The submission deadline for
all four 2006 IMWS events has passed. The screening
sessions are now underway. Each region will be evaluated
separately, and all four regions will go through the
same screening regimen.
First, the initial batch of entries will go to TAXI's
offices in Los Angeles where each submission is listened
to by someone on their veteran A&R staff. The criteria
used for all IMWS screenings include: Overall Vibe
(the listener's gut reaction to the music), Songwriting,
Lead Vocal/Lead Instrument Performance, Overall Musical
Performance, and Originality. We've specifically crafted
the criteria to work with all genres of music, and
there are no stipulations to choose a certain number
of artists from any specific genre. Our goal throughout
the process is to uncover the best music submitted,
whatever the genre. Fortunately, in our 12 years of
experience, we have always ended up with an eclectic
mix of styles in the pool of semi-finalists.
The TAXI screening sessions yield 100 semi-finalists
per region (which represents the top 7-8%). Those
100 semi-finalists then ship to the offices of Billboard
magazine in New York City, where editors listen to
all the selections on their way to choosing the top
six. These top six acts represent the best independent
music submitted for their region. This process never
involves reading bios, perusing photos, checking pedigrees,
audience participation, or popularity. We submit the
music to people in the music industry and ask them
to evaluate each act solely on what they hear.
Once the six finalists are selected, they will perform
at an IMWS showcase. We assemble a panel of 12 judges
at each show, comprised entirely of local industry
folks, who score the performances on the same criteria
TAXI and Billboard were using in the screening sessions,
with the addition of a "Stage Presence" category.
Based on the scores from the show, one Grand Prize
Winner per region is crowned and awarded the huge
prize the night of the show!
The screening sessions are done in the same order
as the showcases. We will announce semi-finalists
and finalists as they are chosen, so announcements
will be made throughout the next five months (see
schedule in sidebar). Everyone who submitted will
receive written notification of their status approximately
one month prior to the show (in addition to having
the information posted on this web site), and finalists
will be notified via telephone and are officially
announced once they have made a verbal confirmation
to perform. |
|
| |
 |
June 14
Semi-Finalists announced |
June 30
Finalists announced |
August 3
Showcase in Los Angeles |
| |
July 5
Semi-Finalists announced |
July 21
Finalists announced |
August 17
Showcase in Chicago |
| |
August 2
Semi-Finalists announced |
August 23
Finalists announced |
September 21
Showcase in Atlanta |
| |
September 13
Semi-Finalists announced |
September 29
Finalists announced |
October 26
Showcase in Philadelphia |
|
Listen
to GMF Radio Channel 
