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DigiTour Media

{{Short description|Touring and festival production company}}

{{Infobox music festival

| music_festival_name = DigiTour

| image =

| caption =

| location = United States, Canada, United Kingdom

| years_active = 2010–2018

| founders = Meridith Valiando Rojas, Christopher Rojas

| dates =

| genre = Pop, rock, alternative rock, hip hop

| website =

| attendance = 2011: 3,500
2012: 6,000
2013: 18,000
2014: 110,000
2015: 300,000

}}

DigiTour Media was a touring and social media festival production company, known for producing the world's first social media tour.{{cite web|author=DigiTour Media LLC |url=http://www.prlog.org/12120651-the-digitour-presents-digifest-nyc-june-1st-at-terminal-5.html |title=The DigiTour Presents: DigiFest NYC - June 1st at Terminal 5 |publisher=PRLog |date=2013-04-17 |accessdate=2014-05-21}} DigiTour events were held in venues such as theaters, amphitheaters, and parking lots or fields upon which the stages and other structures were erected. The tour began as a showcase for social media stars from YouTube, but its roster of performers expanded to include Vine, Twitter, and Instagram stars as well as traditional pop music stars.

Overview

DigiTour Media would produce live events and unique content that featured some of the most popular acts on YouTube.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2012/02/18/meridith-valiando-is-bringing-youtube-to-concert-halls |title=Meridith Valiando Is Bringing YouTube To Concert Halls |work=Forbes |date=2012-02-18 |accessdate=2014-05-21}} DigiFest NYC, a full-day festival property formerly owned by DigiTour, was typically held on the first Saturday of June in New York City.{{cite web |author= |url=http://www.fanlala.com/news/digitour-coming-your-city |title=DigiFest NYC is Kicking Off the DigiTour! |publisher=Fanlala.com |date=2013-05-01 |accessdate=2014-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512222145/http://www.fanlala.com/news/digitour-coming-your-city |archive-date=2014-05-12 |url-status=dead }} Many of the acts at DigiTour events would not get their music played on the radio, yet they would continually sell out DigiTour's multiple events with their tens of millions of fans.{{cite web|last=Coscarelli |first=Joe |url=http://nymag.com/news/media/internet-fame/intro-2014-4/ |title=The Weird World of Internet Fame - New York Magazine |publisher=Nymag.com |date=2014-04-20 |accessdate=2014-05-21}}

DigiTour successfully secured multiple brand sponsorships from companies such as Intel, Google, Sony, and Gibson.{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/12/nj-ca-hello-digitour-idUSnPnCGd5RtB+165+PRN20131212 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512224052/http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/12/nj-ca-hello-digitour-idUSnPnCGd5RtB+165+PRN20131212 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2014-05-12 |title=Hello® Teams Up with The DigiTour for Digifest LA 2013 |publisher=Reuters |date=2013-12-12 |accessdate=2014-05-21}} On May 15, 2014, the company announced strategic investments from Ryan Seacrest and Advance Publications, parent company of Conde Nast.{{cite web|author=Todd Spangler|url=https://variety.com/2014/digital/news/ryan-seacrest-advance-publications-invest-in-digitour-a-youtube-concert-promoter-1201182222/ |title=Ryan Seacrest, Advance Publications Invest in DigiTour, a YouTube Concert Promoter |publisher=Variety |date=2014-05-15 |accessdate=2014-05-21}}

The company has been seemingly dormant since about 2018, with no announcement for any tours or events in the time since.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}

History

DigiTour Media was founded in 2010 by music executive Meridith Valiando Rojas and multi-platinum music producer Christopher Rojas.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2012/02/18/meridith-valiando-is-bringing-youtube-to-concert-halls/ |title=Meridith Valiando Is Bringing YouTube To Concert Halls |work=Forbes |date=2012-02-18 |accessdate=2014-05-21}} DigiTour has produced over 70 events as of 2013,{{cite web|url=http://www.soundctrl.com/digifest-the-youtube-music-festival-hits-nyc-june-1st/ |title=The Youtube Music Festival DigiFest hits NYC June 1st |publisher=SoundCtrl |date= |accessdate=2014-05-21}} including all-day festivals, which feature 40–80 artists, as well as month-long tours.{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.kidzworld.com/article/25337-the-digitour-youtubes-first-ever-tour |title=The DigiTour: YouTube's First Ever Tour! |publisher=Kidzworld.com |date=2011-02-17 |accessdate=2014-05-21}}

