Next Big Thing 2013 closing date approaches!

Calling all Bands, Artists, Singer-Songwriters and Musicians, your time is time is quickly running out to enter this year’s Next Big Thing competition!

This time five years ago, in 2008, Ed Sheeran had already filled out his application form, went on to win the competition and achieve fame & fortune. So what are you waiting for? Entry closes on Wednesday 11th September so get applying now!

In its tenth year, Next Big Thing, is Future Radio's competition for new and emergingmusical acts from the East of England. The team at Future Radio will once again be working closely with us at Outline as well the guys at OPEN to decide who makes it through to the two semi-finals in October (13thand 20th), as well as the final on Saturday 9th November, which will take place in the spectacular OPEN auditorium.

The Next Big Thing is open to allmusicians – based in Norfolk or Suffolk - who can enter for a chance to win a host of prizes, including; a session to record and mix a track at OPENstudios with that track being made into a video (in both 2D and 3D!), astudiosession at Future Studios of Norwich, and a professional photoshoot from JMA Photography – with more prizes set to be announced soon.

****To enter:

**• Register your band on Outlineonline.co.uk:***If you're already registered, just log-in and make sure you have 'Next Big Thing' selected under 'Genre'

• At the top right of the site, you should see a Login / Sign Up Now box. Click Sign Up now and fill in your details, with the answer to Number 2. Account being Band / Musician

• Fill in your band details, and under Genre, as well as selecting which genres best describe your band, ALSO SELECT genre Next Big Thing

• Confirm and then check your email account to activate your membership(check spam folders if you can't see it). Click on the link in the email, then log in with the details you've chosen, again at the top right of the site.

• It should say Hi [Band Name]. Click on your band name, and you should see tabs below inc. Details, Media, Profile etc.

**Details:**what you have already submitted

**Media:**click Manage Media to add images and video URLS; either upload files from your computer, or add Video URL from Youtube, for example.

**Profile:**Ignore the 'Introduction', and move straight on to adding Text - if you want to tell us about yourself - or Embed. This is essential if you want your entry to be counted in the competition. Please embed music, at least one track, but bear in mind we will only listen to a max of 3 tracks. You can embed code from lots of different music sites, e.g. SoundCloud, BandCamp and more, which are all free. If you have trouble with this, please email emma@outlineonline.co.uk.

Listings: Please feel free to add your gig dates in, but this is not essential for the competition. These will also be added to next month's magazine.

My Tab: This is a custom tab for you to use for extra information. For example, if you wanted a tab to tell us about your releases, you would rename Custom Tab to 'Releases' and then add a text box or embed some info.

**View Profile:**See your profile live on the site.

We will be notified when you have added your band and we will accept all submissions up until September 11th.

Get entering and good luck!