The Great Escape, Europe's leading festival for new music returns to Brighton on the 13th to the 15th May.

Returning for its fifth festival feast of up-front music, Brighton's revered The Great Escape is once again set to unearth the hottest bands from across the globe and bring them to Britain's favourite seaside town and our very own answer to South by South West.

2009's event saw Brighton rocked, as 15,000 fans and music industry types swarmed to the south coast to witness a whopping 400 of the newest and most exciting bands around doing their thing at over 34 venues spread across the city, gaining The Great Escape nominations for Best Metropolitan Festival and Virtual Festivals Critics' Choice Award at this year's Festival Awards.

Firmly established as Europe's leading new music event, The Great Escape's reputation as a consummate barometer for the next big thing is second to none, having given the first mainstream platform to bands as diverse as Gossip, Adele, The Ting Tings, Jack Penate, Friendly Fires, White Lies and Speech Debelle.

Each year the event partners with a country to shine the spotlight on their freshest talent and this year it will be Australia that basks in that glory, as The Great Escape joins forces with Sounds Australia. Sounds Australia is Australia's national music export initiative, established to deliver a cohesive and unified platform at international showcase market events. The festival's partnership with Sounds Australia will see a litany of Australia's most exciting musical offerings making the journey to the UK's south coast to join up with 350+ bands performing in 30 venues spread across Brighton over the course of three days.

Earlybird Delegate tickets, which ensure you have access to the full conference program including debates, networking events and parties plus priority access to the gigs, are now on sale for £150, you can visit www.escapegreat.com to take advantage of the deal. Last year's national and international event attendees included: A&R Scouts, Agents, Broadcasters, Colleges, Composers, Digital and Online Companies, Distributors, Event organisers, Festival Bookers, Financial advisors, Labels, Lawyers, Managers, Merchandisers, Media and Marketing Agencies, PR Agencies, Producers, Print and Online Entertainment Press, Promoters, Publishers, Sponsors & brands and many more.

Artist Registration for The Great Escape 2010 is now open, and for Austalian bands also. If you would like to be considered to play the next Great Escape, then you can register your band today for free. All you have to do is go to www.escapegreat.com/artistregistration and complete the online application form. The Great Escape has also teamed up with Zimbalam to offer three additional exclusive performance slots at next year's event to artists who sell the most music through Zimbalam distribution.

Zimbalam is a digital distribution service designed specifically for unsigned bands giving artists full control of their digital releases offering full global retail and mobile distribution across hundreds of stores globally for a one off fee of just £20 for a single and £30 for an album. The agreement is completely non-exclusive and artists receive 90% of the revenues from their sales. Three of the best selling artists by March 1st, as selected by a committee of judges from Zimbalam and The Great Escape; will win a slot, doubling the chances of playing the festival.
Keep an eye on www.escapegreat.com for up to date news. 2010s line up will be announced in early February.

For more info on Sounds Australia please go to: www.apraamcos.com.au/MusicCreators/SoundsAustralia.aspx .

For info, offers and promotions on Zimbalam check out: www.zimbalam.com