Well they don't call it Indy for nothing. From July 21-23, 350+ Indie acts from around the world, including 3 Independent Music Awards Winners will fill Indianapolis with music and help kick off a brand new partnership between NAMM (National Association of Music Merchandisers) and the Midwest Music Summit (MMS).

MMS, regarded as the Midwest's premier music festival, has recently moved away from a regional focus and this year will showcase talent from beyond the heartland region for nearly 25,000 industry and music fans.

Impressed by the talent the Independent Music Awards promotes, MMS organizers asked the IMAs to showcase several artists. The IMA Showcase Spectacular! will present three 2005 winning acts, Shamra (Pop/Rock), Modern Groove Syndicate (Jazz) and Joe Deninzon & Stratospheerius (Jam) on the Hyatt Main Stage, Friday, July 22 from 6pm to 9pm.

In addition to online and print promotions targeting area music fans, the event will be will be marketed to more than 20,000 NAMM and MMS conference attendees (including top industry executives at XM Satellite Radio, E! Entertainment Television, ASCAP, BMI, Lumberjack Distribution, Fanatic Promotion and record labels ranging from Bloodshot to Sony Music Group to Kill Rock Stars) via materials delivered to 4, 000+ hotel rooms and cross promotions with existing NAMM Convention marketing campaigns.

The Independent Music Awards is a unique program that develops real performance, marketing and distribution opportunities for Independent artists, labels and releases.

Co-sponsored by Border's Books & Music, artists in 37 music categories and 6 design categories are supported with Press & Radio Promotion, Performance and Distribution opportunities and promoted to more than 7 million music fans and industry including:

Commercial, Public & College Radio Programmers
Music Journalists
Producers
Club & Festival Talent Buyers
Film & TV Music Supervisors
Record Label Executives

Deadline for the 2006 IMA program is August 12, 2005.

Program Information & Entry forms are available at: http://www.musiciansatlas.com/pages/awards.asp

Judges for this year’s IMAs include: Melissa Etheridge, Bill Wyman, Joe Perry, George Clinton, Jonatha Brooke, Chris Thile and Hubert Sumlin. Judges bios, entry forms and program details and updates can be found at: www.MusiciansAtlas.com - Where The Music Industry Works For You