EA is teaming up with Virgin Records and MySpace.com to hunt for the hottest unknown music artists in the EA Burnout Bandslam competition. From now until March 14th, hopeful bands and artist can upload their song to the MySpace page for the contest, submitting themselves to the jibes and ridicule of over 80 million MySpace users worldwide, as well as countless sexual predators. The top winners in both the US and Europe will receive a demo contract with Virgin and a chance to have their music appear in a future Burnout game, while the runner-ups get a sweet-ass Les Paul guitar.

Hit the jump for the full press release. Michael Fahey

BANDS BATTLE IT OUT IN EA'S BURNOUT BANDSLAM!

EA, MySpace, Virgin Records and Epiphone support emerging music talent in international search for a future star; one U.S. and one European winner get a demo recording contract and track featured on future BurnoutTM videogame

edwood City, Calif. - February 13, 2007 - Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) and MySpace, the world's leading lifestyle portal, have today announced an international search for the hottest new bands in the United States and Europe, in collaboration with Virgin Records and Epiphone. EA's Burnout Bandslam started accepting entries on MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/burnoutbandslam) from early February 2007*.
Burnout Bandslam offers unsigned bands from across the United States and Europe the chance to showcase their best track in front of a potential global audience of over 80 million MySpace users, all of whom will be able to vote for their favorite track online.
The winning bands - one each from the United States and Europe - will each receive a Virgin Records demo recording contract and a chance to have their song included in a future Burnout videogame. One runner-up band from each country will become the proud owners of one top-of-the-range Epiphone Les Paul Custom Guitar**.
"Many of the biggest bands around the world have been first discovered through EA videogames, and now we are expanding the opportunity to unsigned bands through this year's Burnout Bandslam," says Steve Schnur, worldwide executive of music and marketing for EA. "The Burnout videogame series is all about attitude and rebellion. So I look forward to discovering a band or two which fits that definition."
"MySpace is dedicated to providing musicians around the globe the ability to share their music and connect with fans online," said Shawn Gold, SVP of Marketing, MySpace. "This partnership is part of our ongoing efforts to provide creative and passionate artists with a platform to be seen, heard, and connect online in order to get to the next level."

"EA has consistently broadened the lanes where music and interactive gaming intersect, and has proven that video games are a rich platform for the discovery and enjoyment of new and established artists, so a collaboration between Virgin and EA has great logic," noted Jeff Kempler, COO, Capitol Music Group. "Partnering with EA in this exciting artist discovery and development contest is a perfect fit for Virgin's dedication to innovative and expansive interaction with creative talent and music fans wherever they may be."

"Epiphone is proud to be involved and associated with this year's Burnout Bandslam and the game Burnout Dominator. Music, talent and excitement are all part of the Epiphone tradition and makes our partnership the perfect fit," said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO Gibson Guitar, Epiphone's parent company.

The Burnout videogame series is developed by EA's Criterion Games studio and is one of the most acclaimed racing videogame franchises of all time. Burnout Dominator is currently in development for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and PSP (PlayStation Portable) system and due for release in March 2007.
For more information about the Burnout videogame series, please visit the EA press web site at http://info.ea.com, the official Burnout videogame homepage at http://burnout.ea.com or Criterion Games at www.criteriongames.com
For more information about the Burnout Bandslam Contest see additional information below and check out http://www.myspace.com/burnoutbandslam beginning early February 2007 to view complete Contest Official Rules. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. Eligibility restrictions apply.

* Precise Contest start dates/times may vary by territory. Please consult the website (http://www.myspace.com/burnoutbandslam) and specific country page for details."

**Guitars to be awarded as part of any prize(s)/package are limited to the quantities quoted. In the event that any winning Band is comprised of multiple Band members, prize(s) will be delivered to the winning Band and division of the prizes is solely the winners' responsibility.

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