Digital Stores have built the band’s brand new direct-to-consumer online store but with a twist. As befits a band of Deep Purple’s longevity, they have gone through a fair number of line-ups and changes over the years, and the online store reflects this.

The store takes the form of a portal, with the over-arching look and feel reflecting the Deep Purple iconography. As the store grows, new features will allow fans to browse through individual band members’ specific areas, with each member designated their own area that will contain physical and digital solo work and attendant merchandise as well as memorabilia. What’s more, the store will sell tickets for the Deep Purple tours, plus tours by individual band members.

www.deeppurplestore.com/

Digital Stores Commercial Director Simon Coates says:

‘Our office has turned into a Beavis and Butthead convention. We’re all jumping around, making devil signs and chanting the opening bars to ‘Smoke On The Water’. One of our strengths here at Digital Stores is that we’re really passionate about music, especially bands that have made great contributions to music’s history and you don’t get much bigger than Deep Purple. It’s brilliant to be part of something like this.’

Deep Purple join the Digital Stores portfolio that already includes Queen, The Beatles, George Harrison and The Prodigy.

Digital Stores today announced the imminent launch of its two newest direct-to-consumer online stores. Shaun the Sheep and Timmy Time will join Aardman stablemates Wallace & Gromit with their own dedicated microsites within the Wallace & Gromit online store, going live tomorrow, Friday 27th November.

As with all of Digital Stores’ sites, the stores will carry their clients’ official branding, and will blend seamlessly with their existing websites.

Shaun the Sheep has enjoyed a huge following since his first appearance in the Oscar- winning Wallace & Gromit animation A Close Shave in 1995.  Since then, Shaun has been given his own show, has accrued a strong online fanbase and become a merchandising success worldwide. Following the great success of series one a second series has recently launched in the UK on the BBC and is due to roll out worldwide.

Timmy Time launched on CBeebies in April 2009 and is Aardman’s first pre-school series. The show has become one of the most popular programmes on the CBeebies channel and already has an active and adoring online fanbase of parents and carers. Recently launched to the high street, Timmy Time merchandise is proving to be a great success and is now rolling out internationally.

Rob Goodchild, UK Licensing Manager at Aardman, said, “We’re delighted to be partnering with Digital Stores to develop our ecommerce offer. All Aardman brands naturally develop a strong fan base which we strive hard to satisfy with our merchandise programmes. This partnership has enabled us to seamlessly, and painlessly integrate a store into our own sites, creating a strong cross-category offer, with all the logistical and marketing expertise you would expect from a leading online retailer”

Simon Moxon, sales director of Digital Stores commented, “With Christmas around the corner and the fact that more and more people are shopping on line because of the convenience and breadth of product available, we are thrilled to be launching Shaun the Sheep and Timmy Time. Customers will have access to plenty of product that they may not easily find in the high street, underlining yet again the many benefits of shopping online from such a trusted brand as Aardman”.

Shaun the Sheep series 2 can be seen on BBC One on weekdays at 4:20pm, while Timmy Time continues to appear on the CBeebies channel up to three times a day on weekdays.

The store forms a fully integrated part to Pet Shop Boys’ new web site, which is launched today at http://www.petshopboys.co.uk.

The store includes a full range of merchandise including t-shirts, hoodies and mugs, the band’s entire back catalogue in physical and digital formats – all of which are chart eligible – alongside some special store exclusives.

The band has been enjoying a global resurgence in popularity in 2009. From being awarded the ‘Outstanding Contribution to Music’ award at this year’s BRIT awards, their latest studio recording ‘Yes’ has given the pair their strongest global chart showing since ‘Very’ hit the top spot in 1993.

Said Simon Moxon, Sales Director of Digital Stores, “This store is of a quality befitting a national institution such as Pet Shop Boys. They have had a huge following for over a quarter of a century and are now appealing to a whole new audience as well, this store will allow fans of all ages to get every record the band has ever released in any format they prefer.

“With Pet Shop Boys in our stable of high-profile clients such as The Beatles, Madness and Oasis it just goes to show that Digital Stores are ahead of the curve when it comes to D2C online sales.”

Digital Stores have employed Chameleon Net to handle advanced use of the recently expanded Google Analytics service for all of their direct-to-consumer online shops.

Digital Stores’ clients – such as The Beatles and Queen – will now benefit from detailed customised analysis of the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns and the returns on their online advertising investments. The bands’ managements will be able to access in-depth feedback and statistical analysis of their retail and marketing operations, via reports configured by Chameleon Net’s experts.

