Live and Unsigned | |
---|---|
Genre | Music Competition |
Begins | Sept |
Ends | July |
Frequency | Annually |
Location(s) | United Kingdom |
Years active | 15 |
Inaugurated | 2007 |
Most recent | 2012 |
Participants | 40,000 annually |
Website | liveandunsigned |
Live and Unsigned is a music competition in the United Kingdom for unsigned bands and vocal groups to perform live for substantial prizes. [1] It was founded 2007, and has attracted over 40,000 entrants annually since its inception. [2] Competitors perform in their own genre and style to a paying audience and judging panel. [3] [ citation needed ] The competition tours the UK holding auditions and finals in various areas and regions, [3] and the Grand National Final is held in London The O2 in London being the last used.
Live and Unsigned was founded in 2007, in the United Kingdom. [4] Singers and bands perform original music live in front of a judging panel and live audience. [5] Chris Grayston promoted the event and served as head judge until 2012.
As of 2013, Live and Unsigned came now under the management of Mercury Artist Management, Daniel O'Gorman, Mongasta International and Lonesome Road.[ citation needed ] The new management team implemented significant changes to the submissions process, voting, advertising and PR which they feel make it a far more Musician-Friendly Competition.[ citation needed ]
As of March 2013, Grayston is no longer associated with the competition.[ citation needed ]
The original company was dissolved in 2014. [6]
The competition in the North East of England and moving through the regions to London in mid 2019. It is a new style format, with 21st-century technology and Stadia and Live Music venues forming the basis of auditions and finals.
The first regional final is set to take place at Sunderlands Stadium of Light after a length of 5 years off the scene.
Auditions are held in 3 areas within a region Panels of judges travel attend area finals, with bands then playing regional heats. The winning acts from each regional final then compete in the National Grand Final.
Applicants can compete in amongst other genresIndie, Urban/Pop/Acoustic, Alternative, and Rock categories. [7] There is a new section forDJ's to ent r a set Competitors can win the categories of best Unsigned Indie, Urban/Pop/Acoustic, Alternative and Rock act, and compete for the overall title of Best Live and Unsigned Act. [8]
The overall winner of the competition is offered a recording and a management contract, as well as an investment to release a single. The 2011 investment prize was £100,000 and an opportunity for a world tour. [4] [9] The grand winner earned a £50,000 recording deal. [7] The winners of all the different categories are invited on the UK Live and Unsigned Tour. [7] There are regional prizes, many prizes are industry specific and also for the benefit and enhancement of the winners music career, tours, supports, cash, studio time etc.
The Live and Unsigned judging panels have included:
The 2007 Grand Final was held in May 2007 at Portsmouth Guildhall to an audience of 2,200 [19] [20] and the competition was divided into age categories. 2007 regional winners included Sean Rumsey. [8] [20] The beat-boxing duet Ghoodfellaz'z, who won the North West region competition, won the Urban Award at the National Grand Final. [3] Hardly Heroes won the under-17s Best Band Award, [21] Fizz Reynolds won the Under 18's Award for female singer and the overall under 18's award [8] and 13-year-old Jake Ward won the Under-18 category for boys. [19] B-Kay and Kazz were awarded the best Live and Unsigned vocal group. [8]
In 2008 Welsh indie/electronic band Kiddo360 won the Grand Final, and went on to win a Vodafone Award. [3]
Auditions for 2009 began that January. [22] Because of high demand, auditions were limited to 500 per region. [3] regional finals took place across the UK and each act performed one cover song and one original song. [23]
The London singer RHEA won her Under-18 category at the Finals. [12] Overall winners of the Rock section of the competition were The Detours. The Loaded Dice won the Indie/Pop category, but later declined the contract.
