MTV TO PREMIERE NEW JAY-Z MUSIC VIDEO,“RUN THIS TOWN,” THURSDAY, AUGUST 20 VIDEO WITH RIHANNA AND KANYE WEST TO AIR EXCLUSIVELY ON 68 MTV CHANNELS ACROSS 161 COUNTRIES
New York, NY/London, England – August 18, 2009: MTV will be the exclusive on-air and online outlet for the global multi-platform premiere of the new JAY-Z music video “Run This Town” with Rihanna and Kanye West. The video will debut on Thursday, August 20th at 8pm EST (international premiere times to be announced locally) across all MTV properties including MTV, MTV2, MTVu, MTV Tr3s, MTV Hits, MTV Jams in the U.S. as well as on MTV’s international network of channels. “Run This Town” is the second video from the multi-award-winning rapper’s highly-anticipated album Blueprint3, which releases on September 11th, 2009.
Following JAY-Z’s ground-breaking performances at the UK Glastonbury Festival in 2008 and U.S. music festival All Points West this month and in anticipation of his upcoming performance at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, “Run This Town” will explode onto the world music scene via MTV’s 68 channels and websites in 161 countries.
The video for “Run This Town” was shot in New York and directed by Anthony Mandler, who also directed JAY-Z’s last music video, “D.O.A.”
“JAY-Z is one of those artists that every time he makes a move, he creates excitement and buzz,” said Amy Doyle, EVP, MTV Music & Talent. “He continues to marry music with cinematic visuals that raise the bar in the video art form, and MTV is excited to be able to bring this video to fans worldwide.”
“MTV’s ability to deliver fresh music content simultaneously across our global network of properties gives music fans exclusive access to their favorite recording artists while providing these artists unprecedented exposure,” said Bruce Gillmer, SVP Talent & Music, MTV Networks International. “JAY-Z is an absolute powerhouse in the music industry, and MTV is thrilled to offer the world a first look at his video ‘Run This Town,’ a stellar collaboration between three of the biggest acts in music today.”
The global premiere of “Run This Town” follows the multi-platform success of Green Day’s “Know Your Enemy” music video premiere worldwide in April and demonstrates MTV’s unique global scale and ability to connect artists to literally millions of fans in every corner of the world.
Since 1995, Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter has dominated the rap industry and set trends for a generation. Now in 2009, he personifies the “American Dream.” Founder and chairman of Rocawear, he is also co-owner of the NJ Nets, 40/40 sports clubs, co-owner of Carol’s Daughter skin line and Translation Advertising. After three successful years as President and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, where he fostered the careers of international stars Rihanna, Ne-Yo and Kanye West, JAY-Z entered into a partnership with Live Nation to form Roc Nation. Through Roc Nation, on September 11, 2009, JAY-Z will release Blueprint 3, the last chapter of the critically acclaimed Blueprint trilogy. JAY-Z became the first non-athlete to enter into a major footwear co-venture with his S. Carter line for Reebok and in addition, continues his philanthropic work through his Water For Life initiative and the Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation. Over his career, the multiple Grammy and award winner has sold more than 40 million albums and sold out arenas across the world.
About MTV
MTV is the dynamic, vibrant experiment at the intersection of music, creativity and youth culture. For over 27 years, MTV has evolved, challenged the norm, and detonated boundaries — giving each new generation a creative outlet and voice that entertains, informs and unites on every platform and screen. On-air, MTV is the number one rated full-day ad-supported cable network for P12-24. Online, MTV.com grew a healthy +9% from 1Q09, averaging 23.6M unique visitors for the second quarter of 2009. The site continues to grow video content streams, up significantly from 1Q09 by +15%, generating a whopping 262.2M streams in Q209, a +7% increase from the same time period last year. And MTV’s successful sibling networks MTV2, mtvU and MTV Tr3s each deliver unprecedented customized content, super-serving music fans, college students and young American Latinos like no one else. MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Wanna know more?
About MTV Networks International
MTV Networks International includes the premier multimedia entertainment brands MTV: Music Television, VH1, Nickelodeon, MTVNHD, TMF (The Music Factory), VIVA, Flux, Paramount Comedy, Comedy Central and Game One. MTV Networks’ brands are seen globally in 595 million households in 161 countries and 33 languages via 173 locally programmed and operated TV channels and more than 400 digital media properties. The company’s diverse holdings also include interests in television syndication, digital media, publishing, home video, radio, recorded music, licensing & merchandising and two feature film divisions, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. MTV Networks is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).
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