Music Industry Leaders Named as Judges in the 10th Annual Fortune Battle of the Corporate Bands

CLEVELAND, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- An elite panel of four music industry judges, comprising of rock legends and music industry leaders, will select the 2010 best corporate rock band in the 10th Annual Fortune Battle of the Corporate Bands. Presented by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, the finals event will take place at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Oct. 1-2 in Cleveland, Ohio.

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The judging panel for the grand final competition includes prominent musician and record producer, Alan Parsons, along with American rock drummer and former member of Billy Joel's band, Liberty DeVitto, Making Music magazine editor-in-chief Antoinette Follett, and director of marketing and communications for NAMM, Scott Robertson.

"The Corporate Battle of the Bands brings to life the benefits of music making in the workplace," said Joe Lamond, NAMM president and CEO. "As the program celebrates its 10th anniversary, more Fortune 500 companies are supporting music-making activities for their employees and really embracing the fact that music making relieves stress and makes for happy, motivated employees."

Eight of the best rock bands from top companies across North America will take the stage at the finals competition to battle for the top honor of being crowned Fortune magazine's best corporate band. The international competition provides amateur, company-sponsored bands the opportunity to showcase their talent and passion for music making, with the goal of promoting the benefits of making music, which have been proven to increase employee morale and productivity in the workplace.

About the Judges

Musician, composer, engineer and producer, Alan Parsons had his beginnings as assistant engineer at Abbey Road Studios in London with The Beatles. Before long he was a full-blown engineer and his masterful engineering on Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" earned him the first of many GRAMMY Nominations. Along with songwriting partner Eric Woolfson, he founded The Alan Parsons Project and produced a string of multi-platinum records, including "I Robot" and "Eye In The Sky." Perhaps his best-known work is "Sirius," a sports anthem for the Chicago Bulls.

Liberty DeVitto, former drummer with Billy Joel for more than 30 years, sits on the honorary board of directors for Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in underserved public schools throughout the United States. DeVitto personally has delivered instruments to children in the program and performed at benefit events for this cause. He is also involved as an instructor for a series of music camps for kids called "Camp Jam," held in major U.S. cities and based in Atlanta. DeVitto also has received the honorary title of "Distinguished Professor of the Arts" from Marshall University, where he lectured on music appreciation. 

Antoinette Follett has more than 20 years in the publishing and marketing communications field. An expert in the field of the benefits of making music, Follett is editor-in-chief of Making Music, a lifestyle magazine for amateur musicians, and also managing editor of the AFM's International Musician magazine. She currently serves on the advisory board for the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, Calif.

Scott Robertson is the director of marketing and communications for NAMM, the National Association of Music Merchants. Scott is responsible for communicating NAMM's vision and message to its members as well as other audiences in order to help the organization reach its strategic objective of unifying, leading and strengthening the global music products industry, while creating more active music makers.

About the Finalists

Selected from more than 30 qualified entries, the best 16 bands from across North America were chosen to participate in one of two semi-final regional competitions, and in the end, eight top finalists were selected to compete for the top honor of best corporate band. The finalists of the 10th Annual Fortune Battle of the Corporate Bands are:

• "D7" from Allied World Assurance Company (Farmington, Conn.)
• "Pete Dale & The Dealmakers" from BTI Systems (Ottawa, ON, Canada)
• "Shale Play" from Chesapeake Energy (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
• "DaVita Blues All Stars" from DaVita (Brentwood, Tenn.)
• "Unrestricted Entity" from Deloitte Consulting (New York, N.Y.)
• "The Nuisance" from Hinshaw & Culbertson (Chicago, Ill.)
• "Title 14" from GE Aviation (Hamilton, Ohio)
• "Underpaid" from iTelligence (Cincinnati, Ohio)

Fortune Battle of the Corporate Bands is collaboration between NAMM, Fortune magazine and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Gibson and Air Products also sponsor the competition, the proceeds of which benefit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's educational programs.

About NAMM

The National Association of Music Merchants, commonly called NAMM in reference to the organization's popular NAMM trade shows, is the not-for-profit association that unifies, leads and strengthens the $17 billion global musical instruments and products industry. NAMM's activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages. NAMM is comprised of more than 9,000 Member companies. For more information about NAMM, interested parties can visit www.namm.org or call 800-767-NAMM (6266).

About Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. is the nonprofit organization that exists to educate visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and continuing significance of rock and roll music. It carries out this mission through its operation of a world-class museum that collects, preserves, exhibits and interprets this art form and through its library and archives as well as its educational programs.

About the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's Educational Programs

With the Rock and Roll Hall of fame and Museum's increased focus on bringing music into the classroom, its educational offerings have now become one of the most celebrated and award-winning activities of its kind emanating from a fine arts museum in the U.S.  From the music therapy-based Toddler Rock to the videoconference technology of On the Road, we brought record numbers of students of all ages to the Museum and reached out to new locations across the United States and in Canada, Mexico, Australia and England.

About Fortune

Fortune is a global leader in business journalism with a worldwide circulation of more than 1 million and a readership of nearly 5 million, with major franchises including the Fortune 500 and the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For. Fortune Live Media extends the brand's mission into live settings, hosting a wide range of annual conferences, including the Fortune Global Forum. Fortune magazine's online home is CNNMoney.com, the most visited and utilized business destination website.

SOURCE National Association of Music Merchants