News Releases

Fans Worldwide can Collaborate with Director Anton Corbijn for Online Art Installation during Show

TORONTO, Oct. 25, 2011 /CNW/ - American Express, in partnership with VEVO and YouTube, announced its full roster of exclusive fan experiences and enhanced digital features for Grammy® award-winning rock band Coldplay's performance within the "American Express Unstaged" music series. The show will be streamed globally as a live VEVO event on YouTube from one of Spain's most famous arenas, Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas in Madrid, at 4:00PM ET / 1:00PM PT on Wednesday, October 26 at www.YouTube.com/ColdplayVEVO.

A first for the "American Express Unstaged" music series, Coldplay's performance will showcase various opportunities, including a chance for fans to be featured in a visually stunning art installation during the show.  The global event will come just two days after Coldplay's critically-acclaimed fifth studio album, MYLO XYLOTO (Capitol Records), hits stores. "American Express Unstaged" has featured such recognized musicians, paired with well-known directors, including Arcade Fire with Terry Gilliam, John Legend & The Roots with Spike Lee, Sugarland with Kenny Ortega, Duran Duran with David Lynch, and My Morning Jacket with Todd Haynes.

Live-Stream Directed by Award-Winning Filmmaker Anton Corbijn
Coldplay's "American Express Unstaged" performance will be directed by award-winning filmmaker and celebrated photographer Anton Corbijn (The American, Control). Corbijn and the band plan to immerse themselves in the pulsing crowd energy and excitement surrounding Madrid's historic arena by bringing some additional elements to the concert experience, including graffiti-styled imagery, which will be threaded throughout the night.

"I am thrilled to be collaborating with Coldplay on their performance within the 'American Express Unstaged' music series," said director Anton Corbijn. "I am looking forward to bringing our combined vision to life and uniting fans around the world to experience their extraordinary energy and musical genius."

American Express, in partnership with VEVO and YouTube, will continue to provide revolutionary access to Coldplay fans and music enthusiasts worldwide through pre-show, in-concert and post-show features and one-of-a-kind content that further blur the line between the at-home and in-concert experience:

Pre-Show

• "Flight of Madrid" Project: Fans worldwide can collaborate with Corbijn in an on-stage and online art installation creating graffiti-style butterfly designs by visiting www.amexunstagedcoldplay.com.  A selection of fan-submitted butterflies will be animated into a music video that will be projected on the LCD screens behind the band during the concert.
• Online Pre Show: Building anticipation of the night, viewers who tune in early to the live-stream will catch an exclusive documentary created by Anton Corbijn.
• "Graffiti" Interview Series: American Express and Coldplay will release a series of Q&A interviews, where the band's answers will be interpreted into graffiti artwork created by renowned street artists, uniquely merging the digital and physical art worlds.
• Official Concert Trailer: Fans can get an early glimpse at the creative vision behind Coldplay's "American Express Unstaged" performance by visiting www.YouTube.com/ColdplayVEVO to view an exclusive pre-concert trailer.

In-Concert

• Choose Your Cam: The at-home audience can control their viewing experience throughout the show by switching between multiple cameras, including Anton Corbijn's director's cam, an on-stage cam putting the at-home audience in the center of the performance, and a unique "Crowd Cam" powered by Spider Cam technology affixed to cables circling Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas.
• Global Chat: Fans around the world can join the global chat along with the show, or invite friends to have a private viewing and chat experience to celebrate the event.

Post-Show

• Rebroadcast: Following the live performance, the Coldplay "American Express Unstaged" concert will be rebroadcast for the next several hours, and live, on-demand clips will be available for another 48-hours at www.YouTube.com/ColdplayVEVO.

"The American Express Unstaged" music series will be live-streamed on mobile devices for fans around the world. Using the VEVO and YouTube apps for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android, fans can access the stream on mobile devices as well. VEVO and YouTube mobile apps experience more than five million downloads a day and over 200 million views a day.

About Coldplay and its Upcoming Album MYLO XYLOTO
MYLO XYLOTO was recorded in London and produced by Markus Dravs (Arcade Fire, Bjork, Mumford and Sons), Daniel Green and Rik Simpson, with enoxification and additional composition by Brian Eno (U2, David Bowie).  Coldplay - comprising Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin - has sold more than 50 million records worldwide and won numerous awards, including seven GRAMMY® Awards, six Brit Awards and four MTV Video Music Awards. The band's last album, 2008's Viva La Vida, charted at No. 1 in 36 countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom.

About "American Express Unstaged"
Coldplay's October 26^th performance represents the sixth installment within the innovative music series "American Express Unstaged," which launched in the summer of 2010 in partnership with VEVO and YouTube. Bringing the in-concert and at-home viewing experiences to new heights, "American Express Unstaged" showcases some of the music industry's most breakthrough artists playing at landmark venues across the country, while tapping some of today's most influential filmmakers to direct the live-streams and using digital and social media to connect the online audience to the live shows in unexpected ways. "American Express Unstaged" has generated more than 40 million total streams for all five artists' performances.

About American Express Canada
American Express in Canada operates as Amex Bank of Canada and Amex Canada Inc. Both are wholly owned subsidiaries of the New York based American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc., the largest operating unit of the American Express Company. Amex Bank of Canada is the issuer of American Express charge and credit cards, with outstanding products like the American Express® Gold Rewards Card, and the American Express® AeroplanPlus® Gold Card. Amex Canada Inc. operates the Corporate Travel and Travellers Cheques divisions in Canada. American Express opened its first offices in Toronto and Hamilton in 1853 and now employs 3,700 Canadians coast-to-coast. For more information, visit AmericanExpress.ca or connect with us at Facebook.com/AmericanExpressCanada and YouTube.com/AmericanExpressCAD.

About VEVO
VEVO is the world's leading all-premium music video and entertainment platform with offices in New York, London, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and San Francisco. VEVO is available in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom through VEVO.com, Mobile & Tablet Apps (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android, Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry PlayBook), Connected Television (Google TV, Boxee) and user embeddable video players. VEVO powers music videos on artist pages across Facebook, as well as syndicates to dozens of online sites, including AOL, BET, CBS Interactive Music Group (including Last.fm and MP3.com), Fuse.tv and Univision.  Additionally, through a special partnership with YouTube, VEVO is accessible in over 200 countries, expanding the platform's reach around the globe.

About YouTube
YouTube is the world's most popular online video community allowing millions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos. Our mission is for YOU to discover and shape the world through video. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. YouTube, LLC is based in San Bruno, CA and is a subsidiary of Google Inc.