Over the past months, Ernie Ball has awarded a years’ supply of free strings away to OurStage artists from all walks of the musical spectrum.  The Black Rabbits, Skyler, and A Vision Grotesque have all taken home free strings simply by doing what they do best; making great music. This month Ernie Ball is giving modern rockers a shot at this incredible prize package, and the competition is heating up. During the last days of December, all the artists in the Modern Rock Channel will vye for the top spot and a chance to get hooked up with 52 sets of guitar strings, 12 sets of bass strings and swag from Ernie Ball. YOU can make a difference at this crucial point in the competition by judging in the channel to ensure the best music makes it to the top. Hurry over to the Modern Rock Channel now to judge before it’s too late. For official rules and competition information click HERE.

Fans, it’s that time of the month again. The MTV “Score SKINS Music Project” Competition is entering the home stretch in order to give the top ranked artists in the channel a shot at getting their original song featured on the upcoming season of MTV SKINS.  In case you hadn’t heard, SKINS is a smash teen drama—following a group of teens as their lives are caught up in the world of love, sex and drugs—that originally made big waves in the UK. MTV is bringing the show across the pond with a fresh cast of characters, and are looking for great original music to accompany the show. This is your chance to help break your favorite up-and-coming artist to the masses by helping them get their song broadcast to millions of viewers across the US. All you need to do is JUDGE! Head to the channel now and vote for your favorite OurStage artist. You might just find some great new music along the way.

Congratulations to the 10 OurStage members who won sweepstakes prizes in Your Next Record with Keith Urban Competition.  Each week, Guitar Center awarded a $50 gift card to fans for judging in this competition throughout October, November and December.  Not only did they win the gift cards, but their participation in judging helped determine the artist winner who will get to record with Keith Urban! Fans really do win at OurStage!

Big ups to these guys for winning!

John Biord (Nashville, TN)

Paxton Campbell (Cleburne, TX)

Brandon Clark (Broken Arrow, OK)

Brandon Ghorley (Milton, WA)

Travis Kidd (Bixby, OK)

Gretchen King (Columbus, OH)

Ben Jenkins (Madison, WI)

Melanie May (Middlefield, OH)

Dan Staggs (Marietta, GA)

Mark Yamplosky (Charleston, SC)

If you missed out on these cool fan prizes, don’t worry. There are lots of other places on OurStage to win, like the Holiday Ho Down. Explore the site, answer some questions and win prizes! And stay tuned for more cool fan opportunities.

In October, Tulsa, Oklahoma pop-rockers Stars Go Dim won the Grand Prize in the Subway “Fresh Artists” Competition with their song “Get Over It,” which awarded the band the incredible opportunity to open for The Goo Goo Dolls at the Star 103.3 Jingle Ball in San Francisco, CA on December 10, 2010.  In addition to the to the performance, SGD will also receive $1,000 cash and a songwriting session with professional songwriter Evan Bogart, famous for writing hits for artists the likes of Beyoncé, Britney Spears and Adam Lambert! The guys in the band got the incredible opportunity to meet the members of the Goo Goo Dolls, as well as share the bill with Hedley and former American Idol winner Kris Allen. Leading up to the show, the band was featured and interviewed on Tulsa’s rock radio station KMOD, which also broadcast their winning single “Get Over It”  to thousands of listeners. The band later performed at a local Subway in their hometown, drawing a crowd of dedicated local followers.  We caught up with Michael Wittig, bassist for Stars Go Dim, after the show to hear all about their experience.

OS: How did your performance go? What kind of  increased buzz have you guys seen up to and after the show?

MW: Our performance at the Star 101.3 Jingle Ball with the Goo Goo Dolls and Kris Allen went awesome.  We’ve been told we played very well. I don’t know about the other guys, but I rocked the bass that night, ha.

OS: How did the audience respond to your set?

MW: The crowd was very receptive and showed it spending their hard earned money on us after the show. I was surprised by the amount of CDs/shirts we sold. We took pictures with some of them after the show and have kept in touch with some via Facebook since the show.

OS: How did it feel to have the opportunity to open for the Goo Goo Dolls? Did you get to meet them?

MW: We were very excited about the whole thing. The Goo Goo Dolls have had so many hits and great songs. We did get to meet them. They set up a private meeting for us with them and had a photoshoot. The guys were very friendly and encouraging. John even gave us a shout out on stage during their set.

OS: How did you get your fans to come and judge in the competition?

MW: We asked them very nicely :) Many of our fans have become good friends of ours. We made sure that a handful of them were able to attend the show on us. And when that doesn’t work blackmailing sometimes helps get those extra votes.

OS: What do you think is the most important way to market yourself as a band?

MW: Be personable with fans and give them your time. You just might get their time in return and win huge contests like this. Oh, having good quality music helps too!

OS: How do you plan to use this opportunity to further your career?

