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Creed reach legion directly with online pager

Published on 10-17-2001
Published at MTVNews (View Original Article)

-- by Jon Wiederhorn

Creed's members are so in touch with their fans, the band has given them a direct line. No, they're not handing out their personal cell-phone numbers. On October 10, however, they posted a downloadable Creed Pager on their Web site (and VH1.com), enabling Creed loyalists first access to band music and news.

Those loyalists have lit up the Netwaves. The Creed pager was downloaded 20,000 times its first day online, and band product manager Sid Schwartz said he expects more than 100,000 fans to procure the pager its first week up. Many loaded the item to hear "My Sacrifice," which debuted through the site (see "Creed Postpone Festival, Release New Single Online").

"When we put 'Higher' online, we had 250,000 downloads in a month," Schwartz said. "We're on track to far exceed that with 'My Sacrifice.'"

The pager consists of a brown Creed symbol on the icon bar at the bottom of fans' computer screens. The icon blinks when the band posts new information; when fans click on it, they're transported to the exclusive material.

Creed's pager can link to the user's favorite radio station or retail outlet, allowing information and advertising to be customized from one region to another. Radio stations can also use the pagers to conduct promotional contests.

"We're entering a new age of cross-channel marketing when it will become more common for artists to maintain relationships with consumers no matter where they are or what they're doing," said Aram Sinnreich, a senior analyst for Jupiter Media Metrix.

Aside from the "My Sacrifice" download, Creed's pager offers fans video of vocalist Scott Stapp getting a tattoo and the group playing softball. The pager will also provide footage of Creed in the studio for their upcoming Weathered, which comes out November 20.

During the coming week, the band will offer a video tour of guitarist Mark Tremonti's guitar collection. The band plans to post a new song approximately every week until the record is released.

"The pager makes for a novel way of delivering music. As opposed to going to the artist's site to find out if the music's up yet, we'll come to you," Schwartz said.

The pager will remain active at least until the end of November, and the video content may be compiled for a future DVD release, Schwartz said.

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