Pearl Jam Offers First Mobile Bootlegs to Verizon Wireless Customers

Pearl Jam Offers First Mobile Bootlegs to Verizon Wireless Customers

Iconic Band Also Helping in Local Communities by Supporting HopeLine(R) Phone Recycling Drives, Turning Unused Phones into Support for Victims of Domestic Violence

BASKING RIDGE, N.J., June 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Pearl Jam, one of the most respected and sought-after bands in the world, is expanding the band's bootleg program for their 12-city U.S. tour and joining forces with Verizon Wireless to further connect with fans through mobile music. Beginning with the first show of the Pearl Jam 2008 tour in West Palm Beach, Fla., on June 11, Verizon Wireless customers will have exclusive mobile access to the globally acclaimed band's first-ever mobile bootleg recordings. In addition, Pearl Jam will also be supporting Verizon Wireless' HopeLine program that turns unused wireless phones into support for victims of domestic violence by holding phone collection drives at each venue.

The Pearl Jam Mobile Bootleg Program

Every night of the tour, Pearl Jam's live concert performance will be recorded. After each performance, Pearl Jam's studio engineer will mix three songs on the Verizon Mobile Recording Studio Bus that will be released on V CAST Music. Verizon Wireless will offer one of the full-length tracks for free on V CAST Music; the other two full-length songs will be available, as well as the ringtones and ringback tones for all three songs, at standard costs. Each free mobile bootleg will be available until the following show; however, customers will be able to access and purchase all of the mobile bootlegs as they become available through the end of the tour. Fans can download Pearl Jam's songs as ringtones, ringback tones and full-song downloads either over-the-air onto their phones or on their PCs with V CAST Music from Verizon Wireless under the Pearl Jam category.

HopeLine

Fans will have the opportunity to donate their old wireless phones at each stop of the tour by simply bringing no-longer-used wireless phones, batteries and accessories with them and dropping them in the HopeLine donation area at each venue. The first 50 people making a donation to HopeLine will receive a special Pearl Jam VIP gift bag. All Verizon Wireless customers making donations at each concert venue will receive a free Pearl Jam ringtone and ringback tone for bringing their old phones and accessories to the show. People not attending the show can bring their donation into Verizon Wireless Communications Stores. Verizon Wireless' HopeLine program puts the nation's most reliable wireless network to work in communities by turning unused wireless phones into support for victims of domestic violence. Verizon Wireless collects no-longer-used wireless phones in any condition from any wireless service provider and recycles them or refurbishes them for resale and reuse.

Mobile Tickets

Verizon Wireless customers in each of the tour cities who have downloaded any type of Pearl Jam mobile content from V CAST since the beginning of the year will be entered for a chance to win tickets to the show. The mobile tickets -- containing a unique barcode and good for two seats at the most sought-after show in town -- will be delivered to the customers' mobile phones two weeks prior to the show and will be scanned at the entrance, just as paper tickets are scanned when fans enter a venue.

Ed Ruth, director of digital music for Verizon, said, "Pearl Jam has long been at the forefront of generations of talented artists taking action and speaking out on what's important to them, and mobile technology is a large part of that movement. Verizon Wireless delivers the opportunity for artists to interact directly with fans -- they can download music, win tickets to the show and now get the world's first mobile bootlegs from this legendary band."

"Pearl Jam continues to explore new and innovative ways to get their music to their fans," said Ten Club President Tim Bierman. "As we have learned from our younger fans, more and more listeners are accessing their music through their mobile handsets. Since Verizon Wireless and V CAST are at the forefront of that technology, this collaboration makes perfect sense to us. With our proven track record of delivering high-quality bootleg downloads and CDs, we feel this new approach will not only benefit our fans, but provide an exciting opportunity to share Pearl Jam's music in a more interactive setting."

Pearl Jam has been an innovator of rock and alternative music since 1990. Their global success on stage and sometimes on screen puts them in an elite category of artists that produce exceptional music and continue to play to sold out crowds the world over. Pearl Jam, whose albums have sold in excess of 60 million worldwide, has won numerous prestigious music industry accolades, including GRAMMY(R) Awards, American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and Esky Awards.

The highly anticipated Pearl Jam 2008 tour will be making the following stops:

       Date               Location                  Venue    June 11, 2008       West Palm Beach, Fla.    Cruzan Amphitheater   June 12, 2008       Tampa, Fla.              St. Pete Times Forum   June 16, 2008       Columbia, S.C.           Colonial Center   June 17, 2008       Virginia Beach, Va.      Verizon Wireless Amphitheater   June 19, 2008       Camden, N.J.             Susquehanna Bank Center   June 20, 2008       Camden, N.J.             Susquehanna Bank Center   June 22, 2008       Washington, D.C.         Verizon Center   June 24, 2008       New York, N.Y.           Madison Square Garden   June 25, 2008       New York, N.Y.           Madison Square Garden   June 27, 2008       Hartford, Conn.          Dodge Amphitheater   June 28, 2008       Mansfield, Mass.         Comcast Center   June 30, 2008       Mansfield, Mass.         Comcast Center    

For more information about mobile music from Verizon Wireless, visit www.verizonwireless.com/music, a Verizon Wireless Communications Store or call 1-800-2 JOIN IN. For more information about Pearl Jam, visit www.pearljam.com.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 67.2 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 69,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, go to www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast- quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

About Pearl Jam's Bootleg Program

Pearl Jam's mobile bootleg program is an extension of the band's official bootleg program, which was launched on the band's 2000 world tour in an effort to provide fans with high-quality, affordable bootlegs of their lives shows. Since the program's inception, over 3.5 million bootlegs have been sold. In addition to mobile tracks, fans will have the option to purchase digital downloads and CDs of Pearl Jam's 2008 concerts two-weeks after each show date. For more information, visit www.pearljam.com.

Source: Verizon Wireless

CONTACT: Jeffrey Nelson, +1-908-559-7519,
Jeffrey.Nelson@verizonwireless.com, or Debra Lewis, +1-908-559-7512,
Debra.Lewis@verizonwireless.com, both of Verizon Wireless

Web site: http://www.verizonwireless.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment