Video game giant Electronic Arts is making more moves on the music scene today, as it launched a battle of the bands contest with MySpace and Virgin Records and acquired an online karaoke company.

Burnout Bandslam

EA, which has steadily built its imprint on the music scene via game soundtracks, has teamed with MySpace, Virgin Records, and Gibson imprint Epiphone to find unsigned bands. The contest, called Burnout Bandslam, invites bands to compete for possible inclusion within an upcoming EA Burnout game, as well as the chance to score a Virgin Records demo recording contract.

The contest is open to artists from the US and Europe, with bands uploading their material to the site to enter and MySpace users voting. Two grand-prize finalists will be picked from each region, and runners-up will land an Epiphone Les Paul Custom Guitar.

EA also said today that it has acquired SingShot Media, a San Francisco-based online karaoke community. SingShot's technology lets site members record their own renditions of famous songs, share their recordings with friends, rate and comment on other members' tracks, customize recordings with photos and videos, and compete in a variety of contests.

"We are thrilled to bring the SingShot team into EA," said EA's Nancy Smith. "They are tremendously talented, technically adept, and true experts in developing user-generated communities through music. We see a bright future for the technology and each of these individuals within EA."