Taco Bell brings back 'Feed the Beat' promoTaco Bell brings back 'Feed the Beat' promo

Lisa Jennings

IRVINE Calif. Taco Bell is turning up the volume on its annual Feed the Beat promotion this year with a new partnership with MTV aimed at helping up-and-coming bands get exposure for their music, officials said Thursday.

Over the past three years, Taco Bell has rewarded 165 indie rock acts with free Fourthmeal dining — what the company has dubbed the late-night dining between dinner and breakfast — to fuel new bands on tour but also to appeal to the young customers who follow such music.

Other brands also have targeted young indie rock fans, including Denny’s, which last year launched an All Nighter menu with an associated Adopt-A-Band program allowing bands to eat free while on tour. The chain also invites band members into restaurant kitchens to develop menu items featured on Denny’s “Rockstar Menu,” also available during the late-night daypart.

As in past years, Taco Bell will conduct a nationwide search for 100 bands that will be given a one-month supply of Fourthmeal, or $500 in $5 coupons per band.

In addition, this year Taco Bell will sponsor several of MTV parent Viacom’s entertainment events, such as the MTV Video Music Awards, the MTV Movie Awards, the VH1 Hip-Hop Honors and others.

The 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, scheduled for Sunday in New York, will launch this year’s search for the Feed the Beat recruitment, which will run through Sept. 30. Rules are available at www.feedthebeat.com.

Bands that have been selected in the past include Cobra Starship, 30H!3, the Gaslight Anthem, Manchester Orchestra, Underoath and Blitzen Trapper.

Irvine, Calif.-based Taco Bell, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands Inc., operates or franchises nearly 5,600 restaurants in the U.S.

Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].