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Festival Structure
Initial Sign Up and Meeting
To sign up to the Surface Unsigned Festival you must fill in an application form which you can find here>>. Please make sure that you fill in all the relevant areas marked with *; we require all band members’ names and ages, at least three email addresses, two contact numbers and two addresses. Don't worry, we will not pass any details on to any other organisations - all your information is private and is only used by us in conjunction with the festival.
Once we have received your online application you will contacted via email to confirm we have received all the relevant information. Your application will then be vetted. If your application is successful we will invite you to a local meeting with your area manager. The Festival will be explained in detail to you and you will have the opportunity to ask any relevant questions. Your area manager will then book you onto your first stage gig. Which gig we book you onto will depend on the age of your band and the genre of your music.
Due to the large amount of applications received Surface Unsigned cannot inform every band if their application has been unsuccessful, we will only contact successful applicants.
Stages 1 & 2
In stages 1 and 2 the Surface Unsigned voting system consists of a ratings structure. Ratings can be gained through audience votes, text vote, musicians’ votes and industry votes.
1 text vote = 1 rating
1 audience vote = 5 ratings
1 musicians’ vote = 20 ratings
1 industry vote = 30 ratings
At each 1st and 2nd stage event the four bands with the highest ratings will progress. For technical information on equipment and back line please see FAQs.
Stage 3 - Semi-final Showcases
In the semi-final showcases the Surface Unsigned voting system consists of a ratings structure. Ratings can be gained through audience votes and text vote.
1 text vote = 1 rating
1 audience vote = 5 ratings
At each event the four bands with the highest ratings will be considered by our judge(s) who will then decide on the band(s) for the Regional Showcase.
(Number of bands progressing in each region varies depending on the number of bands taking part in the festival in each region. For the number of bands progressing in each region see the appropriate regional minisite).
Stage 4 - Regional showcase
At the Regional Showcases bands will play in front of a panel of independent industry guests.
At the Regional Showcases in each area (North, Midlands, South, West) the progressing bands will be decided by a combination of text votes and by the committee of industry guests.
The Surface Unsigned Regional Showcase scoring works on a points system which combines the scores from our panel of professional judges (3 judges will form the Surface Unsigned Committee) and the result of the text vote for each band.
For further details on the scoring system devised for the Surface Unsigned Regional and National Showcases please see below.
(Number of bands progressing in each region varies depending on the number of bands taking part in the festival in each region. For the number of bands progressing in each region see the appropriate regional minisite).
Surface Unsigned National Charts: There may be an opportunity for two further bands nationally to progress to the National Showcase based upon the highest Surface ratings throughout the Festival (charts).
Stage 5 - National showcase
The National Showcase will be held at the O2-Complex in London.
At the National Showcase 16 bands will play in front of an independent industry panel (Surface Unsigned Committee). The prize winners of the festival will be decided by a combination of text votes and by the committee of industry guests.
The Surface Unsigned National Showcase scoring works on a points system which combines the scores from our panel of professional judges (3 judges will form the Surface Unsigned Committee) and the result of the text vote for each band.
For further details on the scoring system devised for the Surface Unsigned Regional and National Showcases please see below.
The Scoring System
The Surface Unsigned Regional/National Showcase scoring system works on a 75:25 basis. Seventy five percent of the final score comes from the judges' points and twenty five percent comes from text votes cast for each band. Each judge’s points awarded will contribute 25% of the final score for each band.
Judges (Surface Unsigned Committee): The judges' scores are translated into points with the maximum points available being 16 with the scores going down to 1. (This is dependent on the number of bands playing. For example as we have 16 bands competing in the National Showcase, the maximum points available are 16 with the scores going down to 1.). As there will be three judges each contributing scores from 1 to 16 for each band, each score given will be worth 25% of each bands final score.
Text Vote: In a similar way, the results from the text votes are also translated into points with the band receiving the most text votes receiving the maximum number of points. As with the judges' points, the maximum points available are 16 going down to 1. The scores calculated from the public text vote will be worth 25% of each bands final score.
If there is a tie: If there is a tie at the top of the text vote leaderboard, the tied bands will each get 16 points (and the next band in line will get 14 points). The same applies in any other positions on the text vote leaderboard. If there is a tie at the bottom of the text vote leaderboard then the tied bands will each get 2 points.
Combined Scores: The 3 scores from the judges’ leaderboard and the score from the text vote leaderboard are then combined to calculate each band’s total score. (This means the highest total score a band can get is 64 = 16 + 16 + 16 +16).
Once all 3 judges’ scores and the text votes have been combined, if, in the extremely unlikely event that there is a tie between any bands, then the head judge’s score will make the final decision between the tying bands.
Please note: There are a number of contingencies which could occur on or before the event since this is a live show. Surface Unsigned Ltd reserves the right to amend the voting system accordingly and if it does so, clear announcements will be made on stage explaining the changes and the reasons for them.
How you can vote for the Surface Unsigned National Showcase: Public voting is by text vote only. The size of the likely response to the competition and votes means that text voting is one of the most suitable ways to enable such a large number of votes to be handled.
The text vote numbers for each band are displayed on our website, on the line-up sheets hung around the venue at the event and will also be announced by the presenter during the live show.
Text vote lines will close at the end of the show and will be announced by the presenter during the live show. Please do not text vote after the lines have closed as your vote will not be counted, but you may still be charged.
16+. Texts cost £1.00 plus standard network charges. Please get permission from the bill payer. Customer services: festival@surfaceunsigned.co.uk or contact us on 0800 434 6076
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© 2010 Surface Unsigned Festival. All Rights Reserved
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