Hot Pursuit Record Deal Contest

Artists Compete to Win a Record Deal with Original Signal/Epic, the Chance to Perform at Spin’s Year In Music Party and Gibson Guitar Gear

Butch Walker, Peter Morén, Michael Showalter, and Doug Brod Confirmed as Judges

The head-to-head voting round kicks off today in The Hot Pursuit (http://musicnation.com/contest/spin), an online search for the next break-out artist launched by Hennessy, Spin magazine, and Music Nation. Committed to finding and supporting new artists on the rise, Spin and Music Nation have paired with Hennessy to offer musicians career-making opportunities and music fans the chance to truly flaunt their taste.

The Hot Pursuit offers unsigned artists increased exposure in front of the right ears – a wide audience of voracious music fans in addition to industry influencers – while also providing fans with a pool of some of the best up-and-coming musicians in independent music. The grand prize winner of The Hot Pursuit will earn a record deal with Original Signal/Epic Records, a performance slot at Spin’s Year In Music Party in December, and a new Gibson SG guitar and bass.

There are multiple stages of voting in The Hot Pursuit. For the first five weeks, artists rallied their fans to vote daily. The top 500 vote-getters have now moved to the next round that lasts for four weeks and employs Music Nation’s head-to-head player, which randomly pits two artists against each other and asks the community to choose between them. For the final two weeks of voting, the top 20 artists from the head-to-head rankings and four Tastemaker’s Picks (determined by Music Nation, Original Signal, and Spin staffers) will be sent to the judges for evaluation before Music Nation, Original Signal, Epic, and Spin make the final decision. The winner will be announced July 31st.

Nearly 5,000 artists entered the first Hot Pursuit competition, which Spin and Music Nation launched in August 2007. Yorktown Heights, NY’s three-piece The Scarlet (http://musicnation.com/music/thescarlet