On Pop

If you're a musician worried about paying your dues, relax. Why slog up and down the M6 in a transit van like Led Zeppelin when these days you can take some nice photos, make a tape and sign for the corporation before you've even finished the sequencing? In the spirit of making things easier, those awfully nice Sony Music people have got together with Cafe Rouge (the crouton-heavy bars you get on some high streets) to run a 'Search for a Rocker' competition.

What you do is get an entry form from any Cafe Rouge (or call Charlotte on 071-287 2556) and send your tape in to the given address by 10 June 1994. The best 10 acts will be invited to play a live 30-minute set at the Cafe Rouge in Hayes Galleria, London SE1, on 21 June, as part of that day's fte de la musique celebrations. You don't have to be a rocker either. Budding Nigel Kennedys are welcome to try their luck alongside Glock-wielding rappers. The corporation is nothing if not catholic. A panel of rock hacks, Sony suits and Cafe Rouge people will pick the winner, who will benefit from enough free time in Sony's Whitfield St studio to make a new demo tape (three days have been allocated), and, well. . . not quite a deal with Sony, but a 'management consultancy'. This consists of free advice to get you going in the right direction and hopefully see you blossom into the next Michael Bolton, Mariah Carey (below), or, er, George Michael.

(Photograph omitted)