Esquire Songwriting Challenge aids Big Brothers Big Sisters of America

Esquire, the original men’s magazine and the premier authority on men’s style, has assembled a talented and wide-ranging group of musicians to participate in the magazine’s Third Annual Songwriting Challenge in the May issue (on newsstands April 24). For this one-of-a-kind style feature, Anthony Hamilton (Grammy Award-winning R&B singer), Chris Daughtry (multi-platinum Top 40 heavyweight), Craig Finn (lead singer of The Hold Steady), Sam Roberts (multi-platinum Canadian singer-songwriter), and Rhett Miller (lead singer of the Old 97s) convened in the Coachella Valley outside of Los Angeles for a two day shoot with world-famous photographer Danny Clinch.



Additionally, each artist accepted The Esquire Songwriting Challenge: write, perform, and record an original song inspired by the title of the fashion portfolio, “Pacific Standard Time.” Track titles include:



· Chris Daughtry (4:00 A.M.)

· Anthony Hamilton (Home By Five)

· Craig Finn (Respective Coasts)

· Sam Roberts (Faultline Blues)

· Rhett Miller (Cassandra)



The five songs are available now (and through May 31) exclusively on the iTunes Store for $1.29 each. All proceeds from the song downloads will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, whose long-term mentoring programs help kids facing adversity beat the odds and reach their potential. In addition, Hearst Magazines will be matching all donations up to $10,000.



“Each year we’ve done the songwriting challenge, I’ve been grateful that so much talent—the musicians, Danny, Andy Langer and Esquire’s editors—works so hard to pull something so complicated off. This year, with the commitment of Apple and Hearst, we get to help Big Brothers Big Sisters continue their crucial work,” said Esquire’s Editor-In-Chief, David Granger.



In addition to the songs being available for download on iTunes, short video clips of each artist performing his song, as well as behind-the-scenes footage from the two-day shoot, can be found at www.esquire.com/songs-2012 as well as on Esquire’s award-winning tablet edition.

Also, thanks to the contribution of Play MPE (plaympe.com), the radio and recording industry's standard for digital music distribution, each song will be heard on radio stations across the country.



“We are excited about this promotion and proud to continue our great partnership with Esquire, said Big Brothers Big Sisters of America co-CEO Max Miller. “The songwriting challenge is a creative way for Esquire to invite readers, music lovers and anyone who cares about our nation’s kids, families and communities to support Big Brothers Big Sisters, an organization proven to help youth overcome adversity to improve in school and succeed in life.”



For more information on Esquire’s Third Annual Songwriting Challenge, please visit

http://www.facebook.com/BigBrothersBigSisters

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=30854611814

http://www.facebook.com/esquire

Twitter: @Esquiremag #PacificStandardTime