NA2R to become First Break

One of last year’s New Artist to Radio (NA2R) winners, Danielle Blakey, has been announced as a finalist in the inaugural ABU Radio Song Festival to be held in Korea in October. Danielle was entered by Commercial Radio Australia and will compete with 14 other unsigned acts from around the Asia Pacific region.

Chief executive officer of CRA, Joan Warner congratulated Danielle and said her success highlighted the great talent coming through the Australian music scene.

“The ABU Radio Song Festival is in its first year of operation and aims to promote unsigned original music across Asia and the Pacific. Danielle will be performing in Seoul, Korea on 11 October  in conjunction with the  ABU General Assembly. It will be a glittering occasion and could open doors to a broader international audience,” Ms Warner said.

This year the NA2R has been revamped and relaunched as First Break.

 “The enhanced program, for which the commercial radio industry has joined forces with the Mushroom Group, is open to unsigned artists who have not charted in the top 100 Australian national airplay chart. Entries have closed for 2012 and judging is underway.”

Under First Break, the commercial radio industry will provide airtime across major metropolitan and regional networks to promote the selected artist and, together with the Mushroom Group, will financially support the winner for the release of two singles and touring and marketing.

“We are very lucky to have judges of a very high caliber this year including Michael Gudinski, Chairman of The Mushroom Group.”

The new initiative includes:

• airplay support for two single releases and commercial radio airtime support for touring and marketing over 12 months, conservatively valued at $1.9 million;
• joint financing by commercial radio and the Mushroom Group for creating video clips social media activation and on-road support to build a long term partnership with the chosen artist or band over twelve months;
• performing at the Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs) in Sydney on October 12 in front of around 1200 of the commercial radio and music industries’ elite.

The new initiative will include a multi-level judging process under which commercial radio music and program directors and Mushroom will be involved in three levels of judging with input from music journalists in the early judging rounds. Five finalists will be chosen and one winner announced at the end of September.

ABU Radio Song Festival finalists announced