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9/6/2001 - Sydney
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Sting, the Grammy award-winning Universal Music artist and performer, has partnered with Excite@Home Australia and Virtue Broadcasting to bring you his first worldwide music webcast.
Sting …. on such a night, will be recorded in a moonlit courtyard in Tuscany, on the evening of September 11th, 2001 for 200 fans and friends.
With his long-time band and several guest musicians, Sting will perform songs from his triple-platinum album, Brand New Day as well as some of his most celebrated hits. In his inimitable style, Sting will reinvent these songs through reconstructed, intimate arrangements. The performance will be recorded for his new album release titled ‘….. on such a night’ on November 5, 2001.
The Sting concert will be available to Optus@Home subscribers and on excite.com.au for 24 hours a day from:
September 12 to 26 September 2001 and from October 22 to November 4, 2001.
Optus@Home high-speed cable Internet users, OptusNet subscribers and anyone who logs onto excite.com.au will be able to sit back and enjoy the exclusive concert on their PCs, at absolutely no cost.
“It has been quite a challenge to secure the rights to online music, and the agreement with VIRTUE Broadcasting is an important milestone for us as music is an extremely popular application among our users. It is also a
fascinating window on the future because this STING recording will only be available through the Internet, and in particular, through the Excite@Home sites in Australia, giving our users the opportunity not only to see it
first but at anytime they choose to,” said Chris Chapman, CEO, Excite@Home
Australia.
VIRTUE will digitise and encode the STING concert at multiple bit rates for excite.com.au while Excite@Home will multicast the broadband version (encoded at optimum speeds) giving Optus@Home users a chance to enjoy near TV-quality content of the historic event.
The STING event is significant in that it is being recorded to make STING’s new album, and to be involved in any way in the event is a must for STING
fans worldwide. The event will give Australians a chance to not only be a part of a global event but also to view and listen to this pre-CD launch.
“It is exciting to see a new medium for content delivery being embraced by an artist of such stature. Through our relationship with Universal and Excite, VIRTUE Broadcasting is proud to enable the delivery of this content
to the Australian public, free from TV station selection and the restrictions of program scheduling,“ said Iain Bartram, the Australian CEO of VIRTUE Broadcasting.
Max Hole, Senior Vice President of Marketing and A&R; for Universal Music International commented: “This is a unique event in that we are recording one of our most important releases for 2001, whilst simultaneously webcasting the performance around the world. The transmission will give
Sting’s fans an amazing opportunity as they find themselves immersed in the atmosphere of this ground breaking concert-cum-recording in Tuscan.
The STING concert is anticipated to be approximately 120 minutes in length and contains substantial footage of the actual recording of the complete album and possible interviews with STING by the media in attendance.
In addition, Optus@Home subscribers and excite.com.au users will have access to previous STING hits (in audio format) encoded and streamed as a virtual radio station or jukebox, STING photo archives, STING interview archives and STING E-cards.
Sting, an all time favourite, sold 7 million copies of his most recent album, Brand New Day and received Grammy Awards for Best Pop Album and Best Pop Male Vocal Performance.
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About Excite@Home Australia
Excite@Home Australia was formed in June 1999 through the joint venture of leading US broadband service provider, At Home Corporation and Australian integrated communications company, Cable & Wireless Optus.
Working closely with Cable & Wireless Optus, Excite@Home Australia delivers Optus@Home, the high-speed cable Internet service. Optus@Home is a complete online service that delivers a high-speed and immediate connection to the Internet, with a complete set of features and innovative “broadband” content. Delivered over the Optus HFC (Hybrid Fibre/Coaxial) cable, Optus@Home has the potential to reach 2.2 million homes in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
In March 2000, Excite@Home Australia acquired Excite Australia (formerly Excite Asia Pacific) and assumed the management of www.excite.com.au. As a result, Excite’s world class technology and content is now incorporated into both the broadband service Optus@Home and into the Optus dial-up service Optus Internet (www.optusnet.com.au). Excite Australia has become a leading Australian portal offering a powerful search function, in addition to extensive Australian content. With sixteen channels including News, Sports, Money and Investing, Travel and Shopping, Excite is currently ranked in the top 10 most visited sites by Australians.
To sign up or obtain more information about Optus@Home, visit the Web site at www.optushome.com.au or call 1800 504 504 or visit www.excite.com.au to enjoy a more personal Internet experience.
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