Sonicbids Partners with JanSport and Magisto to Give Emerging Bands Performance Opportunities at South By Southwest

Boston, MA (PRWEB) March 13, 2014

Three performance slots at the Sonicbids Official SXSW Party have been reserved for the winners of the JanSport Battle of the Bands, Magisto Battle of the Bands, and Magisto Battle of the Fans competitions. The party takes place on March 14 from 11:30 AM - 5:30PM at Maggie Mae’s in Austin, Texas.

This year marks the sixth annual JanSport Battle of the Bands powered by Sonicbids. Out of approximately 700 submissions, 100 bands were selected to compete. Online fan voting determined the top 10 finalists, and JanSport ultimately selected White Like Fire as the grand prize winner.

"We're proud of our fans for being ever-stalwart in their resolution, and grateful to Sonicbids and JanSport for quarterbacking this big break,” says White Like Fire’s guitarist/vocalist, Blake Clawson.

White Like Fire will be performing at the Sonicbids Official SXSW Party at noon. JanSport will be covering all of the band’s travel expenses and also providing them with free JanSport gear. Previous JanSport Battle of the Bands winners include The Seedy Seeds (2011), Hotfox (2012), and Cold Fronts (2013).

Sonicbids also partnered with Magisto, an app for creating and sharing beautiful quality personal movies, to give two more SXSW performance slots to talented bands.

"The thing that makes the Sonicbids and Magisto partnership so interesting is that it illustrates a new form of personal expression that gives the power of expression to both the artist and the fan. The winning movies pair the emotional power of music with video and photos to tell powerful personal stories,” says Reid Genauer, CMO of Magisto.

In the first contest, bands had to create movies with the music-inspired “Rock On” theme, designed by Magisto specifically for this competition. Fan voting determined Death on Two Wheels as the Battle of the Bands winner, giving them $2,500 for travel expenses and an 11:30 AM performance slot at SXSW.

"Hats off and much love to all our friends, fans, and family who brought this one home for us,” says Trae Vedder, guitarist/vocalist of Death On Two Wheels. “We can't thank you guys enough for the opportunity – and many thanks to Magisto and Sonicbids for having us!”

In Magisto’s Battle of the Fans competition (separate from the Battle of the Bands), 11 emerging acts were selected to compete. Fans created movies with the “Rock On” theme using their favorite band’s music, and the winner was determined by the number of views across all fan-created movies that use the band’s song. Air Traffic Controller received the most views, and was awarded the final performance slot at the Sonicbids Official SXSW Party.

"Our fans have always pulled together for us in a time of need,” says Dave Munro, songwriter/vocalist/guitarist of Air Traffic Controller. “We showed them an amazing app that brought us all closer together – our music and their videos. Most importantly, this was a fun, simple, addictive, and interactive way for us to connect with new listeners."

In addition to White Like Fire, Death On Two Wheels, and Air Traffic Controller, this year’s party lineup also includes: Miniature Tigers, Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, The Soil and The Sun, Friendly People, Team Me, The Griswolds, Gossling, Cult Fever, and MT Warning.

The Sonicbids Official SXSW Party is free to attend, with complimentary food and drinks provided all day. RSVP is encouraged.

About Sonicbids
Sonicbids is the leading platform for bands to get gigs and people to book bands online. It connects more than 450,000 bands with 30,000 promoters from over 100 different countries. Sonicbids helped launch many of today's hottest artists such as Alpine, San Cisco, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, and Sean Falyon. It offers exclusive partnerships with premier events like South By Southwest (SXSW), Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, CMJ Music Marathon, Spain's Primavera Pro, and Canada's North By Northeast (NXNE). Learn more at http://www.sonicbids.com.

About JanSport
JanSport was founded in 1967 in Seattle, Washington, by three pioneers in the outdoor industry. Though the company began by manufacturing and marketing world-class outdoor backpacks, today they also offer technical outdoor gear, daypacks, travel gear, and collegiate decorated apparel. JanSport merchandise is sold in sporting goods stores, college bookstores, department stores, and specialty and boutique retail locations throughout the world.

About Magisto
Driven by artificial intelligence and simple user experience, Magisto is a cloud-based mobile technology service for creating and sharing beautiful quality personal movies. It automatically selects the most compelling moments from ordinary videos and photos and, like an expert video editor, weaves them together to convey a story with customized styles and music. Magisto is used by millions of customers and is the highest-rated video creation app in the Google Play and iOS App Stores.

Press Contact:
Paula Batson
VP Communications, Magisto
paula(at)magisto(dot)com
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