• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, May 3, 2005

Chevrolet and America Online Tuesday announced a major partnership giving the automotive manufacturer exclusive sponsorship rights to AOL Music's live, in-studio performance program known as AOL Music Sessions. Chevrolet also is taking part in the co-branded initiative tied into Sessions, "Chevy Backstage Pass," which compiles selected AOL Music features such as performance clips, photos, and interviews.

"Using our programming as a defining strength, we're creating highly sought-after areas on the Internet that advertisers can be a part of," said Mike Kelly, president of AOL Media Networks.

This is the largest single sponsorship deal yet for AOL Music, Kelly said. He declined to provide financial terms, but one analyst contacted by OnlineMediaDaily estimated the deal to be worth around $5 million.

Chevy has invested in online advertising before, according to a company spokeswoman. For instance, the car manufacturer ran a series of banner ads on Yahoo!'s home page for New Year's Eve 2003.

AOL's partnership with Chevrolet is one of several preferred corporate sponsorships, said Kelly, who cited as another example AOL's deal to deliver weekly online recaps of ABC's hit "Desperate Housewives," which is sponsored by General Motors' luxury brand Buick.

As part of AOL's broader effort to attract advertisers and Web traffic, AOL Music just signed a licensing agreement with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group for the use of their music video libraries.

The deal with Chevrolet, according to Kelly, was not dependent upon the licensing agreement with Universal and Warner because AOL Music Sessions is made up of AOL's own original content.