APPLE TO HELP `WEBCAST' CONCERTS FROM OUTDOOR THEATER.

Byline: Tini Tran Knight-Ridder Tribune News Wire

The hottest music concerts at the Bay Area's Shoreline Amphitheatre are coming soon to a computer near you - even if you're at a computer terminal in Brazil.

That's what concert promoter Bill Graham Presents and Apple Computer Inc. hope to bring to Shoreline in the near future through their newly announced alliance, which names Apple as chief sponsor and technology partner at the Mountain View outdoor venue.

The five-year, six-figure deal calls for Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple to merge technology and entertainment by ``Webcasting'' concerts from Shoreline in ``real time'' and setting up kiosks where concert-goers can connect with a global audience.

After months of negotiations, Apple replaces Pepsi Inc.'s 10-year run as Shoreline's corporate sponsor, and sponsors the season's concert series for the 1996-97 year. The following four years of the partnership will focus on its technology role.

``Apple is a natural partner,'' said Lovester Law, BGP vice president of marketing. ``They understand the entertainment industry and the importance of technology. And they're creative and aggressive in that area.''

The name change already has been made on the marquee, billboards and signs at the concert facility.

However, San Francisco-based BGP, which operates Shoreline, is still on the lookout for a ``title'' sponsor - a corporation whose name would be added to Shoreline's, and be seen and heard by all 700,000 people who go there between May and October each year.

Title sponsorship, a la 3COM Park, is estimated to bring Bill Graham Presents $5 million to $10 million for a 10-year contract. Candidates mentioned for that role are Microsoft, Silicon Graphics, Sega, AT&T, Coca-Cola and Adobe.

Company officials declined to say specifically how much Apple paid.

For the time being, BGP's alliance with Apple will strengthen the natural evolution of high-tech entertainment. Dropping in on concerts halfway around the world with the click of a mouse and a personal computer could become the wave of the entertainment future, said Law.

``We're on the leading edge of these types of relationships,'' he said.

The two companies initially hooked up to sponsor the San Francisco New Year's Eve event, which introduced Apple QuickTime Live!, the technology that creates the interactive, virtual venue.

The Market Street party was recorded on special cameras that allowed personal-computer users to watch performances on line from their home. The interactive site on the World Wide Web made it possible for concert-goers to interact with on-line fans during ``real time.''

In just the 48 hours around the New Year's Eve event, the Web site got 700,000 hits, Law said.

``That tells me this is where entertainment is headed,'' he said.

In the next few years, BGP and Apple will begin Webcasting many of Shoreline's concerts.

Starting as early as this summer, kiosks will be set up along the venue's concourse where concertgoers will be able to access biographical information on bands and enter chat rooms. Interactive kiosks also would be set up backstage for artists to stay in touch with fans on line.