NXNE 2011 - PRODUCT OF A LABEL - SELLING OUT? HELL NO... WE'RE BUYING IN!

As brand awareness and an artist's commercial success become more integrated, established pop culture brands are changing the definition of Record Label. These companies are working with artists to maintain artistic integrity and to market their music in new ways. So, is the idea of "selling out" completely over? Is there a difference between Daft Punk Coke and a Chrysler logo in a Celine Dion CD? How can these relationships co-exist to make meaningful art and achieve everyone's marketing goals without watering down or compromising the message on either side? Panelists will discuss their respective strategies of their brands working within the art world and how they're moving beyond traditional sponsorship to being bona fide curators.
Presented by SonicBids' Panos Panay


Panelists: Jake Hurn, Hudson Sullivan, & Adam Shore

Exclusive Interview with Panos Panay (CEO and Founder of Sonicbids.com)

Sonicbids Helps South By Southwest Music Conference Find Emerging Artists

BOSTON, MA November 3, 2010 — Sonicbids , the website that helps bands discover and book gigs, and the South By Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference are looking for the best independent artists out there. Every March, Austin, Texas plays host to the SXSW Music Conference where independent artists, music industry professionals, and fans meet for five nights of live shows, panels, parties and more. For the third year in a row, Sonicbids is the exclusive online submission platform of the 2011 SXSW Music Festival. Independent bands can submit through Sonicbids for the chance to play at the famed festival.
What: Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the SXSW Music Conference is one of the largest, most influential, and most anticipated music events of the year. In 2010, SXSW Music drew more than 13,000 music industry professionals for compelling panels, industry discussions, demo listening sessions, trade show exhibits, and - of course - five nights of music by nearly 2,000 bands hailing from 49 different countries, performing in 88 venues in downtown Austin, Texas.

In 2011, the event will showcase music from the best new talent and established artists alike to provide more opportunities to network, have more unique panels and artist interviews.
For more information on the types of bands SXSW is looking for, secrets of the festival planning, and tips from the SXSW promoters, check out the following blogs:
· The Top 5 Things SXSW Looks For From Artists
· The Secrets of SXSW: How to Plan a Showcase
· The Secrets of SXSW: Common Mistakes Bands Make at SXSW

When: SXSWeek March 11-20, 2011
Where: Austin, Texas

How: To register for the event, please visit: http://sxsw.com/attend . Also, the deadline
to submit your band is November 5, 2010. To submit, please visit http://www.sonicbids.com/sxsw .

maurices Kicks Off Nationwide Band Search

“Small Town Sound” bands together with The Bangles, Chrissie Hynde and Sick of Sarah to select the next big female-fronted music group

Duluth, Minn. (Vocus) September 22, 2010 maurices, the leading small town specialty store and fashion authority, today announced the launch of its nationwide “Small Town Sound” band search in partnership with PlayNetwork and Sonicbids. The “Small Town Sound” program was created as an extension of last year’s “Small Town Charm” campaign, a cross-country photo shoot which garnered immense support from local communities.

“The goal of this program is not only to discover the hottest up-and-coming band in the country, but to continue building strong connections with the maurices communities,” says Lisa Bartlett, assistant vice president of marketing at maurices. “We pride ourselves on being the best small town specialty retailer so we look for every opportunity to reach these customers and celebrate the unique gifts and talents their towns have to offer.”

Famed girl band, The Bangles, Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders and JP, Chrissie & The Fairground Boys, and all-female indie rock group, Sick of Sarah, will support the program designed to celebrate and encourage women in music. PlayNetwork, a global leader in creating media experiences, is partnering with maurices to develop a nationwide band search which will include a series of music recordings, live performances and video productions featuring the aforementioned bands. “Small Town Sound” will offer breakthrough opportunities for the winning band in retail display, maurices online network and more. Calling out to consumers to enter or vote, maurices stores will become immersive "Small Town Sound" experiences featuring PlayNetwork-produced music. The contest website, produced by Sonicbids, will also provide a number of opportunities to engage with the brand and bands.

“With the launch of ‘Small Town Sound’ we are working with maurices to create a soundtrack for the brand that reaches customers and powerfully communicates the brand message, even outside the walls of the retail space,” said John Crooke senior director of creative development at PlayNetwork. “In step with maurices’ commitment to establishing an innovative and progressive voice in retail fashion, we are excited to be producing a contest, that focuses on music, searching for women that truly reflect the maurices brand and whose music enhances the overall maurices experience.”

Beginning today, any unsigned female-fronted band is eligible to enter “Small Town Sound” at www.mauricesmusic.sonicbids.com. Submissions will be accepted from now through October 8. Between October 11 through November 15, consumers will be invited to vote for their favorite bands narrowing the field to the top 50 musical ensembles. From these 50 bands, a group of panelists including The Bangles, Chrissie Hynde and Sick of Sarah, will narrow it down to 10 finalists who will then have two weeks to create an original song based on the “Small Town Sound” theme. On December 1, voting will reopen on the site and consumers will vote a final time on the best original song to determine the grand prize winner and the two runners up.

