British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST, on the verge of releasing their first new album in three years, pre-released the title track to "Nostradamus" via the ReverbNation TuneWidget on April 21 to a throng of hungry fans. The TuneWidget was initially placed on only four web sites but allowed fans to grab it and embed it on their MySpace pages and blogs, leading to over 200,000 impressions on launch day alone. The results of this strategy were overwhelming. The track was streamed once every two seconds during the first 24-hour period. Fans who listened or received the download were directed to the JUDAS PRIEST web site where they could pre-order the album, scheduled for release on June 17.

"The Tunewidget allowed us to get an enormous viral spread that has helped us kickstart our new campaign," said Jason Lekberg, Manager of Digital Marketing at Epic Records. "The first-day numbers are impressive and the growth has continued, culminating in nearly 700k impressions, and well over 100k streams in the first week. The TuneWidget gives us an ongoing marketing channel, allowing us to continue to promote the Artist on the 500+ URLs that PRIEST fans have placed it on. In addition, the TuneWidget integrates a mailing list collection tool that has drawn nearly 700 new signups without any prompts from us. We even get real-time demographic data like age, gender, and location on the fans that signup, giving us insight into the segments that are reacting to the music. The Tunewidget is a must have tool for any artists viral campaign."

"We are ecstatic at the results that JUDAS PRIEST has realized," said Jed Carlson, Co-Founder and COO of ReverbNation.com. "TuneWidget was designed to deliver viral promotional impact in conjunction with additional ongoing value like email collection and demographic data. Artists only get one chance to release a new single to the public, and they should capitalize on it in as many ways as possible."

FMQB Productions is currently hosting a reduced-quality Real Audio file containing the first single from JUDAS PRIEST's forthcoming double-disc concept album, "Nostradamus". Check out the song "Visions" — which was premiered on Friday night's (May 2) edition of the "Friday Night Rocks" radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM — by clicking on the play button below (scroll down below the ReverbNation TuneWidget). (Note: You must have Real Player installed and use Internet Explorer in order to play/see the file.) The single is expected to impact "Rock" and "Active Rock" radio on May 13.



"Visions" (Real Player and Internet Explorer required to play/see file):