Mobile operator Orange has revealed plans to partner with music media company LoveLive to stream highlights from the Orange Warsaw Festival live across Europe this summer.
Having sponsored the event since 2008, the deal sees Orange bring the major event, which has attracted artists such as Beyoncé, The Prodigy and Basement Jaxx over the years, to fans unable to personally attend the festival which takes place that year between Friday 13 and Sunday 14 June.
Speaking exclusively with The Drum, Orange head of global sponsorship and partnerships Donna Soane, explained: "Music is a key area for Orange, it's an area our consumers are really passionate about, but it's such a complicated space. We have a comprehensive programme spanning film and sport but music is more disconnected.
"Being able to look across Europe and find something that has growth and appeals to our consumers is a strong hook, especially to be able to provide experiences for countries like Armenia and Moldova who are very important within our footprint."
Available across eight European countries Orange Music Live will stream performances from the likes of Kings of Leon, Rita Ora and more, with the content accessible from multiple devices including smartphones, tablets, computers and televisions.
Of the partnership, Richard Cohen CEO of LoveLive, commented: "Telcos like Orange are vitally important to us as when you think of the way people are engaging with content, particularly young people, smartphones are king." With many Telcos stepping into the breech to partner with and promote live music events - O2's sponsorship of The O2 and O2 Academy's nationwide and Vodafone's priority access to festivals like T in the Park - Cohen sees Orange as a front runner claiming as a brand Orange has "earned its stripes" poiniting towards early investment in music streaming service Deezer as clear proof of this. Over the weekend, in addition to selected live performances the Orange Music Live portal will also host a mixture of video streaming and on demand content which will be kept available for fans both during the festival and for four weeks afterwards. The perfect combination of both "firework and bonfire marketing" according to Cohen.
"The event itself is the firework and it'll burn really bright, but with LoveLive capturing content from across the weekend that will add value to Orange customers for a very long time afterward. It'll be the 'bonfire' for fans to attend, extending the community." Though both Soane and Cohen agree "you're never going to be able to recreate 'live' through a mobile device" the aim here is to make it as "live as possible" to create a social and shared experience for those who don't have the ability or luxury of being part of the festival's 90,000-strong audience either geographically or economically. In the lead up to the event Orange and LoveLive will leverage social engagement to create a community of viewers with plans to leverage the artist's fanbases. The eight counties Orange Music Live will be available in are France, Poland, Spain, Romania, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Armenia and Moldova.
