The College Music Journal Music Marathon recently (October 16 - 20) attracted a thousand up-and-coming bands to New York City.  Music fans and industry insiders flocked to the annual festival to discover the next top stars.  Jim Bertel narrates for VOA's Behnam Nateghi who was at this year's event.

Paperclips plays to a crowd at the CMJ Music Marathon

Performances by the Paperclips and other bands drew over 100,000 music fans to the five-day festival. 

CMJ's Matt McDonald looks back at the music event's roots. "Started as a one day event with maybe three bands, and 27 years later, here we are with five days, 60 venues and about a thousand bands performing."

Though several well-known bands perform, CMJ strives to showcase new artists. "The focus is really on the up and coming bands," explained McDonald. 

Matt McDonald

McDonald breaks the crowd into two groups: Music fans who come for the live music and music industry people looking for the next big act.  "College radio people, label people, artists, managers, agents, press people come, and we've got the day time component which includes a lot of films, and the great panels and the trade show."

At this year's event, panelists discussed illegal downloads, censorship and declining CD sales.

Phil Gallo

As music fans flocked to the Marathon's final night, many in the crowd were already anticipating next year's event when a whole new group of aspiring musicians will have their shot at stardom.