In 2010 the Grand Final for 2010 took place at the Indig02 at The O2 Arena in London. [13] Category winners for 2010 included rock band Underline The Sky, acoustic act Sam Garrett, and alternative group We Beat The System. [1] The judges voted Indie band The Lottery Winners as overall winner. [10]
The National Grand Final in 2011 took place at the Indig02 on 23 July, [4] [15] as part of Live Fest at the O2. The Live Fest event also included performances from Zane Lowe, The Hoosiers, Tinchy Stryder, Roll Deep, Tempa T, The Guillemots, Funeral For A Friend, and Kids In Glass Houses. The Filthy Habits won the Indie category, The Robbie Boyd Band won the Alternative category, The Trinity Band won the Urban, Pop, and Acoustic category, and Loud and Proud won the Rock category. [24]
Another winner in 2011 was overall runner-up Lucy Spraggan, who was initially offered a festival slot in Australia as part of her prize. [24] When the festival was cancelled, organisers at Live and Unsigned offered Lucy alternative prizes including a string of guest act spots at Live and Unsigned and Open Mic UK shows across the country, [25] [26] a new website, [27] a music video, [27] which at the time of writing has received over 455,000 views, [28] and as a result gained several additional festival slots amongst which included London Summer Jam, [29] Osfest, [30] Strawberry Fields Festival, [31] Cockermouth Rock Festival. [32] [33]
Lucy went to on achieve a Top 20 single with Last Night, reaching number 2 by the start of the week but finished in at 11th in the Official UK Singles Charts [34] on 2 September 2012. [35] despite being removed from iTunes
The National Grand Final in 2012 took place at the Proud2 in The O2 on 14 July, [36] Contraband won the Rock/Metal category, winning themselves a festival slot at Butserfest and a free Natal Drums drum kit. [37] [38] Leon Bratt won the Acoustic/Solo category, winning himself festival slots at JustSoFestival and Looe Music Festival, as well as free studio time. [38] [39] Molly Smitten-Downes won the Urban/Pop category, winning herself a slot at Sundown Festival as well as free studio time. [38] [40] CoCo and the Butterfields won the Indie/Alternative category, winning themselves a £2,000 Fret King endorsement, a free TC Electronic amp and a festival slot at Tour Music Fest in Rome. [38] [41]
As overall winners, CoCo and the Butterfields were offered £10,000 to spend on the development of their music and a tour of up to 18 festivals, [42] other prizes for CoCo and the Butterfields over the course of the competition included; free studio time, a free Blackstar Amplification amplifier, a free Vintage guitar, a slot at Paddle Round The Pier, [43] and a slot at Beach Break Live. [17]
The music in Nevada is often associated with the Rat Pack and lounge singers like Wayne Newton playing in Las Vegas, Reno, and Carson City. However, Nevada has launched many other notable artists and bands from a variety of genres.
Battle of the Bands is a music contest and music competition in which two or more bands compete for the title of "best band". The winner is determined by a voice vote of the audience or the band who brings the most people to support them. Traditionally, battles of bands are held at live music events and forums. Popular examples include the yearly Live and Unsigned contest in the United Kingdom and the annual SoundWave Music Competition.
A music competition is a public event designed to identify and award outstanding musical ensembles, soloists, composers, conductors and musicologists. Pop music competitions are music competitions which are held to find pop starlets.
Gigwise is a British online music news site that features music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England.
Fight Like Apes were an Irish alternative rock band formed in Dublin in 2006.
David Myles is a Canadian songwriter and musician born in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Myles lives in Fredericton New Brunswick, as of September 2020, moving from Halifax, Nova Scotia. His music has often been labeled folk jazz, although he prefers simply to call it "roots" music. An independent artist who self-releases his albums, Myles has been able to gain an increasingly large audience, in part because of his active touring schedule and in part because of his cross-genre musical collaborations, which include a single made with the rapper Classified that became the biggest-selling rap single in the history of Canadian music.
Andrew James Doonan is an English musician and singer-songwriter who won the Manchester regional final of Live and Unsigned in 2011. His debut album, Lights and Mirrors, was self-released on 11 June 2011. Doonan is described as having a "fresh, energetic sound that blends melodic acoustic pop, indie and folk".