Chameleon Net is a London-based company with over 10 years’ experience in providing innovative web solutions to dozens of clients across many industry sectors, including Amnesty International, UNICEF, and EDF Energy. Their strength lies in the bespoke service they offer to each individual client.

Google Analytics provides detailed insights into website traffic and marketing effectiveness, specifically targeting returns on advertising investment, and tracking cross channel and multimedia applications, such as social networking sites and mobile technologies.

Russel Coultart, CEO of Digital Stores said, “sophisticated marketing campaigns demand sophisticated analytics tools. With Chameleon Net’s help, we can harness the power of Google Analytics to provide our clients with a clear and detailed service, which is cost-effective and will make all the difference when it comes to driving traffic towards their online stores.”

Drew Davies, Head of Online Marketing at Chameleon Net added, “Using analytics to drive marketing decisions can bring genuine value to businesses. We’ll be applying best practice configuration across the board on this project, and also working with newer advanced features like Website Optimiser, in order to fully realise the potential of Google Analytics and deliver the best insights for Digital Stores and their clients.”

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ABOUT CHAMELEON NET

Formed in 1998, Chameleon Net is one the UK’s leading digital agencies. Services include web design, development, hosting and a full search engine and online marketing consultancy. The company also embraces emerging technology, including API integrations for social media sites, mobile applications and augmented reality.

They company is based in Smithfield in central London and has 30 staff and dozens of clients across many industry sectors. Chameleon Net’s combination of innovation, experience and reliability provides their clients with ongoing development, hosting and support for their web strategies.

What makes Chameleon different is a unique approach to web projects. By combining a series of established processes they can understand an organisation’s overall goals, aims of the online brand, functional requirements of a site, and recommend a technical direction.

More information about Chameleon Net can be found at www.chameleonnet.co.uk

ABOUT DIGITAL STORES

Digital Stores is the UK’s leading direct-to-consumer retail services company, providing entertainment brands with complete end-to-end e-commerce, live-event ticketing, interactive marketing, data collection & fulfilment services.

The company builds and runs online stores for globally recognised, high profile entertainment and character brands including:

• The Beatles
• Queen
• Cartoon Network
• ITV

The state of the art e-commerce system allows fans to purchase a wide variety of products from clients’ stores in one single transaction, including:

• Tickets
• Digital Downloads
• Merchandise
• CDs & DVDs

The company also owns and operates the award winning, independent online retailer recordstore.co.uk.

For more information, please visit www.digitalstores.co.uk

Direct-to-consumer services provider Digital Stores has hired industry pr specialists Name PR, the firm who already represent big names in the independent music sector including [PIAS] Entertainment Group, digital rights agency Merlin, and influential think tank and business network MusicTank.

The agreement will see Name working with Digital Stores as they grow their portfolio of direct-to-consumer merchandise stores, during what is expected to be a key growth period for direct-to-consumer services. Digital Stores’ portfolio already includes including ITV’s newly launched Coronation Street store and stores for bands such as the Beatles, Oasis and Queen. Name will be spreading news of their new offerings across the relevant trade, business and consumer press in the UK and worldwide.

Said Russel Coultart, CEO Digital Stores, “Our strategy has always been to invest heavily in growing the business, to refine the service we offer and become the first company brands go to for D2C. The D2C market is growing fast and we wanted to hire a top pr team with the right contacts and experience to take our message forward. Having worked with Name on an ad hoc basis to date, we know they are the right team to help us achieve this goal.”

Commented Sam Shemtob, MD Name PR, “Direct-to-consumer is emerging through the ongoing evolution of the music and retail business as an increasingly important model for bands and brands alike. Digital Stores are way ahead of the game in terms of the look, feel and functionality of what they offer their clients. It’s a safe bet that you’ll be hearing a lot more about them in the future.”

www.digitalstores.co.uk

www.namemusic.co.uk

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ABOUT DIGITAL STORES:

Digital Stores is the UK’s leading direct-to-consumer retail services company, providing entertainment brands with complete end-to-end e-commerce, live-event ticketing, interactive marketing, data collection & fulfilment services.

The company builds and runs online stores for globally recognised, high profile entertainment and character brands including:

• The Beatles
• Queen
• Cartoon Network
• ITV

The state of the art e-commerce system allows fans to purchase a wide variety of products from clients’ stores in one single transaction, including:

• Tickets
• Digital Downloads
• Merchandise
• CDs & DVDs

The company also owns and operates the award winning, independent online retailer recordstore.co.uk.

For more information, please visit www.digitalstores.co.uk

ABOUT NAME PR

Name are one of the UK’s leading music pr and marketing agencies, with unrivalled specialist knowledge and direct links to the heart of the UK music business.

