Zannel Partners With Country Superstar Keith Urban to Provide Fans a "VIP Pass" on His Escape Together World Tour

Zannel, the award-winning mobile service that allows people to instantly share their videos and pictures to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, and other social networks, announced today an exclusive partnership with country superstar Keith Urban to launch an innovative iPhone and iPod touch application. Available starting today, the "Keith Urban VIP Pass" provides fans with exclusive behind-the-scenes video, picture, and text updates sent directly to their phone from the tour.

Hot on the heels of last month's successful launch of the "Dane Cook Global" iPhone and iPod touch App (which debuted to 5-star reviews), Zannel's partnership with Urban marks an important expansion of the Zannel Platform for top-tier musicians and bands. From the tour bus to the stage and everything in between, Urban is sending exclusive multi-media updates directly to fans from his Escape Together World Tour, which is currently underway. Urban's North American tour will hit 50 cities and will feature guest appearances from friends including Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Dierks Bentley, Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, The Zac Brown Band, and Glen Campbell.

"I've always been a touring artist because I love the connection I get with my fans. With my new VIP Pass, I can now share what it's like to be on the road through my eyes," said Urban. "It's an amazing rush to hit the road, and hear thousands of people singing along to my songs and feel the electricity in the air. My fans can now be part of touring life more than ever before."

Zannel delivers the ultimate country music fan package. Not only will the iPhone and iPod touch app offer exclusive multi-media updates from Keith, but fans can also follow Keith on an interactive tour map, download Keith Urban Wallpapers for the iPhone and iPod touch, interact with other fans to talk about the tour action, get tour venue information, purchase tickets and merchandise, listen to and purchase Keith's tracks on iTunes, and more.

The app is available for $1.99 from Apple's App Store on iPhone or iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/ [1].

"Zannel continues its association with great names in music, comedy, sports, film, and television, enabling major artists to communicate directly with their fan base on a mass scale," says Adam Zbar, CEO of Zannel.com. "We are excited to work with one of the biggest names in country music today and offer Keith's fans the ability to stay connected anywhere, anytime. We look forward to his exciting tour, and stay tuned for additional Zannel talent deals over the course of the summer."

The "Keith Urban VIP Pass" is built on the Zannel Platform, which enables artists to monetize their premium content via paid mobile and web applications, subscriptions, and sponsorships, as well as selling tickets, music, and merchandise. Zannel also provides artists with a 360º promotional platform that allows them to publish promotional video and picture updates to Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Flickr, and the other leading social networks. These updates can be shared by fans, viewed on a map, discussed in groups, and promoted in artist-driven contests that drive fan engagement. In total, the Zannel platform provides artists with the most sophisticated location-based multi-media microblogging service to instantly and visually communicate with their fans.

Australia native Keith Urban, who moved to Nashville in 1992, has quickly established himself as a force in country music and crossover entertainment alike. His career seven albums and nine #1 hits have earned him multiple Grammy Awards, Country Music Association Awards, and Academy of Country Music Awards and have even landed him a coveted spot on NBC's Saturday Night Live.

The expansion of the Zannel platform represents a unique offering as performers extend the footprint of their social media beyond services like Twitter and share in the revenue generated from application sales.

About Zannel

Zannel is the mobile industry's first Instant Media Network^TM, which allows people to instantly and visually communicate what's happening now across mobile and the web, including all major social networks. Zannel won a Webby for Best Mobile Social Network in 2008, serves millions of users, and has over 50 partnerships with leading operators, media companies, and brands. Founded by the team that built the first large-scale mobile media storefronts in the US, Zannel is located in San Francisco and backed by top-tier VCs. www.zannel.com [2]