UK furniture chain helps give unsigned acts exposure

MUSIC and furniture stores are not often mentioned in the same breath, but a UK chain is doing its bit to help unsigned acts.

Furniture Village has launched an initiative that offers unsigned musicians and bands the chance to have their songs played in its 40 branches across the UK throughout the New Year sales period (January to March 2013).

Interested musicians can apply to have their music considered for the playlist by visiting the dedicated page within the online Furniture Village magazine at www.furniturevillage.co.uk and sending links to their websites, MySpace pages, Soundcloud profiles, YouTube pages or any other way that you can be heard in action.

Each act or artist whose music is selected for performance in-store will be showcased online within the Furniture Village website, with links to their own sites and information for new fans. 

Bands and performers will also have their musical contributions prioritised for playing within Furniture Village branches close to their home towns or performance bases.

Charlie Harrison, director of marketing at Furniture Village said: “This is an excellent opportunity to revolutionise the traditional role of in-store music, and offer audio exposure for emerging talents to a new and significant market."

During January 2011, more than 400,000 people visited the firm's website and 30,000 entered its branches.

Stewart Anderson, creator of www.unsignedbandsonline.co.uk - a digital platform designed to promote such bands - said: "Nowadays unsigned bands and businesses alike need to network and find ways in which to benefit each other, in this market publicity for a band is a real currency and I'm happy to see such creative collaborations beginning to flourish.”