Many of today's best CDs are created totally outside the recording industry - played, recorded, produced, packaged, released, and sold by the artists themselves. These enterprising musicians are taking advantage of ever-cheaper and ever-better technological tools to create CDs that hold their own against the biggest-budget studio extravaganzas, and they're enjoying complete creative freedom along the way. There's a price for this freedom, though: as an individual artist with a homegrown label, it ain't easy to be heard above the din of some 30,000 CDs released each year.

In recognition of the superb quality of today's self-released CDs, and the obstacles they face in getting heard, Acoustic Guitar is embarking on a year-long quest to find and spotlight the best artist-made CDs. Until September 1, 2000, we'll be accepting entries...and in each of ten issues starting with May 2000, we'll feature a stellar CD along with the story of how it was made. Sweetwater Sound, experts in recording gear and music technology, will also present all the winners with a real boost for their next CD projects: a $1,000 certificate from the Sweetwater equipment directory, which offers the full range of recording gear and music technology...

The Acoustic Guitar Magazine HomeGrown CD Website:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/Homegrown/Homegrown.html