Yahoo and Nissan North America announced a new partnership with the debut of “Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo! Music,” creating the definitive online destination for live music.  With bi-monthly performances in front of a live studio audience on a sound stage created by Yahoo! Music, “Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo! Music” kicks-off November 15 with its inaugural performance by Grammy-award winning artist, Christina Aguilera, performing hits from her new album, “Back to Basics.” Thirteen-time Grammy winner Tony Bennett will also take the stage as the legendary singer celebrates his 80th birthday and the recent release of his album, “Tony Bennett: Duets/An American Classic.”   Multi-platinum alternative rock group Incubus is also slated to perform songs from their upcoming album, “Light Grenades.”  “Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo! Music” significantly expands the scope of original music content available on the web and brings fans and artists together through fully-integrated online and offline channels.

Recordings of the live shows are broadcast on Yahoo! Music at music.yahoo.com/nissanlivesets or can be found by searching for ”Nissan Live Sets” on Yahoo!.  As the sole sponsor of the site, Nissan will integrate a variety of online advertising such as streaming video, flash animations and game units.   A Spanish language version of the site—scheduled to launch within the next year—will also be sponsored by Nissan.

“As the premier online destination for music fans, Yahoo! Music reaches and serves the needs of music fans by creating distinct platforms for talent,” said Dave Goldberg, VP and GM of Yahoo! Music.  “This innovative partnership with Nissan further enables Yahoo! Music to build an online community where artists can enhance user experience through live performances and interaction with fans.”

“Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo! Music” will allow fans to interact with talent through the studio audience by integrating a live Q&A with the audience into the performance.  “Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo! Music” also allows artists to have creative control of their music by encouraging talent to explore diverse projects such as B-side songs, covers of their favorite songs and duets.

Located on the FOX Studio lot in Los Angeles, the “Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo! Music” custom built sound stage is equipped with the latest digital video and audio technology.  The set features a Nissan lounge, branded interactive product displays and advertising.

“The sponsorship of the ‘Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo! Music’ is an extension of our transformational marketing efforts designed to create a high level of engagement with our consumers by reaching them through non-traditional channels,” said Jan Thompson, vice president of marketing, NNA.  “Music is a big reason people are online.  We were drawn to the interactive platform of this program, the A-list artists it expects to attract and the opportunity to engage our customers through music.”

Additional “Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo! Music” content and features include:

· Video: The Encore Performance feature will allow users to view archived “Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo! Music” performances.
· Audio: Fans will be able to download and stream exclusive EPs from performances.  Yahoo! Music will also provide 30-second on-demand samples of each performance with links to purchase complete shows on Yahoo! Music Unlimited. 
· Photos: Audience members will receive Flickr-enabled phones to capture their experiences at the performance.  Photos will be automatically uploaded to photo galleries on the “Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo! Music”/Flickr page. 
· Text: A fan will be selected for each performance to sound off and share their experience through a Yahoo! 360° blog.  Artists will also create their own Yahoo! 360° page on Yahoo! Music. Artist-specific quizzes will test fans knowledge of their favorite musicians. 

Additional artist performances, drawn from diverse musical genres, will be announced monthly.