KFC Makes the Call to Support Local Musicians

KFC Makes the Call to Support Local Musicians

From today (Tuesday 04 March 08) KFC is joining forces with NZ On Air and Amplifer.co.nz to issue a call up to local artists to enter - Sounds from your Hometown – a competition for aspiring music artists which will run in 94 KFC stores across New Zealand.

In a search from Kaitaia to Invercargill - Sounds from your Hometown - is looking for headline acts of all ages and all musical genres, which New Zealanders will then vote on, to perform at each of KFC’s 94 stores throughout the country on Saturday 03 May 08. All 94 KFC stores will simultaneously host this live musical showcase, in honour of NZ Music Month 08 and to help celebrate the event at a true local level.

From the 94 musical groups or individual performers voted to play at their local KFC store, one ultimate winner will be chosen by two music industry representatives (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 a 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 St 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, KFC Chief Operating Officer says that no matter where you come from, if you make music, Sounds from your Hometown is your opportunity to be heard all over New Zealand and by music industry experts, as well as heard internationally:

“You can enter as a part of a group, a one-man band, choir, instrumentalist, whatever from where ever. You can even enter if you work at a KFC store!

“All of our stores have staff made up of individuals from many walks of life, cultures and ages. So at KFC we really do believe that talent can come from anywhere and should always be given the best chance.

“With KFC running 94 stores and employing more than 2,000 staff across New Zealand we play a big part in every local community. With - Sounds from your Hometown - we are really looking forward to supporting the towns that KFC calls home and applauding the unique flavour of sounds that will originate from them.”

To register a musical group or artist, participants simply visit www.kfc.co.nz, click on the Sounds from your Hometown link and follow the registration instructions to have their original music track uploaded for inclusion in the public voting.

Registrations are open from Tuesday 04 March – 28 March 2008. Voting will then open to the public on Tuesday 01 April and close on Tuesday 22 April 2008.

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.

Further detail available at www.kfc.co.nz

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:
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:
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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