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AOL withdraws sponsorship of Summer Music Fest
AOL pulled its sponsorship of the Loudoun Summer Music Fest last week, leaving the popular concert series unsure how it will pay for its fifth season in 2008.“We get our funding [from AOL] every January, and to find out 30 days before we were supposed to get it -- it does put us in a bind,” said Tracey Parent, president of the Loudoun Foundation, which has organized the outdoor concerts at the Belmont Country Club in Ashburn since 2004.
AOL was the co-founding sponsor of the event, providing the largest single donation, ranging from $65-$80,000 a year, Parent said.
In an e-mailed statement, AOL spokeswoman Anne Bentley said, “While we remain focused on Loudoun County, we have re-evaluated our Community Investment activities for 2008 to reflect our growing global business strategy. We wish the Loudoun Summer Music Fest continued success.”
This is the latest news from AOL that indicates a shift away from its involvement with the Loudoun community. In September, the company announced it was moving its headquarters from Loudoun to New York City as part of the company’s shift from a subscription-based to an advertising-based business model.
In October AOL announced 750 layoffs in Northern Virginia, most at the Dulles campus, part of a reduction of 2,000 jobs globally.
Parent said she was grateful for the years of past support from AOL and was optimistic that another donor would step up in time to secure bands for next summer’s series.
“I really think everything happens for a reason,” Parent said. Lead sponsorship is a great opportunity for another business in the area, she said. The sponsorships, she said, allow the tickets to remain inexpensive -- $12 each.
“We have faith that the community wants this to continue.”
But time is getting short. “If we don't pull together our funding by January, it'll be really hard to book the bands,” Parent said.
The outdoor concert series, started in 2004, has attracted such national acts as The Black Crowes, Pat Benatar and Peter Frampton.
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