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Coldplay and photographer-turned-filmmaker Anton Corbijn are teaming up for the latest installment of “American Express Unstaged.” In partnership with Youtube and VEVO, the band’s October 26 show will be live-streamed from Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas in Madrid beginning at 4:00 p.m. EST. It can be viewed globally at www.youtube.com/coldplayVEVO and will be available on mobile devices via VEVO and YouTube apps for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android.
The Coldplay-Corbijn collaboration marks the sixth of the series, which launched in summer 2010 and has generated more than 40 million streams. Other pairings have included Arcade Fire with Terry Gilliam, Duran Duran with David Lynch and John Legend & The Roots directed by Spike Lee.
Coldplay’s concert will be the first “Unstaged” performance to take place outside the U.S. and comes two days after the release of their fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto. According to Rich Lehrfeld, vp of global sponsorship, access and experiential marketing for American Express, the timing is all about maximizing exposure and album sales during that crucial first week while also offering millions of music fans “something unique.”
“We have experience in tickets, what we’re trying to do it is help them drive business for their album release and utilize the promotional platform,” Lehrfeld tells The Hollywood Reporter. “The band and its management realize that it takes new approaches to engage fans. Now, with digital, you have the ability to reach a global audience in one shot, and this is really a true experience with artists and fans together.”
Corbijn, who directed the films The American and Control, is known for his masterful black-and-white work, though Lehrfeld is unsure whether the concert will be seen sans color. “We haven’t decided on all of those elements yet,” he says. What is known, however, is that the band, led by singer Chris Martin, will be intimately involved in such decisions. “The artist weighs in a lot,” Lehrfeld adds.
Says Martin in a statement being issued later this morning: “Anton Corbijn has been a big hero to us for a long long time so we’re thrilled to be beaming this concert out to the world through his cinematic lens. We can’t wait to share this experience with him and with all of our fans… It’s going to be special.”
Twitter: @shirleyhalperin
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