Bands Battle it out in EA's Burnout Bandslam!
Get on track for inclusion in future Burnout title.
EA, MySpace, Virgin Records and Epiphone support emerging music talent in international search for a future star; one U.S. and one European winner get a demo recording contract and track featured on future BurnoutTM videogame.
Redwood City, Calif. – February 13, 2007 – Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) and MySpace, the world’s leading lifestyle portal, have today announced an international search for the hottest new bands in the United States and Europe, in collaboration with Virgin Records and Epiphone. EA’s Burnout™ Bandslam started accepting entries on MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/burnoutbandslam) from early February 2007*.
Burnout Bandslam offers unsigned bands from across the United States and Europe the chance to showcase their best track in front of a potential global audience of over 80 million MySpace users, all of whom will be able to vote for their favorite track online.
The winning bands – one each from the United States and Europe - will each receive a Virgin Records demo recording contract and a chance to have their song included in a future Burnout videogame. One runner-up band from each country will become the proud owners of one top-of-the-range Epiphone Les Paul Custom Guitar**.
“Many of the biggest bands around the world have been first discovered through EA videogames, and now we are expanding the opportunity to unsigned bands through this year’s Burnout Bandslam,” says Steve Schnur, worldwide executive of music and marketing for EA. “The Burnout videogame series is all about attitude and rebellion. So I look forward to discovering a band or two which fits that definition.”
“MySpace is dedicated to providing musicians around the globe the ability to share their music and connect with fans online,” said Shawn Gold, SVP of Marketing, MySpace. “This partnership is part of our ongoing efforts to provide creative and passionate artists with a platform to be seen, heard, and connect online in order to get to the next level.”
"EA has consistently broadened the lanes where music and interactive gaming intersect, and has proven that video games are a rich platform for the discovery and enjoyment of new and established artists, so a collaboration between Virgin and EA has great logic," noted Jeff Kempler, COO, Capitol Music Group. "Partnering with EA in this exciting artist discovery and development contest is a perfect fit for Virgin's dedication to innovative and expansive interaction with creative talent and music fans wherever they may be."
“Epiphone is proud to be involved and associated with this year’s Burnout Bandslam and the game Burnout™ Dominator. Music, talent and excitement are all part of the Epiphone tradition and makes our partnership the perfect fit,” said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO Gibson Guitar, Epiphone’s parent company.
In (insert country), EA is working with (insert partner) to encourage local bands to submit songs in the Burnout Bandslam contest. “This is a fantastic opportunity for local talent to be recognized and achieve a worldwide audience for their music,” said (name), EA (insert country) (insert position). “We have an incredibly vibrant home-grown music scene and working with (insert partner) will help to reach up-and-coming bands who are just waiting for the chance to break through into the big time.”
The Burnout videogame series is developed by EA’s Criterion Games studio and is one of the most acclaimed racing videogame franchises of all time. Burnout Dominator is currently in development for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and due for release in March 2007.
For more information about the Burnout videogame series, please visit the EA press web site at http://info.ea.com, the official Burnout videogame homepage at http://burnout.ea.com or Criterion Games at www.criteriongames.com
For more information about the Burnout Bandslam Contest see additional information below and check out http://www.myspace.com/burnoutbandslam beginning early February 2007 to view complete Contest Official Rules. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. Eligibility restrictions apply.
* Precise Contest start dates/times may vary by territory. Please consult the website (http://www.myspace.com/burnoutbandslam) and specific country page for details."
**Guitars to be awarded as part of any prize(s)/package are limited to the quantities quoted. In the event that any winning Band is comprised of multiple Band members, prize(s) will be delivered to the winning Band and division of the prizes is solely the winners’ responsibility.
BURNOUT BANDSLAM CONTEST - ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Topline Summary:
EA’s Burnout Bandslam Contest is the first international and the biggest ever promotion to appear on MySpace, which has a global virtual community of over 80 million. In 2007, EA’s Burnout Bandslam Contest is supported by Virgin Records and premier guitar company Epiphone.
This year’s is EA’s second Burnout Bandslam contest. EA’s first Burnout Bandslam was a European-only contest that took place in 2005 in collaboration with Gibson and the Hard Rock Café chain. Beating entrants from all over Europe, The Styles from Italy took the majority of votes and the grand prize for “Glitter Hits”, a guitar-driven rock track, which will now feature on Burnout Dominator.
How To Enter and Vote:
To enter the Burnout Bandslam Contest beginning early February 2007, bands will need to visit the MySpace website and Contest page (http://myspace.com/burnoutbandslam) to create a MySpace account and band profile page and to submit their song (MP3 format only) and MySpace user voting and/or ranking starts the same day. All MySpace users worldwide can cast a vote for any song entered in this Contest, regardless of territory, right up until March19, 2007. Beginning March 20, 2007, the top ranked songs from each country (U.S. and Europe) will be judged by a celebrity expert panel, with consideration of factors including MySpace user voting/ranking, and the ultimate winners (one winning band for the United States and one winning band for all of Europe) will be announced on March 25, 2007.
