MTV's groundbreaking and Webby-award winning O Music Awards are back in a big way. The digitally-driven event that celebrates and honors the artists, fans and innovators impacting digital-music culture is set to return on June 27 with the world's first 24-hour live stream.
This extra-special event will unfold via a historic bus ride through the Mississippi Delta, the birthplace of — rock and roll — during which one courageous band will board a tricked-out bus and zigzag across the region in attempt to break Jay-Z's Guinness World Record title for Most Live Concerts In 24 Hours (Multiple Cities) by hitting a total of eight cities. The run will start in Memphis and end in New Orleans. Fans at home can watch the entire journey from any screen and, naturally, interact, influence and play a part in the voyage as the band heads toward the final destination.
Beginning Friday (May4), you can suggest potential categories and nominees via OMusicAwards.com. Categories, nominees and the selected band will be announced at a later date.
"We started O Music Awards as an experiment and it keeps gaining momentum as an incubator for experimenting with interactive storytelling across multiple platforms," said Dermot McCormack, executive vice president of Viacom Music & Logo Group, which includes MTV, VH1, CMT and Logo. "We invite the audience in and together we want to push the boundaries of how stories are told. We also have some fun, give out awards and break a few records."
The categories and nominees will be announced on Wednesday, May 23. Past O Music Award winners have included Björk (Digital Genius Award), Kanye West (Best Tweet), Tokio Hotel (Fan Army FTW), Nirvana (Best Vintage Viral Video), Spotify (Most Addictive Social Music Service), Aquarium Drunkard (Best Independent Music Blog), Way Out West (Most Innovative Festival) and CrowdJuke (Best Music Hack).
In the coming weeks, the identity of the band slated to take on the world record will be revealed, along with the lineup of artists who will join them on the road. Previous O Music awards shows have featured a myriad of performers spanning multiple genres, from the Flaming Lips to Robyn and Mumford & Sons. The online show has also been springboard to help launch acts like Foster the People, Mac Miller and Alabama Shakes.
The O Music Awards is more than just an awards show, though: With a news blog, monthly live-event series (O Music Awards Unboxed) and more, OMusicAwards.com has become one of the premiere destinations for all things related to digital-music innovation, both online and off.