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TV show chance for unknown bands

UNSIGNED bands are getting the chance to make their name on the Channel 4 Saturday morning music show Popworld.

Viewers will be able to decide each month which band rises from obscurity to appear on the show.

The acts will upload their music on the Popworld Promotes website, from where the public will vote for their favourite.

The winning band will appear on the TV show, and receive help with marketing, music videos, and organising tours across the country.

Former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller, who is a Popworld shareholder, said: "Popworld Promotes will help discover unique, raw talent that might not otherwise get noticed.

"By bringing together the best of what the internet can offer with the power of television, Popworld Promotes offers artists a unique opportunity to be seen and heard."

Embrace

Danny McNamara, of the band Embrace, which has been signed up to record the official World Cup anthem, said: "When you're starting out it's so hard to get recognised, especially if you're not from London.

"The internet is making the current music system obsolete, the idea of the critics criticising the record when you can just go online and listen to it in five minutes and decide for yourself.

"With Popworld Promotes you don't have to listen to someone else's opinion any more."

Popworld Ltd chief executive Martin Lowde said: "Consumers seem to want to move away from manufactured bands to genuine musical talent. We want to encourage real people to discover real music."

The launch comes as Popworld presenters Simon Amstell and Miquita Oliver quit the music show after five years.

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