ReverbNation, the preferred music marketing and promotion platform for over 390,000 artists, labels, managers, and venues, announced today that up to one thousand Artists will be eligible to participate in a new Sponsored Songs program. The program will allow ReverbNation Artists to tap into major brand relationships that are typically elusive. Under the program, participating musicians will be paid $.50 per qualified download acquired by their fans. Each song will incorporate a small section of branded messaging within the digital cover art, which will be displayed to the consumer every time the song is played on music devices.

Sponsored Songs offers Branded Pages and Branded Downloads

The downloads will be offered to fans on a set of branded landing pages. When a fan initiates a download, patent pending technology merges the appropriate brand message into the digital cover art, reinforcing the brand every time the fan plays the song. Songs are tracked as they are passed from fan to fan allowing the brand sponsor to capture ongoing value as the music is shared virally.

The first Sponsored Songs campaign will begin mid June, and will last 90 days. ReverbNation’s Band Equity Score and the Artists’ fan demographic profiles will be used to determine which Artists are invited to participate. Accepted artists will provide songs for use in the program, and use ReverbNation’s marketing tools to promote the free downloads to their fan base. Artists will be allowed to opt-out of any campaign prior to launch if they do not approve of the sponsor.

A New Revenue Stream for Musicians, a New Channel for Advertisers

“Traditionally the music business has been synonymous with the record business where the lion’s share of revenue came from selling music. With reduced emphasis on music sales, the music business must develop new revenue streams that leverage the artist as a brand,” said Michael Doernberg, CEO of ReverbNation. “Sponsored Songs is one of several new programs that offer musicians a new revenue stream, capitalizing on the strength of their fan relationships and offering advertisers a better way to reach potential consumers.”

For more information about this program, send an email to sponsoredsongs[at]reverbnation.com.

About ReverbNation

ReverbNation provides the innovative marketing platform that musicians need to compete, cooperate, and differentiate in an increasingly noisy online environment. Unlike typical “closed” communities, artists use ReverbNation as their home base for approaching marketing and promotion across the Internet as a whole - be it via social networks, blogs, email, IM, or the artist’s homepage. Tools like FanReach Pro, Street Team Manager, Fan Exclusives, and a vast array of widgets and social networking applications give the artist the power to spread their music and information virtually anywhere. Real-time stats provide a 360-degree view of how the music is spreading, who is listening, and which fans are actually passing it on to their friends and posting it on their pages. ReverbNation empowers Artists to take the music to the people, no matter where they spend their time online. For more information about the company, please visit www.ReverbNation.com.