Founded in 2000 by Sam Shemtob, Name have successfully delivered full-spectrum pr services for a range of music clients, in both a business and consumer oriented capacity. From global trade bodies to unsigned bands, Name have consistently delivered innovative press and marketing campaigns above and beyond their clients’ expectations – whether developing full positioning and communications strategies or quickly reacting to major breaking news stories.

Name offer discerning clients a proven record of pr results via successfully implemented creative strategies, delivered by a highly capable team with a real passion for the business and, most importantly, for the music itself.

Digital Stores, the UK’s leading direct-to-consumer retail services company, has appointed digital music veteran Rudy Tambala to their board as a non-executive director.

With more than two decades’ experience working within the music business, as an artist, label boss, e-business consultant, Head of Digital for Virgin Retail (UK & EIRE) and most recently as Head of Internet and Innovation for Ministry of Sound, Tambala has an unequalled eye for how the internet has irrevocably changed the music business, and how best to adapt and flourish within this new environment.

Tambala has already begun working with the Digital Stores team to refine and develop the company’s strategy for connecting with the new generation of ‘digital natives’, as the company consolidates its position as the first port of call for leading bands and brands wishing to embrace D2C.

This has involved a complete analysis of Digital Stores current sites and the development of a measurable framework for consumer engagement in the social media space.

While the company has already made strides in this area – creating a widget for its flagship site Recordstore.co.uk for fans to display the latest news and releases on their MySpace and Facebook pages, as well as regularly blogging and tweeting – it has recognised the need to re-evaluate the entire retail process for the new generation of digital consumers.

Tambala’s appointment is a key step in Digital Stores’ ongoing mission to stay ahead of the curve and provide their customers with the best online retail experience possible, to not just cater for today’s needs but to anticipate tomorrow’s wants.

Said Rudy, “These guys are among the few that really understand the need to fully embrace the disruption caused by digital media, and thus turn issues into commercial opportunities.

“I bring in frameworks for social commerce, consumer engagement marketing, niche eBoutiques and so on, and it is a tremendous opportunity – and great fun – for me to apply these to some of the worlds most loved brands.”

Commented Digital Stores CEO Russel Coultart, “I’m delighted that Rudy is joining the company. I’ve worked with him on a number of projects, and I’m very impressed with his knowledge and understanding of the changing retail landscape and existing and forthcoming changes in consumer behaviour in the digital world we all now inhabit. I’m confident he will work well with our team and help us maintain our position as the leading D2C music company in the UK.”

- End -

ABOUT DIGITAL STORES:

Digital Stores is the UK’s leading direct-to-consumer retail services company, providing entertainment brands with complete end-to-end e-commerce, live-event ticketing, interactive marketing, data collection & fulfilment services.

The company builds and runs online stores for globally recognised, high profile entertainment and character brands including:

• The Beatles
• Queen
• Cartoon Network
• ITV

The state of the art e-commerce system allows fans to purchase a wide variety of products from clients’ stores in one single transaction, including:

• Tickets
• Digital Downloads
• Merchandise
• CDs & DVDs

The company also owns and operates the award winning, independent online retailer recordstore.co.uk.

For more information, please visit www.digitalstores.co.uk

ABOUT RUDY TAMBALA:

Rudy has over 2 decades’ experience in the music industry, initially as a recording artist and producer in the bands A. R. Kane and M|A|R|R|S, who pioneered the use of sampling in their UK number one single “Pump up the Volume”. More recently Rudy was Head of Virgin Digital, UK and Eire from 2005-2007, and has been Head of Internet and Innovation at Ministry of Sound since 2007.

Since 1996 he has also been an Internet professional, and was responsible for building the original Easyjet ecommerce site. He recently started a consultancy (tambalaconsulting.com and /blog) and has defined the service features for the new D2C platform (d2mondo.com) for building artist-fan sites with eCommerce and community.

Rudy has two distinct roles within the digital arena:

• Strategy and implementation, specialising in the areas of direct-to-consumer (D2C), combining technology, eCommerce and social marketing.

• Innovation – developing solutions that make organisations more competitive and more efficient, applying his experience from the areas of technology, new media, eLearning, digital marketing and ecommerce.

Electro-punk dance act the Prodigy have announced that they will play their biggest headline show yet next summer, at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes on 24^th July 2010. Promoters SJM will be releasing the first 12,000 tickets to be sold exclusively through the Prodigy’s online store, managed by leading direct-to-consumer services provider Digital Stores.

