MTV and VH1 are hosting the world premiere of Rihanna?s ?Hard? video featuring Young Jeezy across mobile, online and on-air.

?Hard? will premiere on VH1, VH1 Soul, MTV, MTV2, MTV Hits, MTV Jams, MTVU, MTV Tr3s, VH1.com, MTV.com, VH1 Mobile and MTV Mobile, the networks? Facebook and MySpace pages and on Rihanna?s official site, Facebook and MySpace. The video will premiere across the various channels on Dec. 17 at 4 p.m. EST.

?The idea is to leverage the broadest reach of MTV and VH1 in an effort to serve our audience wherever they happen to be ? whether it's watching TV, online at MTV.com or VH1.com, on Facebook or on mobile devices,? said Kristin Frank, general manager of MTV.com and VH1.com, New York. ?We know our audiences are not simply using just one of our screens, so our strategy is to go to them wherever they may be.

?This is something that's relevant for any and all of our programming, including music video premieres,? she said. ?And a benefit of programming on multiple screens is that we can include the users? voice, as well as the artists? voice to all platforms.

?The ongoing dialogue between an artist, a fan and us becomes important texture to the experience.?

Rihanna is a Grammy-winning singer known for hit songs such as ?Disturbia? and ?Umbrella.?

Multichannel branding
The singer recently partnered with handset manufacturer Nokia to launch the music artist?s new album on multiple platforms ? including mobile.

Consumers could buy Rihanna?s new album, ?Rated R,? through the Nokia Ovi Store. The mobile download will come with exclusive content such as new tracks and concert footage (see story).

Rihanna will participate in the video premiere by sending messages to her fans.

The messages will appear alongside the video online.

Fans are also encouraged to submit messages via the online player.

Both MTV Mobile and VH1 Mobile are offering one exclusive Rihanna ringtone each.

Monthly VH1 or MTV Mobile ringtone subscribers can get the ringtone by going to http://m.MTV.com or http://m.VH1.com.
Ms. Frank said mobile was chosen in an effort to reach music fans on whichever platform suits them best at any given moment.

?Both MTV?s and VH1?s demos are extremely savvy on mobile and expect to see the content they love on their handsets,? Ms. Frank said. ?We have been giving our users extensive content on mobile for years now.

?At this point they have grown to expect it,? she said. ?The real question is that as multiplatform brands, why wouldn't we include mobile in this launch??

Ms. Frank said besides the programming piece, mobile can also drive direct-to-consumer revenue for labels, artists and MTV and VH1 through such items as ringtone sales.

For MTV, the target mobile demographic is consumers 12-34-years-old.

VH1?s target mobile demographic  is consumers between the ages of 18-49.

Ms. Frank said it is extremely important for a music artist to have a multichannel brand.

?Artists need to be everywhere their fans are,? Ms. Frank said. ?Music labels, as we do, recognize that their audience is consuming content on multiple screens in increasing volume, which means that artists and their music need to be in front of people wherever they might be ? whether it?s in front of a television, a computer screen or their mobile devices.?