Paste and OurStage Join Forces to Help End Slavery

Paste and OurStage Join Forces to Help End Slavery

Indie Visionaries Launch Joint Donation Campaign in Support of the NOT FOR SALE Abolitionist Movement

CHELMSFORD, Mass., Sept. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Paste, one of the fastest-growing independently published entertainment magazines in the country, and OurStage, the only 100% democratic competition for emerging music and film talent as decided by the fans, announced today their joint donation campaign aimed at helping the NOT FOR SALE (NFS) organization to end slavery around the world. For each sign-up to OurStage driven by this campaign, OurStage will donate $2 directly to NFS. The campaign will be tracked in real time on Paste Magazine's web site - www.pastemagazine.com, showing abolitionist supporters the difference they are making with each registration.

"We are hoping to help spread the word about a horrible global injustice that is invisible to most people today - yet still affects over 27 million people around the world," says long-time activist Josh Jackson, editor-in-chief for Paste. "Paste and OurStage are proud to add our voice to the chorus of people fighting to end modern day slavery, and to offer our financial support for the NOT FOR SALE campaign."

The Paste/OurStage initiative kicks off on September 17 and aims to raise at least $25,000 in donations by end of the year. The goal is to engage a growing number of active music and film fans to support the NOT FOR SALE efforts by educating them on the enormity of this global criminal activity and then giving them an easy way to help solve the problem. By simply signing up with OurStage, these music and film fans will be helping to end worldwide slavery.

"The Paste/OurStage campaign to help NOT FOR SALE is the ideal message for a grassroots movement," shares David Batstone, President for the NOT FOR SALE Campaign. "Paste and OurStage inspire their fans that one individual can make a difference, and give them the tools to do so in the world of music. That's the very message of NOT FOR SALE - the power of one to free a person in chains."

"OurStage has been working with Paste to put an end to mediocrity in emerging music and film," says Ben Campbell, CEO of OurStage. "We are excited that we can now join forces to make a difference around a much greater cause that resonates deeply with all of us."

   The Facts   -- The commerce in human beings today rivals drug trafficking and the      illegal arms trade for the top criminal activity on the planet. The      slave trade sits at number three on the list but is closing the gap.   -- Nearly 200,000 people live enslaved at this moment in the United      States, and an additional 17,500 new victims are trafficked across our      borders each year.   -- The European Union (EU), has been unable to stop the flood of 120,000      women and children trafficked each year into its member states.   -- UN surveys from 2004 found 700,000 children forced into domestic labor      in Indonesia alone, with staggering numbers as well in Brazil     (559,000), Pakistan (264,000), Haiti (250,000), and Kenya (200,000).   -- Of those individuals extracted out of impoverished countries and      trafficked across international borders, 80 percent are female and 50      percent are children.   

We can, and have to, speak against injustice. Become an abolitionist today:

To support the NFS efforts by registering on OurStage, please visit: www.ourstage.com/go/endslavery

To donate directly to NFS, please visit: http://notforsalecampaign.org/Donate.aspx

About Paste Magazine (www.pastemagazine.com)

PASTE is one of the fastest-growing independently published entertainment magazines in the country, receiving "Magazine of the Year" honors at the 2007 and 2006 PLUG Independent Music Awards. We pride ourselves in being the premier magazine for people who still enjoy discovering new music, prize substance and songcraft over fads and manufactured attitude, and appreciate quality music across a broad stylistic spectrum--indie rock, Triple-A, Americana, folk, blues, jazz, etc.

About OurStage, Inc. (www.ourstage.com)

OurStage is the only purely democratic online competition where the fans decide who's the best in emerging music, film and video. The OurStage mission is to help talented artists achieve critical exposure by solving the greatest challenge on the Internet today: sorting quality content from the sea of mediocrity online. OurStage provides a neutral, trusted, game-free platform, in which the true judgment of the fans drives the best content to the top. Through its wealth of partner programs, including Bonnaroo, Virgin Festival, Bumbershoot, Paste, CMJ, PLUG Awards, Back Stage, Slamdance, Relix, Gen Art, Noise Pop, and IFFBoston, OurStage offers worthy artists real opportunities to launch their careers.

About NOT FOR SALE (www.NotForSaleCampaign.org)

NOT FOR SALE is an international grassroots movement to undermine the trade in human beings. NOT FOR SALE offers everyone a channel for meaningful action, building distinct communities of athletes, business professionals, people of faith, artists, students, educators, and health care givers. The Underground is NOT FOR SALE's weekly ezine, providing breaking news, action alerts, new research, and volunteer opportunities. Free subscriptions for The Underground and other invitations for action take place at www.NotForSaleCampaign.org.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Paste

CONTACT: Meg O'Leary of InkHouse, for OurStage, +1-978-779-9884,
meg@inkhousepr.com; or Mark Ballard of The Rosen Group, for Paste,
+1-212-255-8455 x25, mark@rosengrouppr.com

Web site: http://www.pastemagazine.com/
http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/
http://www.ourstage.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment