inc. (OTCBB: IHRT). Visit iHeartMedia.com for more company information.

About Shazam:
Shazam is one of the world's most popular apps, used by hundreds of millions of people each month to magically connect to the world around them. Building on its pioneering leadership in music identification, Shazam now helps people discover, interact with, and share video, audio, or printed content on TV, radio, movie screens, magazines, newspapers, packaged goods, and retail stores—and now Shazam lets music fans follow their favorite artists to see their Shazams and share in the thrill of discovery. The app has been downloaded over 1 billion times, in over 190 countries and users Shazam over 20 million times each day. For more information on how Shazam has created new technology tools for brands to utilize data, visit www.shazam.com.

About MTV:
MTV is a global youth culture brand driven by the creative spirit of music. For more information, check out http://www.mtvpress.com. MTV is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA).

About Bebe Rexha:
Singer/songwriter Bebe Rexha has accumulated over 10 million overall single sales, 1 billion Spotify streams, 1.3 billion combined YouTube/VEVO views and a radio audience of over 8 billion. Recently, she hit #1 on both the Billboard Pop and Rap charts with her Platinum-selling smash single "Me, Myself & I" with G-Eazy. Her single "No Broken Hearts" featuring Nicki Minaj has over 144 million YouTube/VEVO views to date and she is featured on Martin Garrix's latest single "In The Name of Love" which already has over 265 million YouTube/VEVO views to date. Bebe Rexha burst onto the scene in 2013 when she penned the song which became a worldwide hit for Eminem and Rihanna—"Monster" – which went RIAA quadruple-platinum stateside. She wrote and featured on Cash Cash's "Take Me Home" and Pitbull's "This Is Not A Drill" in addition to writing Tinashe's "All Hands On Deck" and Selena Gomez's "Champion." Her 2015 debut EP, I Don't Wanna Grow Up [Warner Bros. Records] boasts the singles "I Can't Stop Drinking About You" and "I'm Gonna Show You Crazy," which racked up over 52 million Spotify streams in only six months. That same year, she co-wrote and carried instantly recognizable hooks for the double-platinum "Hey Mama" by David Guetta, Nicki Minaj, and Afrojack which was nominated for a Billboard Music Award for Top Dance/Electronic Song, as well as the Billboard Hot 100 smash "Me, Myself, & I" with G-Eazy. She recently released her new single "I Got You" off of her forthcoming debut album All Your Fault Part 1, out February 2017.

SOURCE PepsiCo