THE organiser of a competition won by a band in Okehampton has pledged to pay the group a £5,000 advance owed to it as part of the competition contract.

Okehampton rock band Downfall, comprising Jake and Mack Hodgson, Karl Little and Nathan Bostock, spent several months earlier this year trying to secure the Brand New Artist 2015 crown.

The concept of the competition was to find a new artist with the ability, drive and ambition to succeed in the music industry. The prize was the marketing and release of a single to coincide with Christmas 2015 along with a promotional video and other means of marketing to the value of £100,000.

While the video and artwork have recently been completed, on November 26, the band was contacted to inform them that a business investor based in London had pulled out of the deal and organisers would be unable to fulfil the £100,000 commitment. Downfall’s single With You will also receive a release but without the promotional backing the band was expecting. The showcase performances designed to promote the single have not materialised.

The band will be able to keep the artwork created for it but unless the production of the video is paid in full, the band can only use it until December 31.

The competition organiser has now pledged to ensure the video is paid for on time and that the band will receive its £5,000 advance for delivering the single on time.

Band manager Chris Hodgson, father to Jake and Mack, said: ‘The Downfall single With You was released on Friday, December 11. The band has been closely monitoring internet activity with regard to the single and promotion.

‘As such it has seen nothing of merit and information coming forth from the competition organisers.

‘But at the same time, the band has been doing as much as it possibly can including independently contacting over 100 radio stations.

Speaking to the Times at the beginning of December, competition organiser Neil Garton stated that he would no longer be working in the music industry due to the disappointment caused by the difficulties with Brand New Artist 2015.

However, in just a matter of weeks Mr Garton’s label Negart Records has launched a new competition, Summer Hit 2016.

Mr Garton said with regard to promoting the DownFall single: ‘I have been plugging the single into major radio stations, and some independent ones. I have also been recruiting more volunteers to help push out this campaign on social media, and assisting with PR.

‘Downfall will receive the £5,000 owed to them, and I will be paying for the music video. I have already paid the film crew some of this already.’

Downfall’s single With You is now available on the major online retailers include iTunes, Spotify and CDBaby.com