Virgin Mobile USA Asks Music Fans to 'Book the Band' for the 2008 Virgin Mobile Festival

Virgin Mobile USA Asks Music Fans to 'Book the Band' for the 2008 Virgin Mobile Festival

Fans Get To Choose From Five Emerging Bands

Kyocera Wireless Sponsors Competition Again

WARREN, N.J., June 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Virgin Mobile Festival, one of the largest music events on the East Coast, has built a reputation for bringing together the world's best bands. This year's festival, which will take place August 9 and 10 in Baltimore, will feature more than 40 acts, including Foo Fighters, Jack Johnson, Kanye West, Nine Inch Nails, Stone Temple Pilots and Bob Dylan.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080222/NYF040LOGO )

For the second year in a row, Virgin Mobile USA is letting fans get in on the act of talent selection for this top-flight event. Along with Kyocera Wireless and MySpace, Virgin Mobile USA is once again launching "Book the Band By Virgin Mobile" -- an opportunity for five emerging bands with different sounds to vie for a slot in the Virgin Mobile Festival lineup.

   The bands participating in "Book the Band By Virgin Mobile" are:    -- AUTOMATIC LOVELETTER, Tampa, FL   -- HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD, Los Angeles, CA   -- THE PARLOR MOB, Red Bank, NJ   -- THE VIRGINS, New York, NY   -- WE ARE SCIENTISTS, Brooklyn, NY    

Band content from each of the five contenders selected by Virgin Mobile USA and festival producer I.M.P. debuts today on the Festival website, www.virginmobilefestival.com, as well as www.myspace.com/virginmobilefestival."

Last year's 'Book the Band' was an enormous success, with over a million votes cast," said Ron Faris, director of Brand Development and Partnerships at Virgin Mobile USA. "We're very excited to relive the drama this year by introducing five great break-out artists to our music fans. We can't wait to see who they pick to open the largest music festival on the East Coast."

Fans checking out the videos at www.virginmobilefestival.com will also be able to stream original MP3s, read bios and vote for their favorite band, as well as buy tickets and get additional information about the Festival. Voting will take place through July 21 and the winning band, based on audience voting, will be announced July 24 and then appear at Virgin Mobile Festival on August 10.

Kyocera Wireless, the premier handset sponsor for the Festival for the third consecutive year, is sponsoring 'Book the Band' for the second consecutive year. "Finding the next big talent is all about the fans' response, so let the texting begin," said Gary Peterson, director of branding and advertising at Kyocera Wireless.

Fans can vote online or via text message by sending the band's short code name to #73976 on any wireless carrier (standard text messaging rates apply):

   AUTOMATIC LOVELETTER (text "AUTOLOVE" to 73976)   www.automaticloveletter.com    HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD (text "UNDEAD" to 73976)   www.myspace.com/hollywoodundead    THE PARLOR MOB (text "PMOB" to 73976)   www.roadrunnerrecords.com/theparlormob    THE VIRGINS (text "VIRGINS" to 73976)   www.thevirgins.net    WE ARE SCIENTISTS (text "SCIENTISTS" to 73976)   www.wearescientists.com    

Tickets for The Virgin Mobile Festival are available through Ticketmaster at www.tickemaster.com or 1-800-551-SEAT. Two-day tickets are $175 for General Admission and $450 for VIP. Single-day tickets are $97.50 for General Admission and $250 for VIP tickets. A charity contribution of $1.50 per day will be applied to each ticket. Fans can check out the official festival website at www.virginmobilefestival.com to sign up for news and updates.

About I.M.P.

Formed in 1980, I.M.P. is a Bethesda, Md.-based concert promoter and event production company. In addition to launching the Virgin Mobile Festival in the U.S., the principals at I.M.P. own Washington DC's legendary 9:30 Club, named Club of the Year by Billboard and Pollstar, renowned as the premier place to see and hear cutting edge live music of all varieties. I.M.P. also programs and operates Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md. Over the last 28 years, I.M.P. and the 9:30 Club have put on nearly 10,000 events, hosting millions of music fans.

About Kyocera Wireless

Kyocera Wireless Corp. is a leading supplier of innovative, feature-rich wireless devices and accessories for customers worldwide. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kyocera International Inc., which acquired QUALCOMM Incorporated's consumer wireless phone business in February 2000. Based in San Diego, Kyocera Wireless leverages Japan's history of creating advanced consumer technologies around humanism and respect for the environment and blending them with a Western entrepreneurialism and style, resulting in a unique design language and a natural, user-friendly interface. For more information, please visit www.kyocera-wireless.com.

Kyocera Corporation (NYSE:KYO) , the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of advanced ceramics. By combining these engineered materials with metals and plastics, and integrating them with other technologies, Kyocera has become a leading supplier of telecommunications equipment, laser printers, copiers, solar energy systems, semiconductor packages, electronic components, and industrial ceramics. During the year ended March 31, 2008, Kyocera Corporation's consolidated net sales totaled approximately US$12.9 billion (JPY1,290,436 million) with net income of approximately US$1.0 billion (JPY107,244 million).

   About Virgin Mobile USA   About Virgin Mobile USA, Inc.  

Virgin Mobile USA (NYSE:VM) , through its operating company Virgin Mobile USA, L.P., offers more than five million customers control, flexibility and choice through monthly Plans Without Annual Contracts, with national coverage powered by the Sprint PCS network. Virgin Mobile USA's full slate of smart, stylish and affordable handsets, including the Wild Card, Slash and Flare, are available at approximately 40,000 top retailers nationwide and online at www.virginmobileusa.com, with Top-Up cards available at more than 140,000 locations. J.D. Power and Associates ranked Virgin Mobile USA highest in customer satisfaction among wireless prepaid services in both 2006 and 2007, and its customers report a 90% satisfaction rate.

Virgin Mobile USA contributes a portion of profits from downloadable content to The RE*Generation, its pro-social initiative to help homeless youth; and allows customers to earn free minutes in exchange for viewing advertising content online through the innovative Sugar Mama program.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: corinne.nosal@virginmobileusa.com

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080222/NYF040LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Source: Virgin Mobile USA

CONTACT: Corinne Nosal, Virgin Mobile USA, +1-908-607-4235,
Corinne.nosal@virginmobileusa.com; or John Chier, Kyocera Wireless Corp.,
+1-858-882-3543, jchier@kyocera-wireless.com; or Melody Parrette, LPI
Communications for Kyocera Wireless, +1-858-361-9731,
melody@lpicommunications.com

Web site: http://www.virginmobileusa.com/
http://www.virginmobilefestival.com/
http://www.myspace.com/virginmobilefestival
http://www.kyocera-wireless.com/
http://www.automaticloveletter.com/
http://www.myspace.com/hollywoodundead
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/theparlormob
http://www.thevirgins.net/
http://www.wearescientists.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment