Hard Rock’s Global Battle of the Bands

Hard Rock is on the hunt for rock stars on the rise to take the stage at the 2012 Hard Rock Calling music festival in London’s Hyde Park.

Hard Rock Rising, the global battle of the bands, will give one local band from this international competition the chance of a lifetime – to be on the bill with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band at one of the world’s most-anticipated concert events.

Hard Rock, in partnership with online music services company ReverbNation is receiving registrations from bands wishing to participate in the global battle. The last day for registration is Tuesday, January 17.

The combination of Hard Rock’s iconic brand and ReverbNation’s extensive network of over 1.8 million artists around the world, will give great undiscovered bands an international stage to jumpstart their careers.

“Hard Rock believes it is critical to support emerging artists and discover new musical talent through the Hard Rock Rising programme,” said John Galloway, VP and Chief Marketing Officer for Hard Rock International.

“Hard Rock is a worldwide icon of music, the perfect brand to provide this opportunity to deserving artists,” added Mike Doernberg, ReverbNation CEO and Co-founder.

“From day one here at Reverb, we’ve been all about the artist and opportunities like Hard Rock Rising extend that mission exponentially.”

To register, future rock stars can visit one of 87 participating Hard Rock Cafe Facebook pages, including Malta. Following open registration, fans decide who moves on to the live performance phase of the programme and can vote on any Hard Rock’s city-specific, Facebook page by downloading free tracks from bands of their choice. A full list of rules and participating locations is available online at www.hardrock.com. After fans choose their favourites, participating Hard Rock Cafe locations around the world will host a series of live competitions featuring these local bands.

One winner will be selected from each location by the other participating bands.

These local winners will be narrowed down to the top 10 bands worldwide via fan voting on participating Hard Rock Facebook fan pages. Finally, a panel of celebrity judges and music industry professionals will select the top three winners.

The winner will be flown to London for the ultimate rock star treatment, including a spot on the bill at Hard Rock Calling 2012. Second and third prize winners will receive $5,000 and $2,500 respectively in ReverbNation PROMOTE IT credits, a revolutionary tool that creates targeted, highly effective Facebook advertising campaigns for musicians and venues promot-ing songs, Facebook pages and concerts.

Visit www.hardrock.com for details on event dates and times and head to a Hard Rock Cafe location in your city to watch your favourite local bands battle for the opportunity of a lifetime.