In association with PRS for Music Foundation and Arts Council of England

By arrangement with SJM Concerts

FIRST NAMES ANNOUNCED ARE LADY LESHURR AND CLEMENT MARFO & THE FRONTLINE WITH MORE NAMES TO COME EARLY 2012

INDUSTRY TAKEOVER TO PROVIDE FREE WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS ACROSS THE UK

MOBO UNSUNG COMPETITION LAUNCHES TO UNEARTH REGIONAL TALENT

MOBO, Urban Development and PRS for Music Foundation are bringing in the New Year early with the announcement of The MOBO Tour 2012.

This free tour is set to travel to eight cities across the UK, offering audiences the opportunity to see some of 2012’s freshest, new, emerging talent on stage and attend industry workshops and seminars (via Industry Takeover @ MOBO Academy). It’s also a chance for undiscovered talent right across the country to get involved in the MOBO Unsung competition. Thanks to funding from Arts Council England and PRS for Music Foundation all of this will be provided for FREE.

Kicking off on February 22 in Birmingham, the tour will travel across the country and bring together the best of the UK’s new Urban talent. The first names to be announced are breakthrough MC Lady Leshurr (tipped to do big things in 2012 by RWD Magazine and Itunes) and MTV Brand New pick for 2012, seven piece hip-hop-rock collective Clement Marfo & The Frontline. A further five names will be confirmed in the New Year.

In addition to bringing the pick of 2012’s most hotly tipped talent to a city near you, The MOBO Tour is also creating the opportunity for brand new, undiscovered talent to win the chance to perform on stage through MOBO Unsung. This nationwide competition is open to enter NOW and all would-be performers need to do to get started is upload a video of themselves performing to YouTube and email the link, embed code and details of which region they live in, to mobounsung@mobo.com.

Entries will be hosted on www.mobo.com/mobotour for the public to view and a judging panel of industry experts will then select a winner from each UK region, who will take the stage as part of the tour in their local area.

A team of radio DJs will select the MOBO Unsung winner from the 8 regional finalists. This winner will then join an on-line ‘Battle Of The Bands’ competition where they will compete against other newcomers put forward by established artists (but more on this to follow!) with a public vote to select the ultimate ‘battle’ winner.

To further support talent in all areas of the music industry, The MOBO Tour 2012 (with thanks to Urban Development’s ‘Industry Takeover’) will provide workshops and seminars in cities on the day of the show. Industry experts from well respected organisations including SB.TV, RWD Magazine, PRS for Music Foundation, SJM Concerts, artists on the MOBO Tour and more will all be sharing their insider industry knowledge, answering questions and offering advice to audiences across the country. And all for FREE.

The MOBO Tour, seminars, workshops and Unsung competition highlights all partners’ efforts to support, guide and nurture new and developing talent across the UK.

CATCH THE TOUR, SEMINARS, AND WORKSHOPS ON THE FOLLOWING DATES:

                       GIG VENUE                            INDUSTRY TAKEOVER         CITY

Feb 22          Library HMV Institute           MAC                                Birmingham

Feb 23          Manchester Academy 3       N/A                                 Manchester

Feb 24          Academy 2                        Venue TBC                        Liverpool

Feb 25          The Garage                       The Mitchell Library            Glasgow

Feb 27           Academy 2                        The Sage                         Newcastle

Feb 28           Academy 2                        Watershed                       Bristol

Feb 29           Academy 2                        Red Bull Studios                 Islington

March 1         Waterfront                        N/A                                 Norwich

TO APPLY FOR YOUR FREE TICKET FOR THE MOBO TOUR OR INDUSTRY TAKEOVER VISIT:

www.mobo.com/mobotour

TO ENTER THE MOBO UNSUNG COMPETITION PLEASE EMAIL ENTRIES TO: mobounsung@mobo.com

ENTRIES FOR THE COMPETITION MUST BE RECEIVED BY 15^TH JANUARY TO BE ELIGIBLE. PLEASE STATE YOUR NEAREST MOBO TOUR CITY WITH YOUR ENTRY.

FOR PRESS ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT:

Chloe Melick at INSIDE/ OUT at chloe@insideslashout.com/ 07770 366 243