W HOTELS WORLDWIDE SELECTS RISING INTERNATIONAL DJS TO PARTICIPATE IN 2012 W HOTELS & burn studios DJ LAB

Online Contest Launches in Search of Final DJ to Join This Year’s Program,

Hosted at W Retreat & Spa Bali – Seminyak

New York – May 17, 2012 – W Hotels Worldwide, in collaboration with burn studios, an innovative music platform developed by burn®, a globally leading energy drink from The Coca-Cola Company, today announced the new international DJs who have been selected to participate in the second annual W Hotels & burn studios DJ Lab. In addition, a global search has launched on whotels.com/music to find the final DJ, representing Asia, to join the curated group. The DJ Lab is designed to bring together the most exciting rising DJ talent from around the globe and provide them with unprecedented mentorship and valuable tools to help them realize their full potential. The chosen participants will polish their skills during a weeklong DJ ‘boot camp’ at W Retreat & Spa Bali – Seminyak this July in preparation for a global tour hosted at W Hotels and Retreats around the world.

“We are thrilled to welcome a new group of rising global artists to join the 2012 W Hotels & burn studios DJ Lab,” said Vincent Gillet, Global Brand Leader, W Hotels Worldwide and Le Méridien. “Supporting emerging talent is a core value of the W brand, and through our partnership with burn studios, we are continuing to provide a global platform that identifies and supports these up-and-coming artists, while showcasing what’s new and next in music at our hotels worldwide.”

W Hotels Global Music Director, Michaelangelo L’Acqua, along with burn studios, has identified seven promising DJs to join the program at W Bali this year. Hailing from global gateway cities across the world, the 2012 DJs are:

Dogus Cabakcor, Istanbul
Posso (aka Marylouise Pels and Vanessa Giovacchini), Los Angeles
Vitor Kurc, São Paulo
Klaus Rosa De Macedo and Ameet Jugnauth, London
Aline Magnier, Berlin

When the new class of emerging DJs convene at W Bali, they will be mentored by industry experts, including Rob Garza (Thievery Corporation), Paul Nolan (SAE) and Jason Bentley (Music Director, KCRW) along with L’Acqua. After honing their craft in “master classes,” each DJ will be given the chance to put their skills into practice by spinning at signature W Happenings and other sought-after W Hotels events, providing a fresh soundtrack for W guests and local music fans alike.

“Through our partnership with W Hotels, the burn studios DJ Lab is providing another opportunity for artists to meet and learn from some of the industry’s biggest names,” said Prinz Pinakatt, Global Director, burn, The Coca-Cola Company. “Our programming nurtures and showcases aspiring DJs looking to break onto an international stage”


W Hotels Launches Online Search for Final DJ to Join 2012 Program
For the first time ever, the eighth and final DJ, representing Asia, will be found through an online talent search held by W Hotels Worldwide, in partnership with MIX.dj. Starting today through June 15, aspiring DJs can go to whotels.com/music to upload their mix for the chance to join the 2012 DJ Lab. Uploaded mixes will automatically be entered into the MIX.dj platform where sharing and voting by the public will commence. Those DJs with the highest number of votes will then be selected by the DJ Lab Mentors to perform at various W Hotels in Asia in May and June, showcasing their unique, cutting-edge sounds.

The first of these events will kick off at W Taipei on May 18, where L’Acqua will be on-site at the official Show Off party to witness firsthand the DJs who have submitted mixes for consideration. On May 26, W Hong Kong will host its first Summer Series pool party of the season, giving the DJs additional platforms for exposure. Finally, W Seoul will welcome 2011 DJ Lab participant, DJ Angus Wong, on June 1 for a W Happening featuring select DJs from the online search, industry tastemakers and VIPs. The search will end on June 15 and the winner announced as the 2012 DJ Lab commences in July.

“The search for the final DJ allows W the opportunity to engage legions of enthusiastic electronic music fans to help us in selecting this last participant,” said Michaelangelo L’Acqua, W Hotels Global Music Director. “It is important that each DJ who joins the program demonstrate not only cutting-edge talent, but also passionate resolve, and through this online platform, we’re able to ensure our final DJ encompasses all of these qualities.”


W Hotels Once Again Partners with the Ibiza International Music Summit
For the third consecutive year, W Hotels Worldwide will again partner with the Ibiza International Music Summit (IMS), a high level music industry conference attended by global leaders in the dance music scene. As part of the commitment, on May 25, W Hotels will host an industry panel discussion on “Empowering Women in Electronic Music”. The following day, W Hotels together with ‘Shut Your Pretty Mouth’ (SYPM), a magazine and club night dedicated to female creative talent, will host the official IMS after-party at Blue Marlin, featuring an all-female DJ line-up, including Sister Bliss (Faithless) and Scarlett Etienne, as well as the 2012 W Hotels & burn studios DJ Lab artists Posso. On May 27, IMS and SYPM will travel to the W Barcelona Wet Deck as the hotel celebrates the kick-off of its summer season.

To learn more about the W Hotels & burn studios DJ Lab please visit www.whotels.com/music.

Follow W Hotels on Twitter: @WHotels or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/whotels.

About W Hotels Worldwide
W Hotels is a contemporary, design-led lifestyle brand and the industry innovator with 42 hotels and retreats, including 14 W-branded residences, in the most vibrant cities and exotic destinations around the world. Inspiring, iconic, innovative and influential, W Hotels provides the ultimate in insider access, offering a unique mix of cutting-edge design and passions around fashion, music and entertainment. W Hotels offers a holistic lifestyle experience that is integrated into the brand’s sensibility through contemporary restaurant concepts, glamorous entertainment experiences, stylish retail concepts, signature spas and inspiring residences. With more than 12 years of proven success, W Hotels is on track to reach more than 50 hotels by the end of 2012. W Hotels have been announced for Guangzhou, Milan, Shanghai, Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Bangkok, Athens – Astir Palace, Muscat, Mumbai, and Santa Fe, Mexico, while upcoming W Retreats include Verbier and Mexico’s Riviera Maya. For more information, visit www.whotels.com. To live the W Hotels lifestyle 24/7/365, visit www.wresidences.com

About Burn
Burn is a category leader in the global energy drink explosion. The red formula is a symbol of active fire that provides drinkers the energy needed to leave their original vision on the world. Dismantling category norms, burn consumers embody a live-out-loud mentality, without fear of boundaries created by society. burn is a brand of The Coca-Cola Company. www.burn-studios.com

About MIX.dj
MIX.dj is the world’s largest web and mobile-based DJ mix community. MIX.dj offers DJ promotional tools, fan discovery and recommendation tools, advertising platforms, mobile application development, and streaming radio services for web and mobile devices. MIX.dj has nearly 3 million mobile users (iOS and Android) and over 220,000 registered users on the web. The community includes over 55,000 DJ mixes from 12,000 DJs in 100 countries. New DJ party mixes are added 24/7/365. MIX.dj also develops customized mobile applications for artists, record labels and lifestyle/hospitality brands. MIX.dj has developed over 100 different mobile applications in the Appstore and Android Market. The MIX.dj global network also offers a powerful mobile advertising platform with a growing network that reaches millions of mobile devices around the world. For more information, visit www.mix.djon a web or mobile device.

Press Contact:
Alethea Lam
DIRECTOR, CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS
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