Fender has launched the Player Plus Studio Sessions, allowing unsigned artists the chance to win 10 hours of recording time at a professional recording studio.
The artists' tracks will be judged by a panel of industry experts, including Nile Rodgers of Chic, Wolfpaint's Emily Kokal and Ashley McBryde.
Fender says the initiative was inspired by the recent launch of its Player Plus range of electric guitars and bass guitars, and it sees the company partner with top recording studios in the UK and Ireland, Australia, Japan, Mexico and the United States to support the development of the best unsigned musical talent.
“At Fender, we are dedicated to providing artists with the resources they need to fuel their creativity,” said Fender CEO Andy Mooney, who also be sitting on the judging panel. “Player Plus Studio Sessions: Powered by Fender is the manifestation of Fender’s dedication to artists at every stage of their journey. The hope is this program will jump start their artistic careers enabling them to fuel their passion to achieve their dreams.”
Applicants can be a band playing any style, instrumentalists, or solo artists, just so long as they are aged over 18 and have the capability to travel to the studio nearest to them.
In addition to winning 10 hours of recording time, artists will receive support from on-site engineers, a £400 subsidy towards mixing what they record, plus gear from the Player Plus series, and mentoring from industry experts such as Ari Herstand – who recently released the free Fender Artist Playbook to help up-and-coming artists go pro.
“I'm passionate about nurturing new artists, it's something that I've done my whole life,” said Nile Rodgers. “As a producer it's very exciting to provide undiscovered artists with the tools they need to speak through their music and not just play.”
The Fender Player Plus Studio Sessions are open for submissions now, and will close on 20 October, with the winners to be announced on 10 November. You can submit your entry here. And read more about the Fender Player Plus Series here.
The participating studios are as follows:
United States
EastWest Studios (Los Angeles), MDDN (Los Angeles), Flux Studios (New York City), Welcome to 1979 (Nashville)
UK and Ireland
RAK Studios (London), Coastal Sound Recording Studio (Liverpool), Steelworks Studios (Sheffield), Chamber Studio (Edinburgh), Camden Recording Studios (Dublin)
Australia
Sing Sing (Melbourne), Studios 301 (Sydney)
Japan
Freedom Studio Infinity (Tokyo)
Mexico
Pieza Estudios (Mexico City)
