January 23, 2014 - Unsigned Only Music Competition today announced its judging panel and mentors for the 2014 competition, which is now accepting entries. Judges consist of iconic recording artists and journalists, each bringing unique expertise in a wide variety of contemporary music genres. Mentors include the top echelon of record company executives, ranging from label Presidents to A&R reps.

Designed for solo artists, bands, and singers who are not signed to a major label, Unsigned Only's goal is to find an outstanding, talented performing artist: 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.

"We are honored that so many high-profile, influential artists and music journalists have signed on to be judges," says Founders/Directors Candace Avery and Jim Morgan. "Additionally, the mentors this year are equally impressive, coming from labels such as Republic Records, Capitol, Sire, Warner Bros., Atlantic, Elektra, RocNation, Word, and more. We are thrilled that they want to participate, and we know that the Grand Prize winner will benefit greatly from the opportunity to network with them."

Last year's Grand Prize winner was country artist Wes Mack for his song "Duet." Wes commented, "Winning Unsigned Only proved exceptionally beneficial, and it actually helped us push the song higher in the charts (it peaked at #9 on the Canadian Country Billboard Chart). The mentoring sessions were great, and Unsigned Only has been a phenomenal experience and one I feel very lucky to have had."

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.

Unsigned Only is sponsored by Sony Creative Software, Guitar Center, D'Addario, Casio, Disc Makers, Intellitouch Tuner, Topspin Media, David Bean Photography, Mrs. Fields Cookies, The Music Business Registry, and Celebrity Access.

For entry and general information, please go to http://www.unsignedonly.com

For more info on David Crowder visit the JFH Artists Database. For more info on Aaron Shust visit the JFH Artists Database. For more info on Jason Gray visit the JFH Artists Database.

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