The first DigiTour took place in 2011 and was sponsored by YouTube.{{cite web|url=http://youtube-global.blogspot.com/2011/04/digitour-live-from-google-hq.html |title=Official Blog: The DigiTour: Live from Google HQ! |publisher=Youtube-global.blogspot.com |date=2011-04-07 |accessdate=2014-05-21}} The 27-city tour began with a multi-camera livestream at the Google Headquarters in Mountainview, California, on April 8, 2011. Top musician Britney Spears attended the opening night of the tour at the El Rey Theater.{{cite web|url=http://www.eonline.com/news/236190/britney-spears-goes-undercover-at-l-a-concert |title=Britney Spears Goes Undercover at L.A. Concert | E! Online UK |publisher=Eonline.com |date=2011-04-13 |accessdate=2014-05-21}}

The second DigiTour took place in 2012 and traveled to 18 cities including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Orlando, Toronto, and New York City.{{cite web|url=http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2012/02/digitour-2012-brings-youtube-music-stars-to-live-stages.html |title=DigiTour 2012 Brings YouTube Music Stars To Stage |publisher=hypebot |date=2012-02-18 |accessdate=2014-05-21}}

The first DigiFest took place on June 1, 2013, at Terminal 5 in New York City and was headlined by Pentatonix and Allstar Weekend.

DigiTour 2013 showcased the most popular British YouTube personalities. Over 11,000 fans attended shows in Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia, and New York.{{cite web|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20130828005416/en/British-Coming-DigiTour-2013#.U3BNeC_xL3o |title=The British Are Coming to DigiTour 2013 |publisher=Business Wire |date=2013-08-28 |accessdate=2014-05-21}}

DigiFest LA took place on December 14, 2013, and was dubbed the largest YouTube music festival by Just Jared.{{cite web|url=http://www.sugarscape.com/main-topics/celebrities/1000873/bella-thorne-rebecca-black-and-noah-cyrus-hit-digifest-la-pics |title=Bella Thorne, Rebecca Black and Noah Cyrus hit DigiFest LA - PICS |publisher=Sugarscape |date= |accessdate=2014-05-21}} The event featured over 50 performances and was headlined by rapper Hoodie Allen.{{cite web|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hello-teams-up-with-the-digitour-for-digifest-la-2013-235608931.html |title=Hello® Teams Up with The DigiTour for Digifest LA... - MONTCLAIR, N.J. and LOS ANGELES, Dec. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ |publisher=Prnewswire.com |date=2013-12-12 |accessdate=2014-05-21}} Teen actors Bella Thorne, Madison Pettis, Blake Michael, and Jake Short also made on-stage appearances, with James Maslow of Big Time Rush and Darren Criss of Glee in attendance.{{cite web |author= |url=http://www.fanlala.com/news/we-got-check-out-digifest-la-2013 |title=We Got to Check Out DigiFest LA 2013 |publisher=Fanlala.com |date=2013-12-17 |accessdate=2014-05-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512223659/http://www.fanlala.com/news/we-got-check-out-digifest-la-2013 |archive-date=2014-05-12 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://alexisjoyvipaccess.wordpress.com/tag/james-maslow/ |title=James Maslow | alexisjoyvipaccess |publisher=Alexisjoyvipaccess.wordpress.com |date=2013-12-21 |accessdate=2014-05-21}}

Nearly 100,000 fans attended DigiTour events in the United States, Canada, and Europe in 2014.{{cite web|last=Jarvey |first=Natalie |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ryan-seacrest-adds-youtube-event-704265 |title=Ryan Seacrest Adds YouTube Event Firm DigiTour to Investment Portfolio |publisher=Hollywood Reporter |date=2014-05-15 |accessdate=2015-03-07}} The company and Disney Music Group formed in June 2017 RMI Recordings, a new label for "digital-first" talent.{{cite news |last1=Gensler |first1=Andy |title=Disney Music and DigiTour Media Co-Founders Launch RMI Recordings Label: Exclusive |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/7834143/disney-music-and-digitour-media-co-founders-launch-rmi-recordings-label |accessdate=October 22, 2018 |work=Billboard |date=June 20, 2017}}

Notable performers

{{refimprove-section|date=September 2024}}

Notable DigiTour and DigiFest entertainers include:

References

{{Reflist|2}}

Category:Rock festivals in the United States

Category:Concert tours