Hey!

So we were messing around with Mixview recently, trying to play “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” with various artists. Turns out it’s actually kind of fun…especially when you take two artists who are totally different, and try to find a path from one to the other. Like, check this out: Metallica to Barbra Streisand:

Metallica to Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath to April Wine

April Wine to Boston

Boston to Bad English

Bad English to Journey

Journey to Garth Brooks

Garth Brooks to Billy Ray Cyrus

Billy Ray Cyrus to the album “Love Songs” by Billy Ray Cyrus

The album “Love Songs” by Billy Ray Cyrus to the album “Breathe” by Faith Hill

The album “Breathe” by Faith Hill to the album “Fly” by the Dixie Chicks

The album “Fly” by the Dixie Chicks to the album “Come on Over” by Shania Twain

The album “Come on Over” by Shania Twain to Victoria Boland

Victoria Boland to Barbra Streisand

One of the marketing guys and I came up with an idea for a contest: each week for 12 weeks, we’ll pick two artists, and ask users to submit the shortest path they can find between them. The first person to submit the shortest path by the deadline wins a Zune Home AV Kit.

Here are the rules (official rules are here):

n  You can use the Zune client software or the Zune web site – click “Mixview” when you’re on the starting artist

n  You can click from the starting artist to any other artist or album that appears in Mixview – but NOT listeners (since listeners cards change)

n  You have to submit your path to the “ZContest” account via a forums private message in the official Zune forums. No other method of submitting a path will be accepted!

n  The artists will be announced on Zune Insider (here) every Monday at 10 a.m. PST

n  The contest closes each week at 5 p.m. PST on Friday – so your submission needs to be in the ZContest private message box by then

For this week, let’s start with something fun: Amy Winehouse to Ray Charles. Shortest path first wins!

* No purchase necessary.  Open only to US residents 18+.  Challenge ends May 15, 2009.  See full rules for details.