- Winning MC to Open for Universal Music Group's N.E.R.D. and Pac Div in New Orleans, July 2, 2011 & Receive $10K in Studio Time - $50K Sweepstakes Contest Lets Music Fans Win, Too -

(BLACK PR WIRE)--CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Coors Light® has launched a national competition for the Coldest MC in America. Search for the Coldest gives the next generation of MCs a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to showcase their skills online, in the studio, and before large crowds. 

“Coors Light, has long-been a leading innovator in the American beer category and we are once again offering something new and fresh to consumers with our Search for the Coldest program,” said Sheldon Boyea, brand manager, African American Marketing for MillerCoors. “Hip Hop has also fueled innovation in music across the globe and we’re excited to work with Universal Music Group to help find the next, Coldest MC.”

Aspiring MCs can upload their best original track to www.searchforthecoldest.com by May 1, 2011 to join the online campaign where fans will vote their favorites into a semifinal round. The top winners from four geographic regions (North, South, Midwest and West) will open for N.E.R.D. and Pac Div during the Search for the Coldest tour in Atlanta, New York City and Baltimore. Tickets will not be sold for these events but consumers can win tickets through radio and on-premise promotions.

Grammy-award winning producer and songwriter Bryan-Michael Cox, and DJ Khaled, producer, radio personality and founder of We the Best Music Group, will join Pac Div to judge contestants leading up to the final round. In addition to earning the title of “Coldest MC 2011,” the winner will open for N.E.R.D. and Pac Div on July 2 at the Coors Light event during the ESSENCE® Music Festival weekend, in New Orleans.

Universal Music Group (UMG), the world’s leading music company, partnered with Coors Light on the Search for the Coldest program to provide this opportunity with artists N.E.R.D. and Pac Div. UMG is also providing the winner with $10,000 of studio time to record a new track. “We decided to be a part of Search for the Coldest because it provides a fresh and new way to connect with our fans and it’s a smart and innovative contest,” said Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D.

Coors Light fans who aren’t MCs can also take part in Search for the Coldest through a fan appreciation sweepstakes. Music lovers who vote for their favorite performers online at www.searchforthecoldest.com may enter to win more than $50,000 in prizes. Daily prize giveaways include Universal Music Group music downloads for exclusive tracks, T-shirts, MP3 players, headphones. Five lucky voters will receive airfare and hotel accommodations for two to the 2011 ESSENCE® Music Festival, July 1-3, in New Orleans.

Contest Overview: Detailed information available online at www.searchforthecoldest.com.

March 1-May 25:

•Emerging MCs upload their best original track to www.searchforthecoldest.com. Fans vote online for their favorite MCs and top MCs are identified.
•The fans vote again and the semi-finalists emerge.
•Celebrity judges Pac Div, Bryan-Michael Cox and DJ Khaled choose four regional finalists. MCs will be judged on presentation, originality/creativity, melody/music ability, lyrics and entertainment value.
Performance Round/May 25-June 2

•It’s time to prove the MCs have what it takes to perform live! Each of the four regional finalists has one shot to win the crowd and the judges as the opening act for N.E.R.D. and Pac Div during the Search for the Coldest tour:
•Atlanta, GA on May 25
•New York, NY on May 31
•Baltimore, MD on June 2
Final Round/June 2-17

•Who’s the Coldest MC? It’s up to the public to decide. Fans rate the finalists’ live performances on presentation, originality/creativity, melody/music ability, lyrics and entertainment value, then cast their votes online beginning at 12:00:01 a.m. EST on June 2
•On June 20, the MC earning the most consumer votes during the final round will be crowned “The Coldest MC 2011.”
Detailed information and contest updates available online at www.searchforthecoldest.com and at select locations where Coors Light is sold.

About MillerCoors

MillerCoors brews, markets and sells the MillerCoors portfolio of brands in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Built on a foundation of great beer brands and nearly 300 years of brewing heritage, MillerCoors continues the commitment of its founders to brew the highest quality beers. MillerCoors is the second-largest beer company in America, capturing nearly 30 percent of U.S. beer sales. Led by two of the best-selling beers in the industry, MillerCoors has a broad portfolio of highly complementary brands across every major industry segment. Miller Lite is the great-tasting beer that established the American light beer category in 1975, and Coors Light is the brand that introduced consumers to Rocky Mountain cold refreshment. MillerCoors brews premium beers Coors Banquet and Miller Genuine Draft, and economy brands Miller High Life and Keystone Light. The company also offers innovative products such as MGD 64, Miller Chill and Sparks. Through MillerCoors new craft and import company, Tenth and Blake, imports Peroni Nastro Azzurro, Pilsner Urquell, Grolsch and Molson Canadian and features craft brews from the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, Blue Moon Brewing Company and the Blitz-Weinhard Brewing Company. MillerCoors operates eight major breweries in the U.S., as well as the Leinenkugel’s craft brewery in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and two microbreweries, the 10th Street Brewery in Milwaukee and the Blue Moon Brewing Company at Coors Field in Denver. MillerCoors vision is to create the best beer company in America by driving profitable industry growth. MillerCoors insists on building its brands the right way through brewing quality, responsible marketing and environmental and community impact. MillerCoors is a joint venture of SABMiller plc and Molson Coors Brewing Company.

About Universal Music Group

Universal Music Group is the world’s leading music company with wholly owned record operations or licensees in 77 countries. Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, the industry's leading global music publishing operation.

Universal Music Group's record labels include A&M/Octone, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Disa, Emarcy, Fonovisa, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Lost Highway Records, Machete Music, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Polydor Records, Show Dog – Universal Music, Universal Motown Republic Group, Universal Music Latino and Verve Music Group as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world. The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalog of music in the industry, which includes the last 100 years of the world's most popular artists and their recordings. UMG’s catalog is marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and Universal Strategic Marketing (outside the U.S.). Universal Music Group also includes eLabs, its new media and technologies division; Bravado, its merchandising company; and Twenty-First Artists, its full service management division.

Universal Music Group is a unit of Vivendi, a global media and communications company.

* Due to state regulations, Coors Light is unable to conduct the national sweepstakes in California. Consumers of legal drinking age who visit the promotional website, www.coorslight.com/search, will be asked to verify their state of residence. California residents may vote for the Coldest MC and be entered to receive a music download worth up to $3.