Everyone is familiar with a scene in a movie or TV show where an impassioned artist stomps into the big, mean music executive’s office, throws a tape on the desk and says, “Sign me!” A mere three weeks later, he or she is famous.

In real life, though, as most musicians quickly discover, it’s generally not that easy. But today, for a few lucky local musicians, it may be.

Today, Duane Hobson, an A&R Representative from Sony Music Nashville, will be accepting any and every demo tape that Athens bands have to offer in the first ever A&R Southern Talent Expo.

“This is a free-for-all,” Hobson said.

He has promised to review each demo he receives and will select between five and 10 bands to perform at a show. The best of those bands will then have a chance to go to Nashville to perform for the Executive Staff of Sony Music Nashville.

This event will be the first of its kind for Hobson, and as he sees it, the goal of the effort is to embrace an “old school” style of talent searching. He’s getting out of Nashville to go find local artists in their own environment.

“Being an artist, sometimes there are boundaries that people feel they can only go so far with,” Hobson said. “I want to knock those boundaries out the way. … It makes no sense for me to do this anywhere else but in Athens; I know there’s good music down there.”

Hobson collaborated with Bruce Burch, director of the University Music Business program, to make the event happen. Burch, who worked in Nashville’s music industry for 28 years, sees this as a chance for Athens musicians to get heard without having to travel to major music towns.

“It’s a great opportunity because it’s so hard when you go to a place like Nashville, New York, L.A., to get into those doors,” Burch said. “So for them to be coming to us and knocking on our doors, it’s a real kind of tribute to Athens and Athens music and the reputation we’re building here.”

Burch agrees with Hobson that this event represents a change in protocol for major labels.

“Now, because the industry has changed, it’s more about people building their audience in their own hometown, and starting there it’s more of an indie-oriented audience,” Burch said.

What Hobson is looking for is not just an artist but an entertainer.

“To me, there’s a lot of good singers out in the world, but what else do they have?” Hobson said. “Can they sit there and take energy from the stage and put it out into the crowd?”