Music Nation

Do You have What It Takes? Are You Ready For A Record Deal?

Music Nation

Music Nation (www.musicnation.com), the artist development company, today officially kicked off its second season of online music competitions. Over the next 12 weeks, Music Nation's judges panel will vote together with intrepid music fans to choose finalists in the concurrent rock and hiphop competitions. Original Signal Recordings, Music Nation's 360-degree music company, and Epic Records will jointly sign recording contracts with one rock and one hiphop winner. More than 2,500 artists entered the first Music Nation competition and resulted in an overflowing reservoir of the best of the best in unsigned talent. The company expects the most skilled artists from across the web to again flock to the site and compete for not only invaluable exposure, but also the shot-of-a-lifetime recording contract and a wealth of additional prizes. "The Music Nation site is designed to give artists an outlet for exposure and a real chance to expand their fanbase. Our goal is to provide artists with the best opportunities possible to launch their careers," said Daniel Klaus, co-founder and CEO of Music Nation. "We've spent the last few weeks since the first competition's close setting up our winning artists with producers and writers best-suited to meet their needs and goals. We're looking forward to seeing what new talent rises to the top and to begin working with them as well."Music Nation's competitions afford artists a palpable chance to see how their riffs or their rhymes are received in cyberspace both by the fans and Music Nation's crew of industry judges. The fans' ratings of videos and viewing of profiles are compiled into real-time statistics that determine the weekly Nation's Choice winner in each competition, while the judges will also make their weekly Choice and offer invaluable feedback. The current line-up of Music Nation's judges is:Hip Hop· DJ Green Lantern: Having worked with artists like Eminem, Ghostface Killah, Jadakiss and Busta Rhymes, Green Lantern's legendary mixtapes have become a staple in the hiphop community, with artists vying for the chance to be featured.· Saigon: Saigon, the Fort Knocks/Hip Hop Since 1978/Atlantic Records artist, is best known for his successful string of mixtapes and his recurring role on Season Two of HBO's series "Entourage." He is the first artist signed to super-producer Just Blaze's Fort Knocks label.· 9th Wonder: Formerly one-third of Little Brother, Grammy Award winning producer 9th Wonder has worked alongside the likes of Jay-Z, Destiny's Child, Mary J. Blige and Lloyd Banks, among others.Rock· Dave Allen: Bassist for the seminal post-punk band Gang of Four and operator of the popular music blog Pampelmoose.com.· Andy Gershon: Executive VP of Epic Records, Gershon also helped discover and break such artists as The Smashing Pumpkins, founded Outpost Recordings (home of The Crystal Method, Veruca Salt, and Whiskeytown), and served as President of V2 Records (home of acclaimed artists The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Blood Brothers).· Carrie Schupper: Music program manager for Gen Art, the leading arts and entertainment organization dedicated to showcasing and supporting emerging fashion designers, filmmakers, musicians, and visual artists. For more info visit www.musicnation.com