Bebo and Music Nation Launch Two New Online Talent Competitions

Bebo and Music Nation recently unveiled an "OnStage" talent competition, which allows bands to upload their music and videos to be judged by staffers and the Bebo community at large.

The grand prize – a record deal with Original Signal and Epic Records and a performance at a SXSW party – will be awarded by Bebo, Live Nation, and record label staffers. Music Nation and others have offered contests like this in the past, and this isn't where I have a problem.

Instead of verifying their identities with a cellphone number as Music Nation did in the past, the Bebo community will also vote on entrants using "MusicNation's unique head-to-head player, which pits two bands randomlyagainst each other and asks the community to choose between them," with the ultimate winner getting a cash prize on March 3. A spokeswoman said Music Nation has been using the system since November's Slash competition.

"Unique?" Hardly. OurStage
has been pioneering the same system since April.
Its no-longer-unique head-to-head voting system, which asks users to choose between tworandomly-selected artists, cannot be gamed, which is why its the best option for online talent contests. Kudos for Bebo and MusicNation for recognizing that it's the best option, but the similarly-named OurStage came up with this idea first.

Here's the full announcement:

BEBO ONSTAGE LAUNCHES, POWERED BY MUSIC NATION

Musicians To Compete For Record Deal and Performance at SXSW

February 6, 2008 – Music Nation, the online home for independent music, and Bebo, the world’s only global Social Media Network, have partnered to host Bebo OnStage, a new competition to identify an up-and-coming band and empower them with career-launching opportunities. Beginning today, artists can upload mp3s and videos at bebo.musicnation.com to enter.

"We're thrilled to partner with Music Nation to launch Bebo OnStage and empower independent, emerging artists with the tools they need to reach a global audience," said Angel Gambino, VP Music for Bebo. "Bebo is committed to providing a community that fosters creativity and self expression, and Bebo OnStage will ultimately help create rich, lasting relationships for our artists and their fan base."

Bebo OnStage offers artists two prizes to win. Throughout the competition, a judging team comprised of Bebo, Music Nation, Original Signal, and Epic staffers will comb through the entries to determine which artist will win the grand prize: a joint record deal with Original Signal/Epic Records and a trip to SXSW to perform at Music Nation and Bebo’s party on Friday March 14th at the Beauty Bar in Austin, TX. At the same time, public voting begins February 11th on bebo.com/musicnation and employs Music Nation’s unique head-to-head player, which pits two bands randomly against each other and asks the community to choose between them. At the end of four weeks of head-to-head voting, the artist with the highest ranking from the Bebo and Music Nation communities will win a cash prize. Both winners will be announced March 3rd.

Bebo, the world’s third most-populated social networking community (the most populated in the UK), has tapped into Music Nation’s unique contesting platform to awaken American artists and music consumers. Bebo OnStage opens Bebo’s highly engaged community of more than 40 million members worldwide to Music Nation’s active and creative community of bands and music fans. Harnessing the power of both online communities, OnStage offers artists greater exposure to these committed audiences while competing toward tangible returns.

“Music Nation is dedicated to providing artists with tools and opportunities that enable them to jumpstart their careers, making ours the perfect platform for Bebo to launch OnStage with in the States. This is the partnership of two online communities committed to independent music,” said Daniel Klaus, Music Nation CEO. “Bebo has a robust global community that rallies around discovering and sharing content, and we believe OnStage creates a unique opportunity for new artists to be heard.”