AOL Launches Indie & Rock Music Site Spinner in the UK

LONDON, Aug 4, 2009 – AOL Music, the leading global music site, has today launched its flagship music site Spinner in the UK at www.spinnermusic.co.uk, creating an online destination for a new audience of fans.
 
Packed with inside stories and scoops about today’s most relevant artists, upcoming releases, exclusive videos and performances, Spinner brings its unrivalled content for passionate music fans to a market where AOL Music is already the top-rated music entertainment site in the UK.*
 
AOL Music is also the number 1 online music destination across Europe and the world with 53 million and 122 million unique views respectively, according to the latest comScore Media Metrix report in May.

Music fans coming to Spinner UK will get daily updates on festivals, tours, in-depth features and stories direct from the musicians, plus a wealth of content giving the music enthusiast the broadest mix of quality content about their favourite legends and up-and-coming acts.
 
“Launching Spinner into the UK marks the latest milestone as Spinner extends the success we have seen in the U.S. We are continuing to tap into music passion points by creating genre specific sites to create the most comprehensive music experience on the web,” said Bill Crandall, Vice President, AOL Music. “We are committed to bringing UK music fans the best local, and global, music content.”
 
Key features of the new UK site, www.spinnermusic.co.uk, include:

• The ‘Interface’: where exclusive live performances by breaking bands are showcased
• Band of the Week: An in-depth look at an artist buzzing in the UK
• CD Listening Parties: A regularly updated collection of entire CDs, including pre-releases, available to listen to for free
• Down the Front: a guide to top UK venues and little-known gems
• Weekly highlights on the best festivals across the UK and Europe
• Rolling coverage from an international and local editorial team.

“The vision for Spinner UK is to create a destination for passionate music fans beyond the Top 40, with a global pool of bloggers contributing music news across the world,” said Nina Vanneck, AOL Europe’s Director of Music. “What’s particularly special about Spinner is that we look at artists beyond their celebrity. It’s about the story behind the music – the writing, the creation and personal story.”

Spinner has more than 6.5 million worldwide unique visitors.** The site is a unique environment for discerning music lovers to experience music beyond the charts.

Spinner UK is supported by AOL Advertising, the company’s digital advertising business, and will offer brands standard and integrated advertising opportunities to enable them to reach a desirable and passionate online audience.
 
* comScore Media Metrix, May, 2009.
** comScore Media Metrix worldwide data, May, 2009

About AOL

AOL is a leading global Web services company with an extensive suite of brands and offerings and a substantial worldwide audience. AOL’s business spans online content, products and services that the company offers to consumers, publishers and advertisers. AOL is focused on attracting and engaging consumers and providing valuable online advertising services on both AOL’s owned and operated properties and third-party websites. In addition, AOL operates one of the largest Internet subscription access services in the United States, which serves as a valuable distribution channel for AOL’s consumer offerings.  AOL LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. with employees in 18 countries across the globe.