Spin Wants to Rock Foursquare at SXSW Again

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Spin magazine is offering Foursquare users the chance to win free concert tickets at the South-By-Southwest music festival. Twenty winners will be able to attend the music publication's SXSW party on March 18 that will feature notable indie rock bands TV On The Radio and The Kills (pictured).

To participate, they are required to follow the 25-year-old brand on Foursquare and to see one band from Spin's "35 Must-Hear Acts" list. By doing this, the geo-social users will unlock the "SPINsider" badge. Then, they will need to be one of the first five people on March 17 and 18 to present the badge at the "SPIN Lounge" on Austin, TX's 6th Street, a renowned corridor in the music industry. Winners will get two tickets per person.

"We're using Foursquare's 'to-do' and 'tips' products," Mike Albanese, associate publisher for New York-based Spin, told ClickZ. "It lets Spin's editorial voice and recommendations live in those channels."

Albanese said his magazine ran a similar badge-based initiative at last year's music festival and picked up 10,000 Foursquare followers. "We had a whole bunch of check-ins," he said. "SXSW is where music and technology converge. When you talk about digital properties, it's right in the bulls-eye of the audience that we are speaking to."

Meanwhile, Spin is one of a bevy of publishers that have utilized Foursquare as a geo-social promotional vehicle in the last year. Others include People magazine, CNN.com, Zagat, and Time Out New York.