VH1 and Palladia, Viacom Media Networks' hi-def music channel, will simultaneously premiere the award-winning documentary "Artifact" from Academy Award-winner Jared Leto ("Dallas Buyer's Club"), which chronicles the harsh realities of the modern music business. The film follows Leto's band, Thirty Seconds to Mars, throughout its multi-year, multi-million dollar legal dispute between the band and its label, Virgin/EMI, as the group prepped their 2009 album, This Is War. "Artifact" will make its television premiere tonight, April 26th at 11 PM ET/PT on both VH1 and Palladia. It will air on MTV channels later this summer. The film will also be available on-demand in the VH1 app.
Leto, along with fellow bandmates Shannon Leto and Tomo Milicevic, opened their lives for documentary cameras to give an inside look at how Thirty Seconds to Mars overcame a debilitating legal dispute with their label that nearly cost them everything. In 2008, Thirty Seconds to Mars was sued for $30 million by Virign/EMI, the band's parent label, for breach of contract following the group's attempted
Exit from its agreement over a royalties dispute. What follows is an epic battle between artist and label, with music and art caught in the legal crossfire.
"Music is in the DNA at
VH1 and
Palladia is all about the creative power of artists, so we naturally jumped at the chance to give our audience the fascinating, insider's look at the state of the music industry by premiering Artifact,'" said
Tom Calderone, President,
VH1 + Palladia. "Jared, Shannon and Tomo give us such an intimate, candid, unfiltered and compelling look at the state of the industry. We know Artifact' will resonate with our viewers."
"I hope that artists and audiences watch this film and get a greater understanding of how things work in the music industry, because understanding is the beginning of change," said
Jared Leto. "Inevitably, we're all moving towards what I hope is a more
Transparent system."
"Artifact" took home the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice documentary award and the Audience Award at the 22nd Gotham Independent Film Awards. The film also played at DOC NYC and SXSW.
"Artifact" is produced by
Jared Leto and Emma Ludbrook.
For more information on "Artifact,"
VH1 and Palladia, visit VH1.com and Palladia.tv.
About VH1
VH1 delivers the ultimate mash-up of music, pop culture and nostalgia for adults who still want to have fun.
VH1 is available in 99 million households in the U.S.
VH1 also has an array of digital channels and services including
VH1 Classic,
VH1 Soul, the
VH1 App, VH1.com and @VH1, the
HUB for all things music and pop culture. Fans may also access current and retro
VH1 programming via the
VH1 App, the network's three-in-one video, new form content and co-viewing app, available for free on iOS and Android platforms.
VH1 is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.
About Palladia
Palladia, Viacom Media Networks' high-definition music channel, launched in January 2006 and features original music-based programming for a variety of music genres, including hip hop, rock, country, pop, contemporary, classic rock, alternative rock, soul and more, as well as HDTV acquisitions and original content from Viacom Music Group's MTV, VH1, and
CMT family of services. The channel has grown to 32 million households and is available on major U.S. carriers including Comcast, Cox, Verizon FiOS, Time Warner, Dish, DIRECTV, Charter, AT&T u-Verse, Cablevision and Insight. For more information on Palladia, visit Palladia.tv, the
Palladia Facebook page and @Palladia on Twitter.
About Thirty Seconds to Mars:
THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS comprising
Jared Leto, Shannon Leto and Tomo Milicevic has sold over five million albums worldwide and the band's videos have more than 300 million views on YouTube. The group has received numerous awards, including a dozen
MTV awards worldwide, a Billboard Music award and honors from NME, Kerrang! and Fuse. The band released their 4th studio album LUST LOVE FAITH + DREAMS (Virgin Records) on March 18th, 2013, which debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200 in May. The album's single "City Of Angels" went top 10 and continues to grow on the alternative radio airplay charts. A short film inspired by the single was released on October 29th, 2013 which tells the story about Los Angeles and features and eclectic cast of characters including
Kanye West, Steve Nash,
Alan Cumming,
Lindsay Lohan,
Juliette Lewis,
Selena Gomez,
Shaun White,
Ashley Olsen and more. Last December, the band released their critically acclaimed music documentary ARTIFACT on iTunes worldwide which chronicles the band's legal battles with record label EMI. The band just released their newest single, "Do or Die." They are currently on tour and will join forces with
Linkin Park this summer for a North American tour, which includes special guests AFI. For more information please visit www.thirtysecondstomars.com.
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