Guitar Center Presents Your Next Record With Travis Barker: One Unsigned Artist's Chance to Record With the Acclaimed Drummer & Producer

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., March 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing its support of aspiring artists, Guitar Center (www.guitarcenter.com), the world's largest musical instrument retailer, today announced an all-new installment of their groundbreaking unsigned artist discovery program - Guitar Center Presents Your Next Record with Travis Barker. The retailer and Barker are teaming up to give the one undiscovered artist the unprecedented opportunity to record with the acclaimed drummer and producer at Red Bull Studios in Los Angeles. Starting today through April 30th, 2011, unsigned artists (including hip-hop, punk, rock and R&B genres) across the United States are invited to submit their music at YourNextRecord.com for a chance to win a thrilling prize package that includes:

• A 3-song ep produced by Travis Barker at Red Bull Studios in Los Angeles
• Travis Barker to appear on a the winning artists single
• $10,000 in new gear from Guitar Center
• Worldwide distribution of the winners music through TuneCore

"It is harder than ever to get noticed as a musician, even if you are producing really great material," said Barker. "That's what Guitar Center and I hope to change for one talented artist or group that's ready to go to the next level."

"Guitar Center is incredibly committed to developing programming that provides emerging artists with unparalleled, career-altering opportunities," said Dustin Hinz, Guitar Center's Director of Music and Entertainment Marketing.  "We're honored to work closely with so many like-minded artists, like Travis, who share our passion to provide today's most talented artists what they need most –Opportunity."

Guitar Center has commissioned the leading online music company for unsigned bands, OurStage.com, adopting its proprietary competition management technology, to collect and present each music artist's submissions and allow music fans to rank them using OurStage.com's fan judging software, ensuring that the best artists rise to the top. In addition, all artists will be armed with digital tools to help encourage their fans to judge their submissions as well as other great, unsigned artists. As an added bonus to promote their music, TuneCore will be giving all entrants free distribution of a single into iTunes and other music stores. After the submission and judging period, Travis Barker will personally evaluate the top 100 artists and select the winner. For a Guitar Center Presents Your Next Record with Travis Barker teaser, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6duEE1tqiP4.

Travis Barker is an iconic drummer, producer and entrepreneur whose hits with Blink 182 helped shape a generation of musicians and fans. His anticipated new solo album, "Give the Drummer Some", is scheduled to release on March 15th, and tickets for "I Am Still Music Tour" featuring Travis Barker, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj are on sale now.

Guitar Center's inaugural Your Next Record unsigned artist program featured legendary guitarist Slash. The winning band, State Line Empire, will release their single "Drive Me" recorded with the iconic guitarist on March 8th on iTunes. Singer-songwriter Brandon Green received a phone call from Keith Urban in mid February informing him that they would be in the studio together soon, as Urban hand-selected Green as the winner of the Guitar Center's Your Next Record with Keith Urban, the second installment of the groundbreaking program.

Guitar Center Presents Your Next Record is just one of many Guitar Center initiatives created to foster growth and success within the music community. In addition to the first edition of this competition, Your Next Record with Slash, Guitar Center also provides its annual King of the Blues, Drum-Off and On-Stage competitions to emerging musicians, among others.

• Guitar Center's King of the Blues searches for the next great undiscovered blues guitar player.

• Annual Drum-Off, which completed its 22nd year, has been a launching pad for many successful drummers, including Cora Coleman-Dunham (Prince) and Tony Royster Jr. (Jay Z).

• Guitar Center On-Stage allows a winning band to play an opening slot for rockstar judges, which have included Motley Crue and KISS.

About Guitar Center

Guitar Center is the world's largest retailer of guitars, amplifiers, drums, keyboards, recording, live sound, DJ and lighting equipment. Our retail store subsidiary presently operates 216 Guitar Center stores across the U.S. We are also the largest direct response retailer of musical instruments in the United States through our wholly owned subsidiary, Musician's Friend, Inc., and its catalog and Web site, www.musiciansfriend.com. In addition, our Music & Arts division operates more than 100 stores specializing in band instruments for sale and rental, serving teachers, band directors, college professors and students. More information on Guitar Center can be found by visiting the company's Website at www.guitarcenter.com.

The Guitar Center logo is a registered trademark of Guitar Center, Inc. Other brand or product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

SOURCE Guitar Center