NA2R entries up 77%

Radio revenue may be down a bit, but entries for this year’s New Artists 2 Radio (NA2R) competition for new and emerging Australian music talent, have increased by 77 per cent compared to last year, with judging set to begin this week.

Chief executive officer of Commercial Radio Australia, Joan Warner said this was a great result with 298 entries received in total – 85 in the adult contemporary genre, 91 in the pop and 122 in the rock category.

A panel of commercial radio network program and music directors from around Australia, will judge the entries based on their airplay potential.

Nine finalists will be announced on 2 September. Three winners will be selected from these finalists and announced at the NA2R workshop on 25 September.

Now in its eighth year, the NA2R event aims to discover the next big music star to be played on radio throughout the country. The event is open to unsigned Australian artists who have not charted in the top 100 Australian National airplay chart.

The three winners (one from each category) will go on to perform at the NA2R showcase event to be held in Sydney this year on 9 October in front of key music and program directors from the commercial radio sector. A winner from these three acts will then be chosen to perform the following night at the Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs), to be held in Sydney on 10 October.

The NA2R has helped to launch some very successful music careers since its inception including, Delta Goodrem, Sarah Blasko, Thirsty Merc, Jade McRae, the Sunpilots and Ashleigh Mannix.

Ms Warner said last year’s winners, Ashleigh Mannix, Emma-Louise and Boston Shaker are all in the process of finishing their debut albums following their wins in the NA2R competition.

The three winners of the event will receive:

• Four weeks of airplay, across the day, on the Australian Radio Network, Austereo, DMG Radio, Macquarie Southern Cross Media, ACE Radio, Prime Radio and Grant Broadcasters.

• A share in $150,000 worth of radio advertising promoting the artists and their winning song on four of the major commercial radio networks: Australian Radio Network, Austereo, DMG Radio and Macquarie Southern Cross Media.

• An artist development package for the winner in each category including MGM Distribution at retail and digital online sales via ITunes. All winning singles will be submitted to ARIA for inclusion in the ARIA single chart survey.

• Marketing, management and media advice from VGM (Media & Marketing) regarding mainstream and music press, electronic and digital music media and marketing, artist management and radio tracking to ensure maximum exposure. Design of their single cover and CD for distribution through MGM.

• An overall winner will be chosen to play at the ACRAs on 10 October. As well, the winner will feature in their very own music video produced by Short Motion Studios, under the direction of Rachel Dunn from Girl Director. Rachel has produced numerous videos for artists such as Vanessa Amorosi, Selwyn and Butterfly Nine.