...ie. whichever band makes the most money for the organisers wins!!!! absolutely pathetic! avoid at all costs.

Don't quite understand the logic there! It IS aimed at all sorts of bands to encourage young people who can't afford recording time in a studio. Perhaps you could contact the studio for more info rather than dismissing it offhand? The studio has just launched (with minimal funding) and is trying to make a name for itself whilst and the staff (who've all been in bands and know how hard it is to get started) are just trying to help younger bands get started.

...okay then, tell me how the judging works? the crowd votes right? most votes win? friends aint gonna go voting for any other band are they?...thus the band that gets most people to part with a fiver will win! .... that's the logic sinead. shouldn't the winning band be the most impressive? that's what a band challenge is all about! this has the stench of emergenza all over it!

Most Battle of the Bands competitions usually have an admission fee on the door. Surely it's fairer to have a participatory crowd voting system than the opinions of a panel of just three or four individuals? This post is for young bands who can't afford studio time and would like the chance to win some. Many of the bands taking part will be get a chance to play a live gig to an audience, which may or may not include their friends. Isn't this the usual set-up for most bands playing: You play a gig, your friends attend, they pay in. In this case they have a chance to win something that they need but may not be able to afford. It may not be your bag, but there's already been a lot of interest. Thanks for yours.

...one final point on this sinead because i'm sure you are only playing dumb... picture it...two bands, one produces the best sounds heard in an age but because the members of the band are so fucking strange they have no friends, thus no fans. ..the other band ( who are all very handsome and popular with their schoolfriends ) got their instruments for christmas and manage to squeeze out a couple of two-chord covers very poorly. Q. Who wins? A. Fusebox Music Media!!!!!!

Take it easy there, it isn't some capitalist conspiracy to defraud young bands! The money on the door goes to fund the recording session awarded to the winning band, it's a community based studio, not a big corporate set-up. So the BAND wins. If you checked out the venue, you might understand its ethic and the ethos of what this is all about. In this instance I'm the messenger, posting this for a friend who works there, so perhaps take your issues up with the studio and find out a bit more before making any more points. If the competition is not for you, I don't see the point in dissing it when there are so many people expressing interest in taking part. What's the point of continuing this argument - we obviously disagree, which is fine. Despite the fact that there has been lots of interest generated by the post, it's good to see that Irish begrudgery is alive and well. I can only assume you're a failed guitarist and or in a band that will never be good enough to win such a competition? If you are as cynical as you sound - why not set up your own band, enter the competition and bring your mates along to vote for you? Your choice dearie, but I've lost interest. ;)

Well I have to say, these competitions are rarley won by the best band, as was said before, the band with the most friends there wins. Having taking part in this kind of competition before on a few occasions, they can be very disheartening. A panal of judges is a better option, though then again, the best band does not always win! Its a tough event to run. Perhaps a panal and the audience should decide!

just to digress somewhat from the topic... A good few years ago I recorded an album (debut)in Fusebox and I can say that the time spent there (stretched over 11 months) was time well spent.if Fusebox hadn't existed i wouldn't have made that album. So I hereby sing their praise... A.

sinead, sinead, sinead.... you say you've lost interest but i bet you're reading this!!! i'm not gloating here because i feel music should be judged on quality and not on success.... i am in fact a member of what is considered to be a very successful band...in fact i'm quite sure you have one of our records in your collection. the reason i tell you this is to point out the fact that your assumptions are completely off target as i suspect other things are too!!!! not surprising really because you are after all just a messenger girl!!!!