Pinecastle Records has formed a new company and is launching a new business to provide marketing and publicity support for bluegrass artists.

MountainRidge Music Marketing was created to assist both up-and-coming and established, mid-level acts with a package of services at predictable, a la carte prices. These services include tour support, promotional material design and production, online press kits, radio distribution, CD duplication and a premium release package that includes all of these services.

Essentially, MountainRidge can offer for a fee the same promotional assistance that Pinecastle artists receive for their new releases and ongoing activities.

To help get the ball rolling, MountainRidge is searching for one talented band to receive these services for free. The selected act will have tour support for 15 dates of their choosing, a free online press kit, and will be included in all initial marketing and promotion when the company is launched in September.

To be considered, an artist must submit a press kit and recording by September 1 to:

Full details can be found online.

Ethan Burkhardt with Pinecastle and MountainRidge told us that this competition and the services of MountainRidge Music Marketing are available to unsigned bands as well as artists under contract with a label.

“We’ll gladly work with artists who have a label and feel like they need some extra help with tour support. Some small labels don’t send out promos for their artists, so we would be glad to help a signed band in that way also.”

Ethan also made plain that the two companies will be kept as discrete entities.

“MountainRidge and Pinecastle are going to be kept separate. MountainRidge Music Marketing is not being set up as a stepping stone to Pinecastle Records. We are simply providing another tool for bluegrass artists.

If a great band comes through MountainRidge Music Marketing and we feel that both the artists and Pinecastle could benefit from a relationship, we will move forward.”