NEW YORK, September 23, 2016 – Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, along with Interscope Records, OneRepublic and Nokia Technologies, today announced a new fully immersive virtual reality experience for “Kids,” the newest single from multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated quintet, OneRepublic, that will premiere at Advertising Week, New York.  The song is off their fourth studio album Oh My My, which is set for release on October 7th (Mosley/Interscope Records).

The VR music video was made possible through a partnership between Universal Music, Interscope Records, OneRepublic and Nokia. The video, which was directed by Hal Kirkland and produced by Chris Milk’s VR studio, Here Be Dragons, was shot with the Nokia OZO, the first professional VR camera available to purchase for content creators.

The “Kids” VR experience will premiere at this year’s Advertising Week, New York, during the “VR is ‘Kids’ Play” lunch and panel presented by Universal Music and the Tribeca Film Festival on September 27 at the NASDAQ Building. At this time, the VR experience will be made available exclusively on the Within app for fans to download or stream on their smartphone or VR headset at home. The “VR is ‘Kids’ Play” panel will be moderated by Jane Rosenthal, executive chair of Tribeca Enterprises and will feature singer-songwriter Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, Chris Milk, founder & CEO of Within and founder & creative director of Here Be Dragons, video director Hal Kirkland, Nokia’s head of presence capture, Guido Voltolina and Bart Saunt, head of new business, Universal Music Group & Brands (UMGB).

“Virtual reality is something that’s incredibly interesting to us because it gives us the opportunity to engage fans in a new way,” said Ryan Tedder. “We’re excited to be able to give our fans a way to step inside our music and live in our latest single.”

“We are thrilled to use OZO to bring fans closer to their favorite artists,” said Guido Voltolina, head of presence capture, OZO at Nokia. “Partnering with UMG, Interscope and OneRepublic is another example of how Nokia is pushing the VR industry forward and enabling content creators to imagine, create and share new immersive experiences to people around the world.”

Ty Roberts, chief technology officer of UMG, said, “With OneRepublic and Nokia, Universal Music and Interscope are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in virtual reality. As we continue to develop projects, music fans will become fully immersed in the music they love, whether that’s walking around a stage during a concert by their favorite artist or becoming part of the story in a music video. This cutting edge technology is opening up thrilling new opportunities for artistic expression that we have only begun to realize.”

“OneRepublic is paving the way with fully immersive virtual reality music videos,” added Mike Tunnicliffe, executive vice president and head of UMGB, U.S. “This is the first of hopefully many projects in partnership with Nokia, the leader in VR camera technology. As more artists engage with VR projects we will have more opportunities for our partners to be part of this exciting new way for fans to experience their favorite artists and music.”

The video will be available on Within (http://with.in.), Milk’s virtual reality app, and at OneRepublic.com beginning at 12:01 AM EST September 27th before becoming widely available through other distributors including Oculus, Samsung VR and Littlstar, as well as Facebook 360 and YouTube 360. UMG is the industry leader in virtual reality with a library of more than 60 titles including Shawn Mendes, DNCE and U2 concert experiences.

About Universal Music Group

Universal Music Group (UMG) is the world leader in music-based entertainment, with a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising and audiovisual content in more than 60 countries.  Featuring the most comprehensive catalog of recordings and songs across every musical genre, UMG identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world.  Committed to artistry, innovation and entrepreneurship, UMG fosters the development of services, platforms and business models in order to broaden artistic and commercial opportunities for our artists and create new experiences for fans. Universal Music Group is a Vivendi company. Find out more at: http://www.universalmusic.com.

About Interscope Geffen A&M

Combining the legacies of three of the most influential record labels in modern music history, Interscope Geffen A&M embarked on a new tradition of musical achievement with its unification on January 1, 1999.  Headed by Chairman and CEO John Janick, Interscope Geffen A&M is a major force in global music, developing chart-topping artists across a wide range of musical genres including rock, rap, pop and alternative. Interscope Geffen A&M is part of Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music company. www.interscope.com

About OneRepublic

OneRepublic released their debut set Dreaming Out Loud in 2007. The album included the smash single Apologize, which shattered digital sales and airplay records worldwide and received a Grammy nomination. The band’s sophomore album, 2009’s Waking Up, produced three singles: All the Right Moves, Secrets and Good Life.