MW: Every time something great like this happens, it just helps build our story. Not many independent artists can say they’ve played with John Mayer, Chris Daughtry, Jason DeRülo and now the Goo Goo Dolls. Being able to add this to our history just makes it easier to land new opportunities. Being a part of events like this opens doors.

OS: What has been the most exciting aspect of this whole experience?

MW: Being recognized by Clear Channel and the Goo Goo Dolls out of so many other great artists. Also, getting to meet and watch the Goo Goo Dolls perform. It was pretty cool to watch them play “Name” and their other hits live. We travel so much we don’t really get a chance to “attend” concerts for fun. We definitely look up to them and their songwriting.

Stars Go Dim is scheduled to be interviewed by local radio stations in and around their hometown in the coming weeks, and their story has been picked up by a local paper who will cover their entire experience in the Subway “Fresh Artists” Competition from start to finish. Stay tuned to the airwaves for word from this up-and-coming band. Click below to check out the video of the band’s meet and greet with the Goo Goo Dolls.

Congratulations to Skyler from Glen Ridge, NJ, winner of November’s Ernie Ball Competition on OurStage’s Punk Channel! This lucky group scored a complimentary year supply of guitar and bass strings.

Throughout November, punk artists submitted original songs and the Top 20 acts were reviewed by judges at both Ernie Ball and music experts at OurStage. Thanks to everyone who submitted, and judged in this competition! In December, Ernie Ball continues to give away free strings to  the best artist in Modern Rock! Click HERE for details.

The New Music Seminar (NMS) is dedicated to helping artists navigate the rough waters of today’s music business, giving them the tips they need to stand out from the competition, keep up with the latest technology and equip them with the tools to help build their musical empires. NMS is teaming up with OurStage to send one lucky artist to Los Angeles to perform at the NMS closing party at The Roxy on February 16, 2011.  The winning artist will have the chance to perform in front of some of the new music industries pioneering personalities, including Michael Doernberg (ReverbNation), Pete Edge (President A&R Jive Records), Courtney Holt (President of MySpace Music), Tim Westergren (CEO of Pandora), Megan Jacobs (The Roxy LA), Jay Frank (CMT), Kelly G (BET), Chris Vinson (Bandzoogle), Jason Floom (Lava Records), Ian Rogers (Top Spin Media), Tony Van Veen (Discmakers & CD Baby), Edward Donnelly (Aderra), Ted Cohen (TAG Strategic), Craig Kallman (CEO of Atlantic Records) Brian Carpizo (Eventric) and OurStage CEO Ben Campbell!

The competition opens today, December 13th, and is open to all singer-songwriter, rock and pop artists. The competition will run throughout December and January, giving artists a full month and a half to get their tunes into the ears of the folks at NMS 2011. A panel of music experts at OurStage will choose the winning artist from the Top 20 ranked artists in the channel at the end of January. For official rules and competition information, click HERE.

Have you used OurStage search lately? If you have, you probably noticed that events now come up in search results! This means that you can search for your favorite OurStage artist and—in addition to seeing their profile, songs and videos—you will be able to find their upcoming shows! Search your city, state or a local venue to locate events that are happening near you. Find an event you like?  Click the RSVP button and it will automatically be added to your OurStage profile calendar so you won’t forget. You can also click on the “Hot Shows Near Me” link in your favorite genre channel to find shows in your area.

Search to find events in your area!

This new feature is just the most recent step in making events a larger part of the OurStage experience. Subscribe to the OurStage Newsletter and read the OurStage Magazine to stay up-to-date on all of the latest OurStage developments.

Welcome to the OurStage scavenger hunt, Holiday Hunt Ho-Down. Throughout December, we will award 105 prizes! Starting today, you can explore our site, test your knowledge and win. Answer some questions about different areas of OurStage, like our competitions, magazine, prizing, Best Of Charts and judging. It’s fun!

The first five OurStage users who answer the questions correctly will win a $50 gift card to PUNK.com, the fashion destination for hipsters and punkers (and everyone else…). The next 100 OurStage users to answer the questions correctly will receive a new OurStage “The New Music Revolution” shirt. So gear up, grab your eggnog  and get rolling in order to have fun, spread the word and start winning. Fans do win at OurStage!

When’s the last time you were able to check out some truly awesome music, help independent artists further their career and score a chance to win $50 bucks to Guitar Center all at once? OurStage and Guitar Center are currently giving fans and music lovers across the US a shot at doing just that. The “Your Next Record with Keith Urban” Competition opened in October, offering independent artists a chance to compete for a career-breaking prize package—a three song demo with a top producer, a single featuring Keith Urban, a $10,000 shopping spree at Guitar Center and much more. Submissions for the competition have now ended, but judging for the channel is open until December 15^th!  All judges are eligible to win a $50 gift card to Guitar Center, and one winner will be chosen weekly until this deadline. That’s two more chances to win, so get to judging! For official rules and competition information click HERE.