The competition is open to any band in Europe, provided they have no current recording or publishing deal. Between 7 October and 27 December, entrants have to post one of their tracks to the competition web site (details below), together with a short video blog. Tracks posted must be original compositions (bands posting cover versions will not be accepted).
Once the competition has closed, Shure will whittle entrants down to a shortlist, from which the winning band will be chosen by a three-strong panel of industry veterans: Chris Kimsey, producer/engineer for the Rolling Stones, Peter Frampton, Duran Duran and Ash; Matieu Jaton, CEO of the Montreux Jazz Festival Foundation in Switzerland and Antonie Erroll, head of A&R at the Universal Music Group in Holland.
Two bands will also be chosen as runners-up; they will each receive Shure equipment worth 1000 Euros as their consolation prize.
At the Call For Legends launch, Chris Kimsey made the following comment: "The music industry can only survive by encouraging new talent, which is one of the reasons I'm really excited to start hearing the entries for this competition. I'm especially looking out for innovative bands who are creative and bring something original to the table."
Matieu Jaton added: "For nearly half a century, the Montreux Jazz Festival has been a platform for artists to express themselves, from new talents to established performers, from jazz to rock and all points in between. We are very proud to be part of this fantastic competition, encouraging the next wave of creative musicians to come through."
(Jim Evans)
