KFC Calls on Local Communities to Cast Music Votes

KFC Calls on Local Communities to Cast Their Musical Votes!

From this week (01 April 08) KFC is calling on all local communities to cast their votes and make them count in – Sounds from your Hometown – a competition for local aspiring artists which is running in 94 KFC stores across New Zealand, in conjunction with NZ On Air and Amplifier.co.nz

In a 25 day search from Kaitaia to Invercargill the – Sounds from your Hometown – competition has found 300 headline acts of all ages and all musical genres to register and compete for votes from their local community and afar. The artist with the greatest number of votes, associated with each local KFC store, will win the chance to play a live gig at that store as well as be in to win, the ultimate music-industry prize worth $15,000, which is up for grabs.

The live KFC store gig will take place on 03 May 08 to help celebrate New Zealand Music Month at a true local level. All 94 KFC stores will simultaneously host this live musical event; showcasing the unique hometown sound each KFC store and its local community has to offer.

The more votes each artist receives (via www.kfc.co.nz) the more chance they will also have, to sway the two music industry judges (Ashley Page A&R Manager and Marketing Manager for Australasian labels at Warner Music and Mark Kneebone, Chairperson of Independent Music New Zealand) to win the ultimate music-industry prize package worth $15,000; aimed at giving the winner a substantial step up in their musical career.

This ultimate prize package includes two days recording time at York Street Recording Studios (NZ’s leading music recording studio) worth $3500, a $5000 NZ On Air Music Video grant, $3000 worth of advertising on Amplifier.co.nz as well as $3500 cash.

The ultimate winner’s track will also be included on the NZ On Air Kiwi Hit Disc radio promotional sampler and will be profiled on NZ On Air’s www.kiwihits.co.nz website.

Rod de Vries, Chief Operating Officer at KFC, says this is when the power of the local community vote, can really count: “By casting your votes, there is every chance that a local artist from your community could get their hands on that ultimate music industry prize worth $15,000! The artists in your area reaching that final round is a decision that really is in your hands and we have no doubt that local communities all over NZ, will rally together to make their musical votes count.

“All our KFC stores can’t wait to put on the best live gig to celebrate NZ Music Month in true local style and judging by the 300 contestants entered so far, it looks set to be a musical feast indeed!”

To vote, simply visit www.kfc.co.nz, click on the Sounds from your Hometown link and follow the voting instructions You can vote once a day, every day from 01 April 08 – 22 April 08 and be in to win $500 cash each week for 3 weeks.

You can vote for the same artist every time or share the power of your vote with other artists. You can choose to vote for a local artist or for an artist in another region.

The artist with the greatest number of public votes will win the chance to play the live gig at their local KFC store. The number of public votes they receive will also count towards the judges’ criteria, when deciding which winning artist will walk away with the ultimate music-industry prize worth $15,000.

The artists selected to play at their local KFC store on Saturday 03 May will be announced to the public on Thursday 01 May 2008. The ultimate winner will be announced on Friday 16 May 2008.

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

About KFC:
New Zealand’s First KFC restaurant opened in Auckland in 1971 serving the Colonels Original Recipe chicken. Today, there are 95 KFC stores nationwide and the brand has stayed on top by consistently delivering great tasting, fresh chicken that keeps customers coming back.

All KFC stores will take part in the Sounds from your Hometown competition, except for one store which will be closed as it is undergoing a transformation process.

KFC is part of the Restaurant Brands Group. Restaurant Brands is listed on the NZX stock exchange and also owns Pizza Hut and Starbucks.

About NZ On Air:
NZ On Air is the broadcast funding agency, charged with getting more New Zealand programmes on radio and television. One of NZ On Air’s local content missions is to get more New Zealand music played on radio and television. NZ On Air funds 170 music videos a year and produces the Kiwi Hit Disc radio sampler discs that go out to every radio station in the land. NZ On Air is always on the look out for new artists and new songs with airplay potential to feed the local content campaign.

About Amplifier.co.nz:
Amplifier has provided New Zealand music online to the world for over 9 years, being one of the pioneers of legal digital music sales. As well as streaming NZ music videos and reporting NZ music news, it retails CDs, DVDs, records, mp3s, merchandise and gig tickets for over 2000 New Zealand artists including Shapeshifter, Fat Freddy’s Drop, Patea Maori Club, Tiki, TrinityRoots and Steriogram.

About York Street Recording Studios (Auckland):
York Street Recording Studios was originally built in 1991 by Killing Joke front man Jaz Coleman and over the last 18 years has become New Zealand's leading recording, mixing and mastering facility. York Street is a truly international class recording complex with many local and international big name acts on its client list. The Beastie Boys, The Black Eyed Peas, Interpol, Silverchair, 50 Cent and Norah Jones are a few of the international guests that have enjoyed York Street’s famous hospitality and state of the art recording equipment. Successful chart topping records from local acts such as, the feelers, Shihad, Goldenhorse, Opshop, Brooke Fraser, Dave Dobbyn, Bic Runga and Crowded House have helped cement York Street’s reputation as a top quality and professional place to record.

About Mark Kneebone – Record Company Representative:
Mark Kneebone has dedicated his professional career to the growth of independent music in New Zealand. From 1999 to 2002 he held the role of Promotions and International Label Manager for Kog Transmissions, then in 2002 he formed marketing, publicity and promotions company Isaac Promotions. Possessing a robust appetite for a variety of music, Kneebone also founded record label Tardus Music, which boasts a roster of incredibly diverse talent that includes Fur Patrol and Die!Die!Die!. Mark is the current chairperson of Independent Music New Zealand.

About Ashley Page – Record Company Representative:
Since moving to New Zealand 8 years ago Ashley has worked at Festival Mushroom Records, Flying Nun, and Warner Music where Ashley is currently A&R Manager and Marketing Manager for Australasian labels. Warner Music NZ currently has a formidable roster of NZ artists including Shihad, Atlas, Evermore, The Phoenix Foundation, Dimmer, the feelers, Goodnight Nurse and this years NZ Album Of The Year winners “Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!”

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