PHL Live winners will receive Dell Music Center gig, studio time

Free studio time and an opening slot at a 5,000 seat venue are two of the prizes in the city of Philadelphia’s inaugural PHL Live competition. The project to spotlight emerging local musicians across a spectrum of genres, launched earlier this summer, announced what its participants were vying for in a press conference at City Hall last Thursday. Winners in each of the 10 genre categories – pop, hip-hop, country/folk, rock, world, jazz, classical, DJ, gospel and R&B – as well as the vote-driven People’s Choice winner will receive $1,000 in cash prizes along with free recording time at local studios like MilkBoy, The Boom Room and Underground Arts. Studio time varies with each prize, but according to project spokesperson Kimberly Richards, winners will receive four to six hours of studio time on the average.

Additionally, each category winner will receive an opening slot “for a world-class headliner” at The Dell Music Center in Fairmount Park East during the 2015 season.

Other prizes are tailored for each genre category as well, including a consultation with entertainment lawyer Bernie Resnick for the DJ category winner, guest admission to summer sessions at the Curtis Institute of Music for the classical winner and a promotional and recording package from the Art Institute of Philadelphia for the People’s Choice winner.

“As an independent artist, I know it’s difficult to take the steps financially to record, to brand yourself,” said Philly pop singer GoGoMorrow, one of the project’s ambassadors to the music community, at the press conference. “So having somebody do that for you, that’s huge.”

PHL Live was launched by City Councilman David Oh in August as a means to stimulate the city’s creative economy and build a platform for emerging local musicians. Submissions are open through September 30th, and artists can share their YouTube videos and Bandcamp links at the PHL Live website.

Disclosure: Key editor John Vettese is acting as host for the world music category finals at World Cafe Live.