Title: Ottawa Music Awards
Location: Bronson Center, Ottawa
Link out: Click here
Date: 2008-12-04

Arists, producers, record labels and video directors will all be at the Bronson Center tomorrow, Thursday December 4th, for the Ottawa Music Awards. The awards are giving out more than $25,000 in prize money so the best of luck goes out to the nominees. Also, the awards are offering Canadian Independent urban artists the opportunity to be on the cover of M.O.B. Magazine. Also, you’ll get the chance to get your music heard by major record labels. To participate, send your demo or hottest mixtape with all your contact info. You’ll find all the information you need here.

www.OttawaMusicAwards.com

Neferiu is a record label driven on supporting fresh, unique music within the hip hop & electronic spectrum.

Based in Calgary, Canada, Neferiu consistently release cutting edge music & throw quality live shows. Neferiu also offers free monthly album downloads via their website.

Neferiu’s active talent roster includes Mantrakid, Ricca Razor Sharp, Cinister Cee & Tetrix. In addition, Audible Intelligence, Dirty Sample, Pete Meadows, Impirical, Shep, Sense & others have released material through Neferiu.

For a full release history complete with audio samples – and in some cases, complete album downloads – check out www.neferiu.com

While at NXNE, I managed to steal away some time from Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sonicbids, Panos Panay, for an interview.

Sonicbids is a web site that helps bands get gigs, and promoters book the right bands. Their community includes over 150,000 bands, singers, songwriters, and performers of all kinds, and 14,000-plus music buyers of all kinds, including promoters, licensors, festival programmers, and much more. Bands go there for gigs; promoters go there for bands. They have lots of both!

Panos’s childhood dream of being alternatively the next George Best or the next George Benson came to an end when each canceled the other out. The idea for Sonicbids came to him while reading the book “Blur” and decided to go for it in September of 2000. Before that, he worked on the “dark side” of the business as an international talent agent. Panos hails from Cyprus and is a self-described “voracious” reader, usually traveling with more magazines than clothes (that’s a LOT). He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 1994 with a degree in Music Business. In 2005 Panos was named as one of Fast Company Magazine’s “Fast 50″ entrepreneurs and is currently serving as co-chairman of CREATE Boston, an initiative launched by the Mayor of Boston to bolster the creative economy in the city. He is a diehard supporter of English football club Arsenal and by last count he owns over 25 jerseys of “The Gunners” dating back to 1983. He loves his coffee extra strong and blames Elvis for his lifelong fascination with America.

Check out part one of my interview with Sonicbids‘ Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Panos Panay, where we talk about what Sonicbids does and why artists should be all over it like glue.

What Is Sonicbids? An Interview With Panos Panay