Tickets for the 45,000 capacity open air concert went on sale through the Prodigy’s Official Online Store on Wednesday 29^th October at 9:30am. The remaining 33,000 tickets will go on general sale on Friday 30^th October at 9:30am.

Simon Coates, Commercial director of Digital Stores said, “It’s amazing for us to be part of The Prodigy’s biggest ever solo event.  The past twelve months have been a whirlwind for the band, and it’s been a privilege for us to be part of such a massively successful comeback.  It’s also become clear to us that the Prodigy now reach across generations, with more new fans coming onboard all the time.”

Gates for the concert will open at 1:30pm for what promises to be a highlight of next summer’s programme at the venue, a former clay pit that has played host to the likes of Genesis, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Bon Jovi, Queen and 50 Cent. Tickets (limited to four per person) will cost £42.50 and the lineup will include Pendulum, Enter Shikari, Chase And Status, Does It Offend You Yeah? and DJ Zane Lowe in support.

The Prodigy, signed to Cooking Vinyl, are currently one of the biggest bands in the UK, with record sales outstripping any other band on an independent label, and with a career that stretches back to 1991.

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NOTES FOR EDITORS:

The band are also playing the following previously-announced tour in January:
Doncaster Dome (January 21)
Bridlington Spa (22)
Blackpool Empress Ballroom (23)
Plymouth Pavilions (25)
Southend Cliffs Pavilion (26)
Bournemouth International Centre (27)
O2 Academy Glasgow (31)

ABOUT DIGITAL STORES:

Digital Stores is the UK’s leading direct-to-consumer retail services company, providing entertainment brands with complete end-to-end e-commerce, live-event ticketing, interactive marketing, data collection & fulfilment services.

The company builds and runs online stores for globally recognised, high profile entertainment and character brands including:

• The Beatles
• Queen
• Cartoon Network
• ITV

The state of the art e-commerce system allows fans to purchase a wide variety of products from clients’ stores in one single transaction, including:

• Tickets
• Digital Downloads
• Merchandise
• CDs & DVDs

The company also owns and operates the award winning, independent online retailer recordstore.co.uk.

For more information, please visit www.digitalstores.co.uk

ITV Studios Global Entertainment today launched its new, direct-to-customer Coronation Street online store ITV.com/Corrie. The official store, powered by online retail specialist Digital Stores, will retail consumer product and home entertainment. Coronation Street is sponsored on ITV1 and at itv.com by Harveys –The Furniture Store.

The all-new ITV.com/Corrie online store is an integrated part of the official Coronation Street official website, which features episodes, news, previews, clips, pictures and exclusively commissioned Corrie video. The ITV.com/Corrie store is the first programme-branded merchandise stall from ITV.com and the first-ever official online outlet to retail all current Coronation Street product in one destination. The ITV.com/Corrie store will launching with more than thirty-five different Corrie products by Christmas 2009, spanning DVD, books, calendars, gifting, stationery, gaming, lifestyle, apparel and exclusive to ITV.com Coronation Street consumer competitions.

Earlier this year, ITV Studios Global Entertainment announced a portfolio of newly commissioned deals, including the hilarious and second feature-length exclusive-to-DVD release of Coronation Street Romanian Holiday starring Julie Hesmondhalgh, David Neilson and Katherine Kelly (which is released nationwide in the UK on 26/10/09), the limited edition Monopoly: Coronation Street board-game and The Girls of Coronation Street 2010 fashion calendar. All of which will be available to purchase at www.ITV.com/Corrie from today.

Steve Gallant, Director of Home Entertainment & Digital at ITV Studios Global Entertainment said: “Core to our strategy is the creation and exploitation of high-quality brand extensions for ITV Studios’ biggest shows, distributing them across traditional, online and digital outlets. Coronation Street will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2010 and remains the nation’s most watched, and loved, television drama. It made perfect sense to put the masses of quality Corrie products at the finger tips of the millions of Corrie fans from around the world, in what is the first-ever official Coronation Street one-stop shop.”

Kate Bradshaw, Deputy MD & Head of Online Commissioning, ITV.com said: “ITV.com/Corrie celebrated a record breaking September, reaching more than 742K unique users, an increase of 140 per cent year on year.”

“We’re very excited to be launching the newly created and branded Corrie store today, bringing together an extremely compelling mix of Corrie video, entertainment, news and shopping all in one place – the perfect destination for all fans.”

ITV.com/Corrie online shop is powered by Digital Stores, the direct-to-consumer e-commerce retail specialist behind online stores for The Beatles and Queen. Simon Moxon, sales director at Digital Stores added: “Direct-to-consumer sites are a growing part of the world of online retailing, offering a unique experience for consumers and a great opportunity for brands. The potential is vast and we’re excited to be helping Britain’s most watched TV show realise it.”