OneRepublic’s third studio album Native, was released in March 2013 where it debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. The set produced the hit singles If I Lose Myself, Feel Again, Love Runs Out, I Lived and Counting Stars, which reached #1 in 54 countries and has sold over 10 million downloads. Native sold over 5 million units worldwide.  OneRepublic’s current single “Kids”  will be featured on their fourth studio album, Oh My My, which will be released October 7th on Mosley/Interscope Records. OneRepublic has toured the world headlining dates in the U.S. and Europe. For more information visit  www.onerepublic.com

About Advertising Week

Advertising Week is the world’s largest gathering of industry leaders across advertising, technology, business, entertainment, marketing, media and social good. Since its creation in 2004, Advertising Week has drawn more than 2.5 million participants from around the world to New York City, London and Tokyo for a weeklong hybrid of thought leadership seminars and unique evening events. 2016 marks the 13th edition of Advertising Week in New York City. In 2013, Advertising Week global organizer Stillwell Partners launched Advertising Week Europe and earlier this year, Advertising Week Asia in Tokyo. Later this year, Stillwell will launch in Havana marking the first major American-led business to business event in Cuba since 1959. Beyond education, engagement, enlightenment and entertainment, the global mission of The Week is to inspire young people to join the craft, to focus on the social impacts of advertising, assemble the world’s best and brightest to foster dialogue on the most pressing and interesting issues facing the industry, and to shine a light on the business and economic influence of the advertising, media and marketing industries. www.advertisingweek.com

This year’s Advertising Week New York speakers include (with more to come): Drew Barrymore, Katie Couric, Arianna Huffington, Sheryl Sandberg, Tim Armstrong, B. Bonin Bough, Wendy Clark, Mark Cuban, David Droga, Carolyn Everson, Bethenny Frankel, Thomas Friedman, Seth Godin, Bob Greenberg, Paul Haggis, Daymond John, Imran Kahn, Padma Lakshmi, Nick Law, Lori Lee, Bob Lord, Dr. Oz, Chuck Porter, Rachael Ray, Andrew Robertson, Michael Roth, David Rubenstein, Meg Ryan, Philipp Schindler, Ben Silbermann, Ben Silverman, Jimmy Smith, Morgan Spurlock, and many more.

About Nokia

Nokia is a global leader in the technologies that connect people and things. Powered by the innovation of Nokia Bell Labs and Nokia Technologies, the company is at the forefront of creating and licensing the technologies that are increasingly at the heart of our connected lives. With state-of-the-art software, hardware and services for any type of network, Nokia is uniquely positioned to help communication service providers, governments, and large enterprises deliver on the promise of 5G, the Cloud and the Internet of Things. http://nokia.com

About Within

Within is a leading VR company, whose mission is to tell extraordinary stories in virtual reality. Within uses custom built tools and their own VR app to create and distribute the most innovative, story driven experiences in VR today. Within was founded by director Chris Milk and technologist Aaron Koblin – both renowned for their innovative, industry leading work – and are best known for their high profile collaborations with The New York Times, the United Nations, Vice, Saturday Night Live, and artists like U2. Within’s goal is to push VR forward with groundbreaking experiences that explore and expand the medium’s potential. As Chris said in his 2015 TED Talk, Within believes that virtual reality has the power to connect us in a profound way. Through virtual reality, we can become more compassionate, more empathetic, more connected and ultimately, more human.

About Here Be Dragons

Here Be Dragons is a creative services / production studio that supports the world’s leading creative innovators and storytellers in Virtual Reality spherical filmmaking co-founded in 2014 by Chris Milk and Patrick Milling-Smith. The Here Be Dragons collective of artists, writers, creatives, technicians, producers, and innovators strive to create the world’s best experiential media and utilize custom built tools and technology to craft and curate original immersive experiences. The Here Be Dragons creative team and production talent are industry leaders in short-form commercials, music videos, feature film, theatre, design, photography and fine arts with a proven track record in creating stories that inspire and truly resonate, collectively earning them numerous Emmys, Cannes Lions, Grand Prix’s, Palme d’Ors, AICP, D&AD, One Show, ADC, Tony, Webby Awards and a Grammy.

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