North American-based companies will spend $1.08
billion to sponsor music venues, festivals and tours in 2009, a 3.8%
increase from the $1.04 billion spent last year, according to IEG
Sponsorship Report, which tracks money spent on sponsorships. In terms
of spending, that's the highest level of spending on music ever
reported by IEG.

"The fact that music sponsorship spending is holding
its own in today's turbulent economy demonstrates the growing
importance of music to corporate marketers," Bill Chipps, senior editor
at IEG Sponsorship Report, tells Billboard.biz. "The 3.8% increase on
music sponsorship spending outpaces IEG's 2.2% projection for the
overall sponsorship industry, including professional sports,
non-profits and other types of events, further demonstrating the
growing popularity of music."

LINK (via Billboard)