FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Conduit, the recognized leader in creating breakthrough engagement solutions for web and mobile publishers, today announced a brand partnership with Sweet Relief, a leading non-profit organization dedicated to helping musicians in need.
Sweet Relief’s new mobile app, now available in Apple’s App Store and at Google Play, could not come at a better time. “We had this app in development, but rushed it to completion given the difficult circumstances in the wake of Hurricane Sandy,” said Li-at Karpel Gurwicz, Mobile Marketing Manager at Conduit. “Many musicians struggle financially during the best of times. Our partnership with Sweet Relief allows people to donate to these artists and relief funds directly from any smartphone. In addition, auction items available through Sweet Relief's fundraising program are available for bidding via the app – with some items available exclusively on the app."
New York-area radio station WGBO described the impact the hurricane had on the music community in New York, reporting that “Hurricane Sandy swept away the electricity, homes and livelihoods of many musicians. Music-rich neighborhoods, including Manhattan’s Lower East Side and West Village, and Brooklyn’s Red Hook, were seriously damaged.”
“Our mission has never been more critical than now,” said Rob Max, Executive Director of the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund. “Events like Hurricane Sandy highlight the importance for people to be able to connect with our community and assist musicians in a direct and meaningful way. Conduit helped us develop a mobile app that gives music fans and supporters everywhere more opportunities to do just that. For example, now people can use our app to bid on a guitar signed by Neil Young, while they're attending one of our many benefit concerts held across the country. The new app is a great tool to enhance our mission."
Sweet Relief Musicians Fund provides financial aid for medical, housing, food, and other vital expenses to career musicians who are suffering from illness, disability, or age-related problems. In response to Hurricane Sandy, Sweet Relief organized benefit concerts and established a relief fund, with 100% of the donations and auction proceeds going directly to provide food and medicine for those hardest hit.
Sweet Relief's supporters include hundreds of prominent musicians and concert venues, ranging from Beyoncé to Bon Jovi to Bruce Springsteen. For a complete list of supporters, visit: https://www.sweetrelief.org/sweetrelief/supporters/.
The Sweet Relief app from Conduit offers users a great mobile experience, with features including:
- The ability to donate funds and bid on unique auction items directly from a smartphone
- An events calendar, for users to stay up-to-date on the latest events and concerts
- Links to Sweet Relief's supporters, with additional information on hundreds of artists, venues – and their involvement with the organization
- Facebook and Twitter integration, for the music community to engage their favorite musicians, find information, and share ways to help
- An integrated photo center highlighting Sweet Relief musicians
- Custom maps that highlight donation centers – where users can contribute their time, equipment, and resources in person
The Sweet Relief app is the most recent in a series of partnerships Conduit Mobile has developed with different music entities. Other collaborative efforts include innovative and customized apps with BandPage and The Orchard, as well as its partnership with Warner Music Group.
About Conduit
Conduit provides cloud-based solutions that empower web and mobile publishers to engage their users across multiple platforms. From Community Toolbars and mobile apps to mobile-friendly sites and web bars, the company’s products enable publishers to constantly connect with their users wherever they are. Founded in 2005, Conduit has grown in just seven short years to be Israel’s largest Internet company, worth close to $1.5B in its latest valuation. Today, more than 260,000 publishers of all sizes leverage the company’s innovative solutions to generate billions of monthly interactions with over 250 million end users. Some of Conduit’s loyal partners include Groupon, Fox News, Time Warner Cable, Travelocity, The Weather Channel, and other major Internet, media, and communication brands.
About Sweet Relief
Since 1994, Sweet Relief Musicians Fund has provided assistance to all types of career musicians who are struggling to make ends meet while facing illness, disability, or age-related problems. Grant recipients include recording artists, club and session musicians, composers & songwriters from across the country. Every musical genre is represented including pop, rock, jazz, classical, country, blues, reggae, hip hop and all styles in between. Sweet Relief has served the music community by helping musicians with medical and living expenses including insurance premiums, prescriptions, medical treatment and operative procedures, housing costs, food costs, utilities and other basic necessities.