GAC and Music Nation Pair Up For Next GAC Star

The new Country Music talent search and competition The Next GAC Star announced Monday in a press release it has extended its partnership with Music Nation and its record label, Original Signal. The Next GAC Star is currently underway, and it's grand finale will air Sept. 10 on GAC. The show is similar to Nashville Star, since it is a talent search, but viewers got to choose the semi-finalists through online polls. Original Signal will groom and market the winner of the competition, focusing on branding the artist. “Music Nation and Original Signal have built an excellent reputation among unsigned artists for their successful artist development initiatives,” said Ed Hardy, president of GAC.  “We felt they were a great partner for GAC as we become more directly involved in this portion of the music business, which is an exciting step and a natural extension for a Country Music network that is know as ‘the leader in Country Music entertainment.’” The joint venture GAC established with Music Nation seems fitting, given GAC used their website and user feedback to choose The Next GAC Star semi-finalists. Music Nation's company focus is to use its "expanding online music community and traditional methods to sign artists to its label Original Signal Recordings," according to a prepared statement. “Country Music, with its passionate, dedicated fanbase, is an exciting new world for us and we see many opportunities on both the digital and traditional fronts,” said Daniel Klaus, CEO of Music Nation and Original Signal Recordings. “GAC is committed to artists and has a proven track record of breaking young, unknown acts, making GAC the perfect partner for us in this new venture.”