Archive for March 7th, 2008

AMERICA INVITED TO JOIN

PAULA COLE, RENÉE FLEMING & BOBBY COLOMBY

IN SELECTING AMERICA‘S NEXT BEST MUSICAL TALENT

GATHER.COM & DECCA LABEL GROUP INVITE USERS TO

GO TO WWW.GATHER.COM AND VOTE FOR THEIR FAVORITE ARTIST AS THEY COMPETE FOR A MAJOR LABEL RECORD DEAL

Gather.com, the unique social networking website for adults, in conjunction with Universal Music Group‘s Decca Label Group, today announced the kick-off of the voting round of their nationwide music contest, First Tracks: The Search for America‘s Best Musical Talent. The winner of this competition will be awarded a deal for a Decca Label Group-produced record. America now has the opportunity to go to www.gather.com and vote for their favorite musician. Once America narrows the number of contestants to 25, newly announced music industry veterans Paula Cole, Renée Fleming and Bobby Colomby will then narrow the number to 5. America will then choose the winner from the final 5 after a final face-off live in New York City. Since the contest kicked off in January, musicians of all genres have uploaded their original singles to www.gather.com in hopes of being selected the winner.

Until March 31, the voting public will be able to listen to the submissions exclusively at www.gather.com, and choose their favorite. At that point, the number of contestants will be narrowed down to 25, when the celebrity judges will select the final 5 artists who will move on to the next phase. The finalists will perform a Decca-written song at the Living Room in New York City in front of fans and the celebrity judges who will be on-hand to provide critical feedback. America will then select their favorite finalist exclusively at www.gather.com. The grand prize winner will be announced on April 30, and the finalist‘s single will be released on iTunes and the Decca Label Group website immediately. The winner will also have a record produced and distributed by Decca Label Group. Additional details about the contest can be found on firsttracks.gather.com.