Open Mic UK is a live music competition run by Future Music Management in the UK for singers, vocalists and solo artists. Acts compete at regional auditions to get the chance to perform live at live music showcases to reach an annual national final, which is held at indigo at The O2 complex in London and The National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. The event, which offers a recording contract and investment to the final winner, was described by Joel James of BBC York & North Yorkshire as "one of the toughest competitions in the country."
Chris Grayston is an English music promoter, event organizer, record producer, musician, label owner and talent scout. He is currently employed as a music consultant including working for acts and record labels.
The Trinity Band is a five piece musical group founded in 2004 from Derby, England. The band consists of Rukus (rapper), Dwaine Hayden (singer), Craig Dawkins (keyboards), James Dawkins (drums) and Pete Sharpe (bass).
Sultans of String are an instrumental music group based in Toronto, Ontario, combining elements of Spanish flamenco, Arabic folk, Cuban rhythms, and French Manouche Gypsy-jazz. The group's leader is producer and Canadian musician Chris McKhool. At the core of Sultans of String's musical vision is the belief that societies derive strength from diversity, and that common ground can be found amidst one's differences.
Live Fest is a bi-annual music festival held at The O2 in London. According to its organizers, it is the largest indoor music festival in the United Kingdom. In the first festival on 23 July 2011, some of the headlining acts included Zane Lowe, Tinchy Stryder, Roll Deep, The Hoosiers, and Funeral for a Friend. Prominent genres of music at the festival include urban, pop, rock, and indie.
Hey Ocean! is a Canadian indie alternative rock and synthpop band formed in 2004 in Vancouver. David Beckingham and Ashleigh Ball had been friends since grade 6, joining with David Vertesi in the 2000s to form the band. The band consists of Ashleigh Ball (vocals/flute), David Beckingham (vocals/guitar), and David Vertesi (vocals/bass). Their music draws from many genres, including pop and acoustic, and the group tours Canada widely. They have performed locally alongside other Vancouver acts such as Shad K, Mother Mother and Said the Whale.
Lucy Honour Ruby Spraggan is an English singer-songwriter. She auditioned for The X Factor in 2012, performing her own composition, "Last Night". On 3 November 2012, it was announced she would be quitting her run on The X Factor due to illness, so she subsequently finished in ninth place, and second in her category. Following the show Spraggan was signed to Columbia Records.
"Last Night" is a song by English musician Lucy Spraggan, from her self-released album Top Room at the Zoo (2011). The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number 70 after performing the song at The X Factor auditions which was shown on 25 August 2012. Following a rule change regarding X Factor contestants, it was pulled from iTunes but early sales enabled it to finish at number 11 for the week. A new version of the song "Last Night " was released in the United Kingdom on 29 September 2013 as the second single from her debut studio album Join the Club (2013)
RemedySounds is an English dubstep/acoustic musician who makes special use loop pedals to create his sound. In July 2012, he was announced as the runner up of the Acoustic category of Live and Unsigned at the age of 22. In June 2012, he performed alongside Macy Gray at Guernsey Festival in Guernsey.
Jennifer Thomas is an American pianist, violinist, composer, performing artist, and recording artist. She was classically trained at Brigham Young University–Idaho, and started composing in 2003, later releasing her debut album in 2007.
The Dirty Clergy is a garage rock/pop band from Winfield, Alabama, whose music has been described as vintage rock, indie rock, and "indie rock pop'n'roll". Their music recalls '50s and early '60s rock 'n' roll, while also possessing hard edge. The band has been featured on numerous radio programs including Nights with Alice Cooper and Rodney on the Roq at KROQ Los Angeles. Most recently the band was featured in season 10 episodes of the Showtime series Shameless.
The International Songwriting Competition (ISC), founded in 2002, is an annual songwriting contest for both amateur and professional songwriters. There is no physical event to attend as the competition is held online, and anyone in the world can enter. Each year the competition gives away over $150,000 USD in cash and prizes, including $25,000 USD in cash to the overall Grand Prize Winner. Additionally, ISC offers an opportunity for artists to have their songs heard by celebrity artists and music industry executives.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)