The Biz Online Reality Competition Kicks Off Revealing The Top 25 Contestants Ready To Make It Big In The Music Business
New York, NY - September 15, 2005 - "The Biz," a new online reality series searching for the next music mogul produced by AOL® Music and Warner Music Group, will kick off the online portion of the competition when the Top 25 contestants are revealed on September 15. These 25 men and women, chosen from the thousands of hopefuls who applied, will participate in online tasks for a panel of expert judges and audience of viewers. The Top 25 will be whittled down to ten contestants who will come to New York City to compete for the chance to win. Fans can check out submission videos, profiles and polls among other unique programming on these 25 contestants at http://www.thebiz.com.
The Top 25 are:
Andrew, 19, a student from Atlanta, GA;
Barbara, 25, a law student from Long Island, NY;
Cary a.k.a "CT" 32, a musician from New York, NY;
Charmaine, 29, a radio host from Lansing, MI;
Chris 26, a road manager from Nashville, TN;
Claire, 26, an artist manager from Atlanta, GA;
Cynthia, 22, a model from Oakland, CA;
Daniel, 22, a real estate agent from Queens, NY;
Dyshaun, 19, home improvement specialist from Philadelphia, PA;
Elijah, 25, a musician/producer from Bakersfield, CA;
Francisco, 23, an event planner from Bronx, NY;
Greg, 23, a salesman from Springfield, VA;
Joshua, 24, a DJ from New Orleans, LA;
Kelly, 27, an executive assistant from Los Angeles, CA;
Lauren, 23, an artist manager from Manayunk, PA;
Makhosazana a.k.a "Makho", 23, a former music intern from Indianapolis, IN;
Malena, 22 a receptionist from Ventura, CA;
Marquise, 25, a former teacher from Philadelphia, PA;
Michael, 23, a part-time radio host from Cresskill, NJ;
Mike, 24 a student/former soldier from Sacramento, CA;
Misti, 27, a country music radio DJ from Nashville, TN;
Nastassia, 21, a music label intern from Phoenix, AZ;
Rhiann, 20, a student from Los Angeles, CA;
Steven, 18, a student/intern from Virginia Beach, VA;
Yancey, 25, a mortgage banker from Oakland, CA.
"The Biz," is a co-production of AOL Music and Warner Music Group with executive producers Lyor Cohen, Chairman and CEO of U.S. Recorded Music for Warner Music Group, and Kevin Conroy, Executive Vice President of the AOL Media Network, in conjunction with critically acclaimed Stick Figure Productions. Contestants from around the country will test their music industry savvy, vying for a position as president of a newly created WMG record label. An interactive online competition between the Top 10 finalists set to take place in New York City this fall will air online and be promoted to AOL's audience of more than 100 million monthly visitors*.
AOL Music (http://www.aolmusic.com) is a leading online destination for music, reaching more than 18.8 million music fans a month* through a rich array of programming, products and services that make it easy to discover, experience, listen to and buy music online.
About Stick Figure Productions
Stick Figure Productions is a New York based film and television production company who have made projects with HBO, UPN, PBS, Cinemax, IFC, VH1, AMC, Bravo, and Showtime. Their projects have played at numerous film festivals, and been nominated for Emmy and Academy Awards. They recently created and executive produced "Family Bonds," a critically-acclaimed real-life series for HBO's Sunday night lineup. They also executive produced "Amish In the City," a reality series for UPN which drew some of the network's highest ratings ever.
About Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group (WMG) became the only stand-alone music company to be publicly traded in the United States in May 2005. With its broad roster of new stars and legendary artists, Warner Music Group is home to a collection of the best-known record labels in the music industry including Atlantic, Bad Boy, Elektra, Lava, Maverick, Nonesuch, Reprise, Rhino, Sire, Warner Bros. and Word. Warner Music International, a leading company in national and international repertoire operates through numerous international affiliates and licensees in more than 50 countries. Warner Music Group also includes Warner/Chappell Music, one of the world's leading music publishers, with a catalog of more than one million copyrights worldwide. For more information about Warner Music Group, visit our corporate website at www.wmg.com.
About America Online, Inc.
America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. Based in Dulles, Virginia, America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services.
* ComScore Media Metrix August 2005