Guitar Center Announces Partnership With Motley Crue and the Launch of 'Guitar Center On-Stage' - Your Chance to Make Rock History

Guitar Center Announces Partnership With Motley Crue and the Launch of 'Guitar Center On-Stage' - Your Chance to Make Rock History

Guitar Center & Motley Crue to Offer One Up-and-Coming Band The Ultimate Career-Altering Opportunity - The Chance To Open for One of The World's Greatest Rock Bands

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., July 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing its commitment to the support of aspiring artists, Guitar Center and Motley Crue announced today the launch of "Guitar Center On-Stage" -- Your Chance To Make Rock History. "Guitar Center On-Stage" and the world's most notorious rock band will provide one up-and-coming band the ultimate, career-altering opportunity -- the chance to open on tour for rock icons, Motley Crue. Starting today, through September 21 2008, bands across the United States are invited to submit their music at www.makerockhistory.com for a chance to win a prize package that includes an opening slot on Motley Cure's 2009 U.S. tour (dates to be announced at a later date), $25,000 cash, $20,000 in exclusive new gear from Gibson Guitar, management from Tenth St. Entertainment, and a recording deal from Eleven Seven Music, Motley's management and record label.

Guitar Center has engaged FameCast to power the submission site for "Guitar Center On-Stage," using FameCast's proprietary contest management platform to collect and present each band's submissions and rank them using a variety of metrics such as online fan voting and community engagement. A judging panel including Tenth St. Entertainment and Eleven Seven Records will then review the top bands, selecting 30 bands to advance to regional evaluation events held in mid-October at Guitar Center locations in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. After narrowing the list to the top six bands at the regional events, Guitar Center will host a final round of evaluation on November 12, 2008 at Guitar Center Hollywood, where each of the six bands will perform live for members of Motley Crue. One band will be notified via a personal phone call from a member of Motley Crue that they have been chosen as the winner and that the grand prize, which will include going on tour with Motley Crue, is theirs.

Also on hand at the press announcement at Guitar Center on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood was Chris Taylor Brown, lead vocalist from Trapt who are currently touring on Crue Fest. "It is an incredible opportunity to be on the road with one of rock's greatest bands. Trapt has sold more than two million albums, we have four hit singles, a new album out on Tuesday (August 5th) and it's still an honor as well as an enormous boost to our audience to be on the bill with Motley Crue." Guitar Center spends millions every year behind programs that help our customers realize their musical dreams.

"'Guitar Center On-Stage' is our most audacious and ambitious program yet. We are offering nothing short of a chance for greatness. A way to step out of the shadows of obscurity and into the light of legends," said Norman Hajjar, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer for Guitar Center.

Allen Kovac, CEO and Founder of Tenth Street Entertainment and Eleven Seven Music said, "Tenth Street Entertainment has historically achieved success with unique and robust strategic marketing initiatives for its clients. In just 24 short months, Eleven Seven Music has become the #1 Independent Active Rock record company with five percent of the market share at rock radio. Aligned with the advertising, brand recognition and credibility Guitar Center is providing, Tenth Street and Eleven Seven are excited to give an up-and-coming rock band the best possible support to jump start a long and successful career in the music and entertainment businesses."

Motley Crue's Mick Mars notes, "Our partnership with Guitar Center gives us the opportunity to help an up-and-coming band by giving them every element needed to succeed. Like Ozzy did for us when he took an unknown band called Motley Crue on the road, we too are looking for the next generation's great rock band."

Press Conference Master of Ceremonies Jim Richards, Program Director of San Diego's 101 KGB FM says, "Motley Crue has remained one of the most relevant bands of their era. Their single "Saints Of Los Angeles" is currently Top 10 at Active Rock and Top 5 at Mainstream Rock and played alongside bands like Disturbed, Linking Park and Avenged Sevenfold. None of their contemporaries have experienced this kind of staying power. This program is a dream come true for any young musician."

"Gibson Guitar has always supported bands on every level and as a music innovator we work hard to support emerging bands by giving them opportunities for success through our many resources," said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. "This program will launch the next Motley Crue and we are proud to partner with our friends at Guitar Center for such an exciting promotion."

For additional details, rules, and regulations and to enter for your chance to make rock history please visit: www.MakeRockHistory.com.

About Guitar Center

Guitar Center is the world's largest retailer of guitars, amplifiers, percussion instruments, keyboards, and pro-audio and recording equipment. Our retail store subsidiary presently operates 214 Guitar Center stores across the nation. We are also the largest direct response retailer of musical instruments in the United States through our wholly owned subsidiary, Musician's Friend, Inc., and its catalog and Web site, www.musiciansfriend.com. In addition our Music & Arts division operates more than 100 stores specializing in band instruments for sale and rental, serving teachers, band directors, college professors and students. More information on Guitar Center can be found by visiting the Company's Web site at www.guitarcenter.com.

