Gather.com & Decca Label Group Present First Tracks: The Search for America's Best Musical Talent

Gather.com & Decca Label Group Present First Tracks: The Search for America's Best Musical Talent

Winner of nationwide online music competition will receive record deal with acclaimed label

NEW YORK, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Gather.com, the unique, social networking website, in conjunction with Universal Music Group's Decca Label Group, have joined forces to create a 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. Musicians of all genres are invited to upload their single on Gather.com, which will automatically enter them into the contest for a chance to win. "With First Tracks, we let music lovers pick America's future music stars. Using Gather's social platform will enable contest participants and the eventual winner to build mass audience and awareness. We're really excited to give the average person an opportunity to fulfill their dream," comments Tom Gerace, Gather's Founder and CEO.

"Decca is very excited at the prospect of discovering new and untapped talent through Gather.com," says Decca Label Group president, Paul Foley. "First Tracks will be a fantastic outlet for audiences to weigh in on up-and- coming artists, and especially choose one that Decca will have the opportunity to sign to a future record deal." Beginning March 3, fans will get a chance to go online to listen and vote for their 25 favorite contestants. Voting online at www.gather.com will be the exclusive format for fans to vote for contestants. After the 25 semifinalists are selected, their singles will be judged by a panel of music celebrities and industry leaders. The finalists will perform a song selected by Decca in front of a live audience with celebrity judges offering professional expertise and personal comments on each.

The grand prize winner will be announced on April 30, and will get the opportunity to have their single released on iTunes and the Decca Label Group website immediately. The winner will also have a record produced and distributed by Decca Label Group. The contest officially opened January 23, and will accept entries through February 27, 2008. Additional details about the contest, as well as online submissions, can be found on firsttracks.gather.com.

Decca Label Group

Decca Label Group (DLG) specializes in various areas of the adult music marketplace. The division is home to such diverse artists as Andrea Bocelli, Boyz II Men, Marc Cohn, Elvis Costello, Paula Cole, and Meshell Ndegeocello among others. DLG is also a driving force in Broadway, score soundtracks, Jazz and world music genres, with recent successes including cast recordings of Wicked, Mamma Mia!, and Young Frankenstein, as well as the Golden Globe- winning score for Atonement.

Gather.com

Gather.com is a unique social networking site that targets adult interests and is the perfect place to find some of the best expert- and member-created content online from socially and culturally-informed contributors. Gather.com is a privately held, privately funded company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Investors include Allen & Company, The American Public Media Group, Hearst, The McGraw-Hill Companies and Southern California Public Radio. For more information, visit www.gather.com.

Source: Gather.com

CONTACT: Aliza Rabinoff, or Rachel Carr, or Yaa Yamoah, all of Dan
Klores Communications, +1-212-685-4300, all for Gather.com

Web site:

http://www.gather.com/
http://firsttracks.gather.com/

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