The GSMA today announced that Black Eyed Peas front man, will.i.am, will be among the headline speakers at Mobile Backstage, a special one-day Mobile Entertainment focused conference on 19 February, as part of the
2009 GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
In his keynote interview, Emmy Award-winning musician will.i.am will share his perspective as a world-leading music artist on the potential to reach a global fan base via the mobile phone. The role of mobile as a distributive, collaborative and creative tool for music will also be explored, as well as the political impact of music, with will.i.am drawing upon his experiences of writing and performing the Barack Obama song “Yes We Can” using sound bites from Obama’s speeches.

“Mobile is the medium for the masses,” said will.i.am. “With nearly four billion mobile connections across the globe, the potential for mobile to change not only how the world consumes entertainment but also interacts with it is enormous. Mobile Backstage provides a unique forum for discussing both the business of delivering and the art of creating content.”

As well as star-powered keynote interviews, Mobile Backstage will feature innovative case studies and panel sessions that explore the role of mobile entertainment within the vision of a mobile lifestyle.

Also appearing will be two-time Academy Award-winning actor and director Kevin Spacey, who will host the Mofilm Short Film Festival, plus social networking entrepreneur Chris De Wolfe, founder and CEO of MySpace, who will lead the speaker line up for the one-day conference.

“With master-class insights from artists and mobile industry thought leaders who are pioneering new and innovative ways to create and deliver mobile entertainment, Mobile Backstage will provide a unique glimpse behind the content curtain,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer for the GSMA.

For more information on Mobile World Congress, visit www.mobileworldcongress.com
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