FENDER BACKS INDEPENDENT ARTISTS TO GET BACK INTO RECORDING STUDIOS WITH NEW INITIATIVE

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) today announced the launch of the Player Plus Studio Sessions: Powered by Fender®. Amidst lockdowns and social distancing, it’s no secret that artists have been struggling for both inspiration and support. Enter Fender. This global programme seeks to fulfil the creative aspirations of independent artists around the world by getting them back in the studio and providing them with the tools they need to create their musical art. To bring this programme to life, Fender has partnered with notable recording studios in the US, UK, Australia, Japan and Mexico to host Fender-funded studio sessions with engineers, a mixing credit, Player Plus gear and mentoring resources for winning artists.

Inspired by the recent launch of the Player Plus series, Fender’s new line of guitars and basses are designed with creators and independent artists in mind to be the tool that these artists use to bring their passions to a global stage. The Player Plus Studio Sessions aim to take that same goal a step further by purposefully supporting rising talent, helping them share their message and creativity through original music. This new global programme reinvigorates Fender’s ongoing commitment to musicians, and in particular, independent musicians.

Starting today, Fender is calling for open submissions here. To enter, independent artists must submit either a recent single, music video or live performance to best showcase their talent and creativity. Instrumental acts, bands and solo artists are also encouraged and welcome to enter the Player Plus Studio Session. Eligibility requirements are as follows: applicants must be 18+ years of age, play or have a band member play guitar or bass and must be a fully independent artist. Additionally, applicants must be able to travel to the nearest selected city and studio as winning does not provide travel to and from the studio.

Participating studios by market include:
U.S. Studios: EastWest Studios (Los Angeles), MDDN (Los Angeles), Flux Studios (New York City), Welcome to 1979 (Nashville)
UK: RAK Studios (London), Coastal Sound Recording Studio (Liverpool), Steelworks Studios (Sheffield), Chamber Studio (Edinburgh), Camden Recording Studios (Dublin)
Australia: Sing Sing (Melbourne), Studios 301 (Sydney)
LAT AM: Pieza Estudios (Mexico City)
Japan: Freedom Studio Infinity (Tokyo)

The entry period will run from September 27 through October 20, 2021 with winners announced on November 10, 2021. Each submission will be reviewed by a panel of judges made up of noteworthy producers, artists, journalists and Fender Executives including: Fender CEO, Andy Mooney; Fender VP of Marketing and Head of Artist Relations, Matt Watts; legendary singer-songwriter and producer, Nile Rodgers (U.S.); Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Ashley McBryde (U.S.); Emily Kokal, singer and guitarist for the band Warpaint (U.S.); singer-songwriter and lead vocalist/guitarist for Mercury Prize-winning and Grammy-nominated Wolf Alice, Ellie Rowsell (U.K.); Joaquin Pavia Wakks, artist manager and CEO of Nakama Entretenimiento (Mexico); Director at Heartstop Music and Secretary of the Association of Artist Managers, Alastair Burns (Australia); and more. Submissions will be judged on set criteria including: songwriting, performance quality, creativity, technical guitar playing ability, originality and more.

Panellist Ellie Rowsell said, “Giving a platform to showcase independent artists is really important and I’m also excited to discover some new artists by being on the panel for the Player Plus Studio Sessions!”

“At Fender, we are dedicated to providing artists with the resources they need to fuel their creativity,” said Andy Mooney, CEO of Fender. “Player Plus Studio Sessions: Powered by Fender® is the manifestation of Fender’s dedication to artists at every stage of their journey. The hope is this programme will jump start their artistic careers enabling them to fuel their passion to achieve their dreams.”

In addition to earning valuable studio time, the winning artists will receive a one-hour consultation with Ari Herstand, CEO of Ari’s Take and author of the bestselling book How to Make It in the New Music Business. Herstand is also the author of the 2021 Fender Artist Playbook, a step-by-step guide for emerging artists to tackle the new frontier of music, from cracking TikTok algorithms to leveraging alternative revenue streams, digital marketing tips, NFTs and more. Winners will also receive a Fender® Player Plus guitar or bass to use in the studio at their recording session and keep for future shows and creative endeavours. The new instruments bring Fender’s most iconic models into the modern era. Noiseless pickups provide classic Fender® sound with enhanced clarity and advanced switching capabilities for a wide variety of tonal options. Upgraded features include rolled fingerboard edges and locking tuners and hot, fresh finishes including Belair Blue, Silver Smoke and Tequila Sunrise.