• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, July 11, 2005

Clear Channel Communications will shift about a quarter of its marketing budget from offline to online promotions for summer music concerts, under a major partnership agreement announced last week between Clear Channel and Yahoo!.

Yahoo! Music will promote 150 of Clear Channel's concerts, and information about the music events will be made available throughout the Yahoo! network. Also, information on ticket availability for concerts will be sent to Yahoo! users. Alerts will be tailored based on geographic and demographic data, Clear Channel said.

A recent Clear Channel survey showed that 70 percent of respondents said they get their concert information online. "The Internet has become a primary information source for concert fans and that prompted us to shake up traditional concert marketing," Michael Rapino, president and CEO of Clear Channel Music Group, said in a statement.

Some of the acts scheduled to tour this summer under Clear Channel's purview include Eminem, Coldplay, the Dave Matthews Band, 50 Cent, and James Taylor.