02 Mar 10 Europe calling . . . . . .

The 2010 Festival is now well under way in all areas of the U.K.; this year we are holding events in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow. The 2010 event has so far seen some fantastic nights of live music.

The winning band of 2010 will receive £5,000 cash, a slot at Sziget Festival 2011 with travel and accommodation included, a digital distribution contract with Zimbalam Digital, sales promotion from Believe Digital, an online banner marketing package, a European and UK online PR package, a UK radio plugging package, 40 hours multi-track recording, a press release to over 45,000 music-related email addresses, a 4 day (3 gig) UK tour on a Jumbocruiser, a 3 track feature on a 12 track compilation, an individual one-track/single deal, a main stage appearance at Music Live 2010 at the National Exhibition Centre, a professional full day photo shoot courtesy of TrippCobain Imaging and £1,000 worth of label promo courtesy of Last.FM.

There are loads more amazing prizes on offer for other bands that get to the National Showcase at the o2 in London, which will take place on 25th September 2010. See our website www.surfaceunsigned.co.uk for more information.

In 2011, as well as holding events across the U.K. we are expanding the Festival into Europe and will be holding events in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Hungary, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Finland and Belgium. For more information and to get involved in the Festival please check out our careers page at www.surfaceunsigned.co.uk/careers.html

Surface Unsigned 10, is brought to you by Zimbalam, the world leader in digital distribution of unsigned music worldwide. Zimbalam is a service powered by Europe’s largest digital distributor, Believe Digital and is designed specifically for unsigned artists and independent labels, giving artists full control over their digital releases. For a flat fee of just £20 for a single or £30 for an album, Zimbalam offers full distribution to all the major global retail, mobile and streaming stores with no subscription costs or hidden fees. The agreement is completely non-exclusive and can be cancelled at any time and artists receive 90% of the revenues from their sales. Sign up for a free account at www.zimbalam.com and start making money from your music.

Surface Unsigned is also working in association with Marshall, Ents24, Ashdown, Planet Waves, D’Addario, PMT, Tama, Zildjian, Shure, Univibe, TrippCobain Imaging, Sziget Fest, Jumbocruiser, Music Live, Last.FM and Oxjam to develop alternative ways for bands to gain exposure and develop their fan base.

For bands that reach the final stages of the festival, both Surface Unsigned and our sponsors will award the best bands with Industry Showcases, Recording and Production Deals, Professional Photo Shoots, Cash, Endorsements and much more. The prizes for 2010 are in excess of £60,000. The top 16 bands in 2010 will play an industry showcase at the Indigo2 (based inside the o2 arena, London). Our industry panel is headed up by Jon Brookes, the founding member and drummer of ‘The Charlatans’. Since forming the world famous band ‘The Charlatans’ in 1989, Jon Brookes and his band have released 14 albums and 31 singles worldwide and have been going strong for over 20 years. Other industry guests at Surface Unsigned have included representatives from Polydor, Geffen, Universal, One Little Indian Records, Boy Wonder Records, Sunday Best Records, Mercury Records, Audio Authority Management, Revolver Records and Weekender Records amongst many others. Please see our homepage for a full list of industry involvement. The prizes will be distributed between the top 3 bands as decided by the judges (who carry 75% of the vote) and the public (who carry 25% of the vote via a text vote).

For bands interested in applying to the 2011 Surface Unsigned Festival please visit www.surfaceunsigned.co.uk and fill out an online application:

Kind Regards,

The Surface Unsigned Team

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