The Contest Judges:
The judging panel charged with the tough task of selecting the two winning bands will be comprised of videogame and music industry professionals including representatives from EA, Virgin Records US, Red Jumpsuit Aparatus, We Are Scientists and other bands yet to be announced.
Redwood City, Calif. – February 13, 2007 – Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) and MySpace, the world’s leading lifestyle portal, have today announced an international search for the hottest new bands in the United States and Europe, in collaboration with Virgin Records and Epiphone. EA’s Burnout™ Bandslam started accepting entries on MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/burnoutbandslam) from early February 2007*.
Burnout Bandslam offers unsigned bands from across the United States and Europe the chance to showcase their best track in front of a potential global audience of over 80 million MySpace users, all of whom will be able to vote for their favorite track online.
The winning bands – one each from the United States and Europe - will each receive a Virgin Records demo recording contract and a chance to have their song included in a future Burnout videogame. One runner-up band from each country will become the proud owners of one top-of-the-range Epiphone Les Paul Custom Guitar**.
“Many of the biggest bands around the world have been first discovered through EA videogames, and now we are expanding the opportunity to unsigned bands through this year’s Burnout Bandslam,” says Steve Schnur, worldwide executive of music and marketing for EA. “The Burnout videogame series is all about attitude and rebellion. So I look forward to discovering a band or two which fits that definition.”
“MySpace is dedicated to providing musicians around the globe the ability to share their music and connect with fans online,” said Shawn Gold, SVP of Marketing, MySpace. “This partnership is part of our ongoing efforts to provide creative and passionate artists with a platform to be seen, heard, and connect online in order to get to the next level.”
"EA has consistently broadened the lanes where music and interactive gaming intersect, and has proven that video games are a rich platform for the discovery and enjoyment of new and established artists, so a collaboration between Virgin and EA has great logic," noted Jeff Kempler, COO, Capitol Music Group. "Partnering with EA in this exciting artist discovery and development contest is a perfect fit for Virgin's dedication to innovative and expansive interaction with creative talent and music fans wherever they may be."
“Epiphone is proud to be involved and associated with this year’s Burnout Bandslam and the game Burnout™ Dominator. Music, talent and excitement are all part of the Epiphone tradition and makes our partnership the perfect fit,” said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO Gibson Guitar, Epiphone’s parent company.
In (insert country), EA is working with (insert partner) to encourage local bands to submit songs in the Burnout Bandslam contest. “This is a fantastic opportunity for local talent to be recognized and achieve a worldwide audience for their music,” said (name), EA (insert country) (insert position). “We have an incredibly vibrant home-grown music scene and working with (insert partner) will help to reach up-and-coming bands who are just waiting for the chance to break through into the big time.”
The Burnout videogame series is developed by EA’s Criterion Games studio and is one of the most acclaimed racing videogame franchises of all time. Burnout Dominator is currently in development for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system and due for release in March 2007.
For more information about the Burnout videogame series, please visit the EA press web site at http://info.ea.com, the official Burnout videogame homepage at http://burnout.ea.com or Criterion Games at www.criteriongames.com
For more information about the Burnout Bandslam Contest see additional information below and check out http://www.myspace.com/burnoutbandslam beginning early February 2007 to view complete Contest Official Rules. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. Eligibility restrictions apply.
* Precise Contest start dates/times may vary by territory. Please consult the website (http://www.myspace.com/burnoutbandslam) and specific country page for details."
**Guitars to be awarded as part of any prize(s)/package are limited to the quantities quoted. In the event that any winning Band is comprised of multiple Band members, prize(s) will be delivered to the winning Band and division of the prizes is solely the winners’ responsibility.
BURNOUT BANDSLAM CONTEST - ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Topline Summary:
EA’s Burnout Bandslam Contest is the first international and the biggest ever promotion to appear on MySpace, which has a global virtual community of over 80 million. In 2007, EA’s Burnout Bandslam Contest is supported by Virgin Records and premier guitar company Epiphone.
This year’s is EA’s second Burnout Bandslam contest. EA’s first Burnout Bandslam was a European-only contest that took place in 2005 in collaboration with Gibson and the Hard Rock Café chain. Beating entrants from all over Europe, The Styles from Italy took the majority of votes and the grand prize for “Glitter Hits”, a guitar-driven rock track, which will now feature on Burnout Dominator.
How To Enter and Vote:
To enter the Burnout Bandslam Contest beginning early February 2007, bands will need to visit the MySpace website and Contest page (http://myspace.com/burnoutbandslam) to create a MySpace account and band profile page and to submit their song (MP3 format only) and MySpace user voting and/or ranking starts the same day. All MySpace users worldwide can cast a vote for any song entered in this Contest, regardless of territory, right up until March19, 2007. Beginning March 20, 2007, the top ranked songs from each country (U.S. and Europe) will be judged by a celebrity expert panel, with consideration of factors including MySpace user voting/ranking, and the ultimate winners (one winning band for the United States and one winning band for all of Europe) will be announced on March 25, 2007.
The Contest Judges:
The judging panel charged with the tough task of selecting the two winning bands will be comprised of videogame and music industry professionals including representatives from EA, Virgin Records US, Red Jumpsuit Aparatus, We Are Scientists and other bands yet to be announced.