Coronation Street is the UK’s longest running primetime television drama and is sponsored on broadcast and online by Harveys – The Furniture Store. In 2010 the hugely popular series will celebrate its 50th anniversary on ITV1. To coincide with the historic occasion, ITV Studios Global Entertainment has announced it will bring together a portfolio of licensed promotional partners, collectively called Coronation Street 50th Anniversary Best of British brands. Confirmed promotional brands include Warburtons and Coronation Street’s official sponsor Harveys – The Furniture Store.

For further information contact:

Louise Evans

Head of Corporate Communications

ITV plc

Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7157 3710

Email: Louise.Evans@ITV.com David Reiss

PR Manager

ITV STUDIOS

Telephone: +44 (0) 207 157 6186

Email: David.Reiss@ITV.com

ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment is one of the World’s leading international TV distribution, home-entertainment, publishing, merchandising and licensing businesses. ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment proudly represents more than 35,000 hours of critically celebrated and hugely-popular original and formatted programming from ITV STUDIOS and leading independent producers. ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment world-class portfolio includes Hell’s Kitchen, Come Dine with Me, Dancing on Ice, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, The Colour of Money, Coronation Street, Agatha Christie’s Marple and Poirot, Morse, Prime Suspect and the highly anticipated The Prisoner. Based in London, Cologne, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro and Sydney, ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment is an integrated part of ITV STUDIOS, led by Lee Bartlett, Managing Director.

ABOUT DIGITAL STORES:

Digital Stores is the UK’s leading direct-to-consumer retail services company, providing entertainment brands with complete end-to-end e-commerce, live-event ticketing, interactive marketing, data collection & fulfilment services.

Back in May, the band announced that the music business had changed to an extent that albums were no longer a priority and that single sales were the future. They announced that they would be releasing a single a fortnight on 7” and download for 26 releases – covering an entire year.

Recordstore.co.uk has been chosen as the exclusive retailer for the subscription service in the UK – which costs £130 – meaning that the sales for every single and subscription will count towards chart position.

The store has a habit of grabbing big name exclusives in their store, with War Child, Idlewild, Mumford & Sons, Johnny Foreigner and Biffy Clyro amongst the acts who have recently sold signed records exclusively on the site, which is run through leading D2C and e-commerce provider Digital Stores. This is due to chart eligibility, ease of use and popularity of the site, which has grown rapidly since its launch in 2000.

Steve Wheeler, manager of Recordstore.co.uk said: “being chosen by an innovative and popular band like Ash is testament to the quality service that Recordstore.co.uk provides forward-thinking labels and artists.

“Being chart eligible is of huge importance, and with a well selling subscription service, selling through Recordstore.co.uk will enable Ash to have an unprecedented 26 hit singles in just twelve months.”

The first single from the A-Z Series, entitled ‘True Love 1980’ is out today. Buy the single or the subscription package from http://tinyurl.com/recordstoreash
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About Recordstore.co.uk:

By maintaining a firmly independent stance Recordstore.co.uk has established itself as the key destination for indie music online. With chart eligibility and a habit for shifting significant numbers of exciting and exclusive records, Recordstore.co.uk is the key online retail outlet for labels, new acts and classic albums.

For more information, visit www.recordstore.co.uk

The event is part of children’s music charity Youth Music‘s 10th Birthday celebrations, and more than 70 of the world’s biggest musicians and visual artists have created a new body of artwork that will be exhibited and auctioned to support the charity. Artists including Damien Hirst, Debbie Harry, U2 and Michael Stipe have created their own unique interpretations of photographer Rankin’s iconic photographs of musicians.

The gigs will showcase two of the UK’s biggest artists, Little Boots and The Enemy who will be performing intimate shows at the Phillips de Pury gallery on 12th and 13th November.

For Youth Music, the UK’s biggest children’s music charity, the project is a major fundraiser and opportunity to celebrate its 10th Birthday with endorsement from the world’s greatest musicians and artists.

Simon Moxon, Sales Director Digital Stores, said: “This is a wonderful event to be a part of and it is an honour to be helping Youth Music with their tenth birthday celebrations. They do fantastic work and we’re proud to be associated with the event.”

Digital Stores have experienced unprecedented growth in the past year, and now provide online stores for The Beatles, Oasis, The Prodigy, Madness, Queen and Placebo amongst many others. They are the market leader in the rapidly growing D2C market and also operate the acclaimed recordstore.co.uk.