mtvU, Epic records & College Students Crown Bamboo Shoots 2007 College 'Artist of the Year'

NEW YORK, May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Last night on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," mtvU, MTV's 24-hour college network, and Epic Records unveiled the winner of mtvU's inaugural "Best Music on Campus Artist of the Year" competition: Bamboo Shoots, of Middlesex County College.

Propelled by votes from college students nationwide, the foursome from New Jersey emerged as the top choice of the more than 1,300 unsigned college acts registered on mtvU's BestMusiconCampus.com. Bamboo Shoots -- fusing upbeat, danceable rock, electro and South Asian/Indian sounds -- was announced as mtvU's inaugural "Artist of the Year" via a network debut performance on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," a platform which has helped launch countless up- and-coming bands to superstardom. The band will now set out on an unprecedented journey that will see them record a full LP with Epic Records, premiere two music videos on mtvU/mtvU.com, perform on tour dates with top national artists and collect a $50,000 cash advance -- all of which will be documented in an original mtvU series premiering in the fall.

"College students prophesy the future of new music long before anyone else, and their ringing endorsement of Bamboo Shoots speaks volumes about the potential of this impressive band," said Stephen Friedman, GM of mtvU. "BestMusiconCampus.com exists to help launch the careers of the best unsigned college artists and this is its crowning moment -- placing Bamboo Shoots among Epic's stable of groundbreaking acts and giving the band an amazing opportunity to realize its dreams."

mtvU's "Best Music on Campus" (BMOC) enables college musicians and bands to build profiles with songs, videos, pictures, blogs and more. During BMOC's first yearly cycle, students from Savannah College of Art and Design, the University of the Arts, and the University of Miami won record deals with renowned indie labels and performance dates at mtvU events such as "Spring Break '07" in Cancun. The site will continue to offer unsigned college acts unique opportunities over the summer, including a second "Battle of the Bands" competition. Winners will open for top emerging and established artists at mtvU's new summer concerts at Six Flags Theme Parks. The competition kicks off June 1st; a new collection of record deals and other chances at national visibility will be announced in the fall.

As BMOC "Artist of the Year," Bamboo Shoots receive a promotion, video, tour and record deal from mtvU and Epic Records worth up to $1.5 million. Formed in 2004, the band consists of long-time friends Avir Mitra and Karl Sukhia, the group's primary songwriters and musical collaborators for more than a decade. They are joined by percussionist Ankur Patel and lead guitarist Ahmed Mahmoud. The band will soon head into the studio to work with top Epic execs on an LP that will receive major backing and huge national visibility: on-air, online, on tour, radio, retail and more. To hear Bamboo Shoots' winning sound, please visit http://www.bestmusiconcampus.com/.

About mtvU

Broadcasting to 750 colleges across the country, with a combined enrollment of over 7.2 million, mtvU is the largest, most comprehensive television network just for college students. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, mtvU can be seen in the dining areas, fitness centers, student lounges and dorm rooms of campuses throughout the U.S. mtvU is dedicated to every aspect of college life, reaching students everywhere they are, through a three pronged approach -- on-air, online and on campus. mtvU focuses on content including music videos from emerging artists which can't be seen anywhere else, news, student life features, events and pro-social initiatives. mtvU is always on campus, with more than 500 events per year, including exclusive concerts, giveaways, shooting mtvU series and more. For more information about mtvU, and for a complete programming schedule, visit http://www.mtvu.com/.

In September 2005, mtvU became the first MTV Networks channel to also be distributed in its entirety online. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, mtvU is simulcast and available on demand at mtvU.com, featuring all of network's on-air content plus exclusive new music, original series and student-produced programming for college students and music fans everywhere.

mtvU also owns and operates the College Media Network, the largest interactive network of online college newspapers in the US, and RateMyProfessors.com, the Internet's largest listing of collegiate professor ratings. The College Media Network comprises over 510 campus publications that serve institutions including Brown University, the University of Illinois, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin and Duke University, with a combined enrollment of over 5.5 million students, reaching an average of 5 million unique users each month. RateMyProfessors.com reaches approximately 10 million college students each year, via the site's more than 6.6 million student-generated ratings of over 1,000,000 college professors.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom , is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 120 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services -- MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, with all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 100 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.