It’s about that time of year again: Ticketmaster Music Showcase recently kicked off its nationwide search for unsigned bands.

Bands interested in performing in the 1996 National Showcase Tour this summer can pick up entry forms at local music instrument stores and at select Ticketmaster ticket centers throughout the country.

A band is eligible if not currently signed to a national or internationally distributed label (self-produced releases are okay), if it is not currently represented by a major talent agency at the time of entry and if it writes and performs its own music. The band members must also be residents of the U.S.

Once bands inundate Ticketmaster with their tapes, label A&R pros will listen to all of them. Then Ticketmaster will invite more than 180 bands from across the country to perform in a series of more than 35 Ticketmaster Music Showcase events produced coast to coast from August through November.

If your band is invited to perform, you will be contacted six to eight weeks after your tape is received.

At the big, live event, the showcasing bands will be required to perform their original music (no covers allowed). The line-up will be determined by lottery. Bands must provide their own backline.

Five bands will be invited to perform at the National Showcase this fall. Each will perform for some of the industry’s top decision makers. Some of last year’s participating labels included A&M, Geffen, Island, Maverick, Mercury and PolyGram Music Publishing.

Ticketmaster foots the bill for airfare and hotel, and each group gets a whopping $2,500.

Eligible bands should mail a completed entry form along with a cassette (no CDs or DATs) of two original songs to: Ticketmaster Music Showcase, P.O. Box 76826, Los Angeles, CA 90076-0826 by May 31.

The Showcase Hotline number is (800) 800-3232, or check it out on the net at http:// www. ticketmaster.com/ backstag/ showcase/. The entry deadline for tapes is May 31.