NASHVILLE, TN (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The Unsigned Only Music Competition has announced their panel of judges and mentors for the 2014 edition of the music competition.
The list of judges for 2014 includes both major artists and recognized music journalists while mentors include record company executives, ranging from label Presidents to A&R reps.
Judges include: Neon Trees; John Oates (Hall & Oates); Of Monsters and Men; 3 Doors Down; Dustin Lynch; Black Francis (The Pixies); Rosanne Cash; Delbert McClinton; David Crowder; Craig Morgan; Robert Smith (The Cure); Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC); Aaron Shust; G. Love; Jason Gray; Rapsody; Alt-J; The Mountain Goats; Anthony DeCurtis (Contributing Editor, Rolling Stone); Josh Jackson (Co-Founder and Editor-In-Chief, Paste Magazine); Chris Richards (Pop Music Critic, The Washington Post); and more to be announced.
Mentors include: Monte Lipman (Chairman and CEO, Republic Records); Jeff Castelaz (President, Elektra Records); Seymour Stein (Chairman, SIRE Records and VP of Warner Bros Records); Pete Ganbarg (Executive VP/Head of A&R, Atlantic Records); Mike Elizondo (Sr. VP of A&R, Warner Bros. Records); Josh Bailey (Sr. VP of A&R, Word Label Group); Tony Kiewel (VP of A&R, Sub Pop Records, Hardly Art, Sub Pop Publishing ); Kim Stephens (President, Forward Entertainment and A&R/Capitol Music Group); Lenny Santiago (VP of A&R, Roc Nation); Dino Paredes (GM, American Recordings); and more to be announced.
Designed for solo artists, bands, and singers who are not signed to a major label, Unsigned Only looks to find talented performers: a band, singer, or solo artist. The Grand Prize Winner will be awarded $10,000 in cash (plus additional prizes) and one-on-one mentoring by an elite group of record company executives. First and Second Place winners in each of ten categories of contemporary music will also be chosen. Original and cover songs are accepted. Winners will be announced in August, 2014.
Last year's grand prize winner was country artist Wes Mack for his song "Duet." – Staff writers
