Nelly, Good Charlotte's Madden Brothers, and The Game Among Online Music
    Competition Judges; Clear Channel Radio to Provide Online and On-Air
               Promotion to Give Contest Unprecedented Reach

    NEW YORK, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Music Nation (http://www.musicnation.com),
the artist development company, has announced the final line-up of its
music industry judges as the first online multi-genre video music
competition officially launches. Voting is now formally open and together
with the public, these judges will choose finalists for the 15-week
competition. Music Nation will award a global recording contract with Epic
Records to a winner in each of three genres -- rock, pop and urban.
Additionally, all three winners will be showcased on an episode of
STRIPPED, Clear Channel Radio's exclusive in-studio performance series,
giving unsigned acts the chance of a lifetime.
    Bringing together a diverse group of both artists and music executives,
Music Nation has lined up a team of industry powerhouses to help determine
the competition winners. For the Urban genre, the judges are Nelly,
three-time Grammy Award winner and one of the best selling rappers of all
time with over 35 million records sold, and multi-platinum rapper and
two-time Grammy nominee The Game. Rounding out the Urban judges is Mark
Pitts, President of Urban Music at Jive Records, who over his career has
managed such acts as Notorious B.I.G. and Nas, and is credited for helping
to break such artists as Usher, Ciara, and Chris Brown. Serving as judges
for the Rock genre are brothers Joel and Benji Madden from multi-platinum
recording artists Good Charlotte and producer Howard Benson, who has worked
with acts such as The All-American Rejects, Hoobastank, Papa Roach and My
Chemical Romance, and is currently a 2007 Grammy-nominee for Producer Of
The Year. In the Pop genre, the judges are Charlie Walk, President of Epic
Records, home of platinum-selling acts such as Modest Mouse, Franz
Ferdinand, and Incubus, and producer Jonathan "J.R." Rotem, who has worked
with high profile artists such as Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Destiny's
Child, and Rihanna.
    "This contest is an incredible idea and I'm thrilled to be a part of
it," said Joel Madden of Good Charlotte. "MySpace and other sites have
already given unsigned acts a chance to have their music heard by fans
beyond their hometown, but Music Nation is taking it to the next level by
actually looking to give these artists a career."
    "There are so many artists out there on the come up, grinding away to
get discovered and have their music heard by the masses. Music Nation is
the demo tape of today and I'm glad to be a judge in the competition," said
The Game.
    Music Nation has been accepting entries from musicians ages 14 and
older since mid-November and has already attracted more than 1,000 videos
from some of the most talented unsigned acts across the country. With the
competition now officially underway, fans are invited to register with the
Music Nation site, create a user page, join artist communities, and begin
voting for their favorite entries. As voting will reset weekly, entry will
remain open to musicians and bands for the initial 12 weeks of competition,
available through the Music Nation website or local Clear Channel Radio
station websites with a $25 fee. Each week, the judges and the public will
choose two winners in each genre, and these winning bands will be moved
into the quarterfinals. After the 12 initial weeks, there will be 3 weeks
of quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals until one winner from each genre
is chosen during the 15th week.
    Additionally, Clear Channel Radio will be giving unprecedented exposure
to the online contest through both broadcast initiatives and prominent
placement on local station websites, rallying both fan and artist
involvement. In 25 major markets across the country -- including New York,
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Chicago -- the contest will be
promoted on-air by local radio personalities. These promotions will drive
traffic to the local Clear Channel Radio affiliate websites where bands can
enter the competition and listeners can register and vote each week for the
Music Nation winners. Additionally, Music Nation's weekly webisodes, which
highlight videos from the online competition, will be also be showcased on
the affiliate sites.
    "We are focused on delivering an experience to unsigned acts that will
help them develop sustainable careers in the music business. Working with
artists, producers and executives of our judges' caliber is wildly exciting
for us and hopefully for the independent music community at large," said
Daniel Klaus, Music Nation CEO. "These judges, in combination with our
partnerships with Epic Records and Clear Channel Radio, will help us
provide the ultimate empowerment experience to our audience."
    About Music Nation
    Music Nation is an artist development company launching multi-genre,
online video-based music competitions both domestically and abroad,
bringing together emerging talent from across multiple genres. In providing
an online outlet designed to discover new and established musicians, Music
Nation empowers both artists and the online music community by harnessing
advanced technologies like IPTV - uniquely positioning the company in
today's digitally driven entertainment climate. Founded in 2006, the
company is the brainchild of Daniel Klaus, Lucas Mann, Kevin P. Ryan, and
Peter Read; visionary figures whose expertise crosses the Internet media,
e-commerce, artist management/development and the recording industry
divides.
    Contact:

    Kisha Maldonado
    5W Public Relations
    212.584.4299
    kmaldonado@5wpr.com

    Neil Steinberg
    5W Public Relations
    212.584.4306
    nsteinberg@5wpr.com

    Amanda Pitts
    Music Nation
    212.625.3590 x319
    amanda@musicnation.com