Three unsigned acts are the winners of the Australian commercial radio industry’s search for the next big on-air discovery, the New Artist 2 Radio (NA2R) initiative. The winners are Finabah (rock category); Mojada (pop category) and Emma Donovan (adult contemporary category).
The winners will share in a $150,000 advertising prize across the four major radio networks down the east coast of Australia, with an opportunity to be added to the playlists of selected radio stations from early next year.
Mojada: NSW (Pop) The band from Bondi in Sydney consists of Marco Yellin, Chad Kendrick and Wesley Roy and has been described as “…like John Butler jamming with Michael Hutchence.” They have toured in the US and released their latest EP this year called “Exactly”.
Emma Donovan: NSW (Adult contemporary) Emma is establishing herself as one of Australia’s finest indigenous singer songwriters. Originally from northern NSW, Emma includes her traditional language, Gumbayngirr, in many of her songs. Emma has just released a five track EP and video called “Ngarraanga”.
Finabah: QLD (Rock) Named after Swedish slang meaning cool or hip, this four person band started playing in the garage, and have since toured the east coast of Australia twice. Their first EP was called, “Wishing for Wings” and they released a single in June this year called “Sugarcoat”.
The nine finalists have been selected from a record number of 298 entries, up 77% compared to last year.
Commercial Radio AustraliaCEO Joan Warner says:
“These three winners will share in some great prizes – including a $150,000 advertising prize across the four major radio networks, together with the opportunity to be added to the playlists of selected radio stations for four weeks as well as extensive advice from industry experts on distribution, management and marketing.”
The winners were announced at a workshop today held in Sydney and were judged by a panel of commercial radio network program and music directors from around Australia, with the decision based on commercial radio play potential.
All nine finalists in the event: The Violet Flames (VIC), The Moderns (QLD), Finabah (QLD) (rock category); Ray Isaac (NSW), Kate Vigo (VIC), Mojada (NSW) (pop category) and Melanie Horsnell & The Inflatable Girlfriends (NSW), Brianna Carpenter (QLD), Emma Donovan (NSW) (adult contemporary category) attended the workshop and received advice on management and marketing.
The three winners will perform at the NA2R showcase event to be held in Sydney on 9 October in front of a large crowd of key music and program directors from the commercial radio sector. One winner from these three acts will then be chosen to perform the following night at the Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs), to be held in Sydney on 10 October.