“We’re excited to be working with maurices to extend their small town outreach campaign. With more than 750 stores nationwide, maurices is a great outlet for the promotion of independent music,” said Sonicbids Founder and CEO Panos Panay. “Sonicbids’ mission is to get music in front of consumers through unique distribution channels and this campaign reinforces that.”

The grand prize winner will perform live at their local maurices and receive a trip to Los Angeles to shoot their own music video and record their winning song. They’ll also receive gifts from maurices and Daisy Rock Guitars as well as the opportunity to perform at a major national music festival this spring in a showcase with The Bangles and Sick of Sarah.

All fans that vote will receive maurices coupons and will be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a maurices gift card.
About maurices

Established in 1931, maurices is wholly owned by dressbarn inc. maurices is the leading small town specialty store and authority for the savvy, fashion-conscious girl with a twenty-something attitude. Today, maurices operates over 750 stores in 44 states. maurices stands for fashion, quality, value and customer service. Offering sizes 1-24, our styles are inspired by the girl in everyone, in every size. For store information and to shop online visit www.maurices.com.

Sonicbids Partners with Diesel to Launch Stupid for Music World Cup in Celebration of D:U:M’s 10 Year Anniversary

Sonicbids http://www.sonicbids.com , the website that helps bands discover and book gigs, and Diesel:U:Music (D:U:M) http://www.dieselumusic.com , Diesel’s worldwide collaborative music support network, today announced the launch of the Stupid for Music World Cup <http://music.diesel.com/> . Styled after the World Cup, indie bands and their fans will battle it out for a chance to win a range of prizes from Diesel, including p.a. systems, recording time, video production, a professional PR campaign and a gig of a lifetime. Bands aren’t the only winners in this competition. Diesel also wants to see how stupid for music fans can be, so they will be involved in a head-to-head battle with a chance to win a range of prizes from swag, a 60 second in-store grab, ghetto blasters to a dance mat machine and a two night excursion to an exquisite Diesel event.

In celebration of D:U:M’s 10 year anniversary, Diesel is leveraging Sonicbids Brands as their digital music marketing agency in their search to find a band and fan to take the coveted Stupid for Music World Cup title. The competition will include a series of heats and knockout rounds (each more stupid than the last), which includes having fans ink a band name on their body, build a band shrine, use your favorite bands poster as street spam, video tape your reaction if the band were to break up, etc. Every stage must be uploaded to the Stupid for Music World Cup site for voting. Diesel will be hand-picking two thirds of the bands that make it into the heats but one third of the bands will be chosen because of the band’s adoring and insanely stupid for music fan base. So, rally together and register your bands and tell your fans to start pledging their loyalty, here: www.music.diesel.com <http://www.music.diesel.com/> .

“It’s not new for major consumer brands to use music in their marketing campaigns but what is new is the way and the rate that large consumer brands are tapping into the power of independent music. So, when Diesel came to us, we were enthusiastic to work with them as they are perfectly positioned to use rock & roll to reach their customers,” said Sonicbids Founder and CEO Panos Panay http://panosbrew.sonicbids.com . “Independent artists are authentic, entrepreneurial and eager collaborators, and brands like Diesel get that. We’re really excited to work with Diesel on this competition as it not only engages our members but also their fans by showing just how Stupid for Music they really are.”

This competition is open to all Sonicbids members and non-members will get a free trial subscription to the Sonicbids site when creating a Stupid for Music World Cup profile. For more information on Sonicbids, visit: www.sonicbids.com.

About Sonicbids
Sonicbids is the website the helps bands get gigs and promoters book the right bands. Our community includes more than 275,000 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 www.sonicbids.com <http://www.sonicbids.com/> .

Diesel:U:Music
Throughout its 10 year history as a yearly unsigned music talent awards, D:U:M has unearthed some of the most exciting new artists of the last decade such as, Mylo, Diplo and more recently, The Cool Kids. D:U:M now operates as a worldwide collaborative music support network with strong friendships with some of the most talented artists, labels, radio stations, journalists, and producers in most countries. The all new D:U:M relaunched in 2009 to set off on a grand tour of the world for two lucky winners, meanwhile uniting musicians and music fans through an extensive series of on and off-line activities, creating opportunities to discover the best in new music, and providing musicians with a platform of actual tangible support. And now in 2010 the website is about to be propelled into the future. www.dieselumusic.com/ http://www.dieselumusic.com

Sonicbids Teams With Virgin Mobile To “Book the Band”

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/.