AMI AND RED DISTRIBUTION ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF JASON ALDEAN CONTEST
10,000 Jukebox Patrons Registered for Sweepstakes
BRISTOL, PA, June 12, 2009 – AMI Entertainment Network, Inc. and RED Distribution are pleased to announce the lucky winners of a contest featuring prizes from American country music star, Jason Aldean. The sweepstakes was part of a nationwide prerelease promotion for Aldean’s new album, Wide Open that ran on AMI’s touchscreen, broadband jukeboxes. According to AMI, the promotion, which attracted a record number of entries, was the most successful of its kind to date.
Frank Rivera won the grand prize - an autographed cowboy hat and personal phone call from Jason Aldean. Rivera registered for a chance to win at Nashville’s Strike and Spare on an AMI-powered jukebox operated by Southern Games. Tom Fiala fetched the second prize, a signed collection of Aldean’s CDs, after entering the drawing on a box owned by Northern Lakes Amusements.
The winners were among almost 10,000 AMI jukebox patrons and country music fans who entered the sweepstakes, which kicked off on March 31. AMI partnered with RED Distribution, the artist’s label, for the prerelease and sweepstakes campaign. On-screen promotional graphics, developed jointly by RED and AMI, resulted in increased play of Jason Aldean’s music during the contest period, AMI reports, with plays continuing to rise post-contest.
Wide Open is the third studio album by Georgia-born Jason Aldean. It was released to retail outlets on April 7 after being pre-released on the AMI network on March 24. “She’s Country,” the lead single, is the artist’s second No. 1 hit on Billboard’s country charts and his first No. 1 since “Why” in May 2006. “Big Green Tractor” is Wide Open’s second single, which is quickly climbing the charts.
Thousands of songs are released weekly on the AMI network. Prerelease campaigns, a central component of AMI’s far-reaching jukebox content initiatives, provide an extra promotional push for new music by artists, like Jason Aldean, who are an important part of jukebox culture. On-screen promotional loops, displaying album artwork and related video footage, can increase jukebox play by up to 10 times, encourage music discovery on the AMI network, and build consumer awareness about new releases before they go on sale. Contests offering such prizes as autographed merchandise and a personal phone call from a featured artist allow the recording and jukebox industries to interact with and reach fans in the public venues where music is played.
