Sony Media Software, which brought American Idol Extreme Music Creator and Jam Trax into the homes and hands of families across the US in September 2006, just announced that they are sponsoring two music contests with American Idol Underground, an online community powered by Fluid Audio Networks, Inc., where emerging artists get their music heard and fans discover new music. For the Extreme Music Creator contest, artists submit songs to the American Idol Underground Web site. The songs are then guaranteed airplay on one of American Idol Underground’s genre-specific online branded music players, music fans listen and rate the songs, the higher rated songs progressively get more airplay and the best songs from each genre win a chance at exposure and other awards. The first Extreme Music Creator contest launched at the end of October 2006 and ran through December 31, 2006. The second contest just launched on January 10, 2007 and ends on March 31, 2007.
Contestants can enter by visiting the American Idol Underground web site, where a special Sony page has been created at www.idolunderground.com/sony. Entry is free, but you must first submit your song to American Idol Underground which costs $25 and includes a minimum of 200 online radio spins on the American Idol Underground online branded music player. For a limited time, artists who purchase Extreme Music Creator will find a $25 coupon in the box for a free song entry on American Idol Underground. Both contests are open to all popular genres of music. The “top-rated” winner will be selected using Fluid Audio Networks’ proprietary ratings system. Musicians that want to get their music heard will now get an opportunity to compete for prizes including free music creation software from Sony Media Software. Participants in the second contest starting in January of 2007 will also get the opportunity to compete for a trip to Los Angeles to perform with other selected performers in a free live showcase for press and industry executives at a popular music venue in Hollywood.
“With more and more people recording music on their home computers, and the release of our American Idol Extreme Music Creator and American Idol Jam Trax products, we felt the Extreme Music Creation contest was a perfect match for our mission in creating American Idol Extreme Music Creator and American Idol Jam Trax software,” says Dave Chaimson, VP Marketing for Sony Media Software. “By participating in this contest, we are supporting efforts to help aspiring musicians get their music heard. We donated our best products, including ACID, Sound Forge, Vegas+DVD Production Suite, Sound Series and other software, to this contest to give aspiring musicians access to tools for music creation.”
“We are excited to have Sony Media Software involved in sponsoring these contests,” says Justin Beckett, CEO of Fluid Audio Networks, producers of the American Idol Underground web site. “Sony has a well-respected line of music creation products from ACID to the American Idol Extreme Music Creator, and we are proud to be featuring them as prizes for our top artists.”
“As the music landscape continues to change, we are always looking for creative ways to leverage partnerships to get more exposure for artists,” says Bob Buch, COO of Fluid Audio Networks. “This showcase sponsorship by Sony Media Software is a tremendous opportunity for artists and bands to get exposure and a great way for Sony to get the word out about its new products.”
The American Idol Underground contest is a completely separate entity from the American Idol television show, and contest winners at AmericanIdolUnderground.com do not get to perform on the American Idol television show.
