Sonicbids and Virgin Mobile Are Searching for an Up and Coming Indie Artist To Perform at Virgin Mobile FreeFest with M.I.A., T.I., Pavement and Ludacris
BOSTON, MA July 29, 2010 —
Sonicbids , the website that helps bands discover and book gigs, has partnered with Virgin Mobile USA to launch this year’s Virgin Mobile FreeFest “Book the Band” contest, a successful public voting contest for up-and-coming bands, with the winner receiving the ultimate prize of playing the opening number at Virgin Mobile FreeFest on September 25, 2010 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. In addition, the winning band will not only be a part of a world-class line up, but will also win a $5,000 travel stipend, customized Gibson® FreeFest Guitar and Gibson prize package (valued at $1,500) —and a ton of great exposure. The winning band will open for M.I.A., LCD Soundsystem, Pavement, T.I., Ludacris and many more.
“Virgin is a cool brand with deep roots associated with the discovery of amazing music,” said Panos Panay , Founder and CEO, Sonicbids. “Working with Virgin Mobile on this contest provides Sonicbids members with a great opportunity to get mass exposure and work with a terrific brand, not to mention meet some of the artists they know and love.” All eligible bands who enter the contest will be included in a round of public voting and be reviewed by a panel of Virgin Mobile judges, including DJ Abbey Braden, who is working with Virgin Mobile Live, a newly created music stream available on Virgin Mobile websites. The panel will select five finalists whose music will be posted for free download (yes, more free!) during the final round of voting from Aug. 23 to Aug. 30 at 11:59 p.m. EST and the band with the most downloads wins and gets to play as the opening act at the 2010 Virgin Mobile FreeFest.
“We are stoked to be partnering with Sonicbids on this year’s Book the Band contest,” said Ron Faris, Senior Director Brand and Experiences, Virgin Mobile USA. “Book the Band this year will be casting the net wider and looking for truly undiscovered basement bands from around the country. Sonicbids will enable us to take this contest to a whole new level by opening this year’s contest up to many more aspiring bands than ever before.”
To submit your band and learn more about FreeFest’s Book the Band Contest, please visit: http://www.sonicbids.com/virginmobilefreefest .
About Virgin Mobile
Virgin Mobile USA, one of Sprint's prepaid brands, offers millions of customers control, flexibility and connectivity through Virgin Mobile's Beyond Talk(tm) plans for mobile phone service and prepaid Broadband2Go high-speed Web access. Virgin Mobile branded handsets are available at more than 40,000 retail stores, including Target, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and RadioShack. Top-Up cards are available at approximately 150,000 locations nationwide and can be used for Broadband2Go services. Purchase and experience Virgin Mobile on the Web and at Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and http://www.virginmobileusa.com/.
About Sonicbids
Sonicbids is the website the helps bands get gigs and promoters book the right bands. Our community includes more than 245,000 bands and 21,000 promoters and licensors from all around the world. With festivals, clubs, colleges, music licensing and much more, Sonicbids offers a diverse range of gigs for every kind of musician. In fact, last year alone, more than 71,000 gigs were booked on the site. The company was founded in 2001 by Panos Panay and continues to focus on its core mission of empowering the artistic middle class. Get a gig or book a band at http://www.sonicbids.com/.