The Guitar Center logo is a registered trademark of Guitar Center, Inc. Other brand or product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

About Motley Crue

Having survived three decades of decadence and nearly every possible obstacle, including several brought on by themselves, Motley Crue now find themselves alive and elevated to rock royalty. The Crue have returned with the recent release of Saints of Los Angeles, their first CD with the original line-up -- Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, Tommy Lee and Vince Neil -- in over a decade and the ninth studio album in their career. The disc debuted at #1 on the Independent Album chart and was the top debut of the week at #4. Based on the band's 'New York Times' bestseller, 'The Dirt', the revealing CD offers tremendous insight into the lives of the rebellious leaders of the "L.A. sleaze rock" movement. The single "Saints of Los Angeles" broke barriers when it was released simultaneously on Rock Band and by traditional means, selling more than five times the number of downloads via the video game as it did on iTunes in its first week of release. The band is currently on their inaugural Crüe Fest, the top rock festival of the summer. www.motley.com

About Tenth Street Entertainment

Tenth Street Entertainment (www.10thst.com), the leading music management company founded by industry veteran Allen Kovac is a leader in the kind of wide-ranging marketing alliances, branding opportunities, research based promotion and online convergence that marks the future of the entertainment business. At Tenth Street Entertainment, every release is a convergence of the company's departments that oversee the music, radio, marketing, press, online media, touring, branding, international, third party licensing and strategic partnerships that inspires each artist's brand to live long lives in many areas and in unexpected places around the world. The prestigious artist management roster includes Motley Crue, Buckcherry, Debbie Harry and Blondie, Sixx:A.M., Papa Roach, Jet, Trapt, Drowning Pool, Marion Raven and the Exies.

About Eleven Seven Music

Eleven Seven Music is the #1 Independent Active Rock label (according to Mediabase and industry trade Radio & Records) and is among the top five performing rock labels, controlling up to 25 percent of the rock charts since its inception in January 2006. With the recent #1 independent release from Motley Crue (the label scored the #2 position last year with Sixx:A.M.'s 'The Heroin Diaries Soundtrack' and Buckcherry's Platinum and Grammy-nominated '15'), Eleven Seven continues to build on its model of research-based marketing strategies targeted directly to the fans and building out from that base. Helmed by President Nikki Sixx, the label's roster includes Motley Crue, Buckcherry, Sixx:A.M., Trapt, Drowning Pool, The Exies and Marion Raven. Eleven Seven Music was founded by industry veteran and pioneer Allen Kovac, a revolutionary mind who has been at the center of some of the most creative and successful campaigns in the music business.

About Gibson Guitar

Gibson is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted instrument, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins and banjos. Gibson's HD.6X-PRO Digital Guitar and the Gibson Robot Guitar represent the biggest advances in electric guitar design in over 70 years. Founded in 1894 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and headquartered in Nashville since 1984, Gibson Guitar Corp.'s family of brands now includes Epiphone, Dobro, Kramer, Steinberger, Tobias, Echoplex, Electar, Flatiron, Slingerland, Valley Arts, Maestro, Oberheim, Sunshine Piano, Take Anywhere Technology, Baldwin, J&C Fischer, Chickering, Hamilton and Wurlitzer. Visit Gibson's website at www.gibson.com or www.gibson.com/press.

About TuneCore

TuneCore (www.tunecore.com) has changed the 100-year-old rules and model of the music business. It is a low, flat fee service that delivers anyone's music to iTunes, eMusic, Amazonmp3 and many other major download sites while taking no rights and no revenue from the sale of the music. Artists are building careers, selling significant volumes of music and generating revenue while keeping their rights utilizing the new model created by TuneCore. TuneCore has delivered the music of Nine Inch Nails, Keith Richards, Bjork, Jay-Z, Public Enemy and thousands of others to the digital download stores.

About FameCast

FameCast (www.famecast.com) is "Where Independent Artists Win." As the premier online talent competition and community for emerging, entrepreneurial musicians, FameCast shines the spotlight on those who have what it takes, but have lacked the breaks. The company's proprietary contest platform, at FameCast.com, provides artists with worldwide exposure to new fans, major cash prizes, and industry opportunities such as performances at Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits Music Festival. Companies also harness FameCast's contest platform to power branded contests, such as 'Guitar Center On Stage' and the Big State Festival's "Big State Big Star" competition.

   Media Contacts:   Alyssa Miller / 5WPR (GuitarCenter)   amiller@5wpr.com / 212.584.4290   Maureen O'Connor / Rogers & Cowen (Motley Crue)   moconnor@rogersandcowan.com 310.854.8116  

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Guitar Center

CONTACT: Alyssa Miller of 5WPR, +1-212-584-4290, amiller@5wpr.com for
GuitarCenter; Maureen O'Connor of Rogers & Cowen, +1-310-854-8116
moconnor@rogersandcowan.com for Motley Crue

Web site: http://www.guitarcenter.com/
http://www.motley.com/
http://www.makerockhistory.com/
http://www.famecast.co/
http://www.tunecore.com/
http://www.gibson.com/
http://www.10thst.com/
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment