Abbey Road looks for new talent online
Published: 23 Apr 2001 08:39 BST
Abbey Road recording studios has turned to the Internet for new unsigned music talent, enabling Net-savvy music fans to choose their favourite band in an online successor to Popstars.
2,500 UK surfers voted for their favourite competing band on the radio station Xfm Web site. The Internet was used to filter votes so that winners were not only the choice of the judging panel, but also of the online population.
More than 350 British bands entered the nation-wide competition. Entrants submitted their demo tracks in either WAV or MP3 format, and then copied them onto CD for play on Xfm. The competition aimed to prove the ease with which music can be created on home technology, while using the Internet to increase its reach of distribution.
Abbey Road -- the recording studio made famous by the Beatles -- is now a multi-media house which produces DVDs and CDs. For the competition it teamed up with PC manufacturer Hewlett-Packard and Xfm to search for new music talent across the UK. "The Internet has brought about exciting changes within the music industry, enabling unknown artists to get their music to a wider audience," said Charlie Ball, HP's UK storage manager.
"Home technology and CD-Writers help musicians to reach this worldwide audience at a minimal cost, by producing professional quality CD demos and MP3s for distribution," said Ball.
Dropknee emerged as the favourite band, winning an HP Pavillion PC and HP CD-Writer. It also has the opportunity to record a professional demo at Abbey Road studios.
The MP3 format has created an increasingly popular outlet for new unsigned bands to publicise their music. Organisations like Crunch, Peoplesound and a host of other Net savvy music sites are giving individuals the chance to show their talent without the need for a recording deal or expensive marketing campaigns.
The Internet is changing the face of the music industry forever. Find out more at the MP3 Newsroom.
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