Let bottle commence

The £17,000 cache of prizes includes £2,000 in filthy lucre from Bacardi, three days recording time in Cauldron Studios, 500 CDs from Trend, a video from the Galway Film Centre, a one single distribution deal in conjunction with Record Services, a Roland VS840 hard disk home recording unit from Music Maker, PR support, print and design of posters, photo session and prints, a full page hotpress interview, an advisory session with top industry professionals and a professionally designed website from Global Music Distribution.

There’s also a not-to-be-sniffed-at £8,000 worth of goodies for the writers of the Bacardi/hotpress Song of the Year.

“We received 450 entries last year which, although phenomenal, we reckon on beating this time round,” says HP’s Ken Allen. “The 2000 winners, Woodstar, are currently being courted by a UK major, so as well as the monetary value of the prize, it’s a great way to attract A&R interest.”