Music Critic Bob Lefsetz, Hip Hop Newsmaker DJ SKEE and CivicSciences’ John Dick Debate Top GRAMMY Categories

LOS ANGELES – Jan. 14, 2014 – As the world readies for the biggest night in music, The Recording Academy®’s GRAMMY® Awards, AXS TV is giving fans a precursor for what to expect, gathering a prestigious panel of experts to predict winners of the most prestigious categories. Hosted by AXS TV’s Ryan Stout, GRAMMY PREDICTION SPECIAL is a one-hour LIVE program that features expert opinion from renowned music critic Bob Lefsetz, music newsmaker DJ Skee, and research entrepreneur John Dick of CivicScience. GRAMMY PREDICTION SPECIAL airs Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) with rebroadcasts throughout the week.

Fueled by polling conducted from the next-generation data mining company CivicScience, AXS TV’s panel of experts will debate CivicScience’s findings and also express their own opinions concerning the GRAMMY’s top categories including Song of the Year; Album of the Year and Record of the Year, among others.

“With this special we are bringing the world of analytics to music in a new fashion, striving to address an area that is seldom tackled, which is correctly predicting winners before the envelopes are opened,” stated Mark Cuban, AXS TV founder and member of CivicScience’s Advisory Board. “Partnering with CivicScience—led by John Dick, who will be appearing on the show—it is our goal with AXS TV’s GRAMMY PREDICTION SPECIAL, to use CivicScience’s advance polling, analytics and analysis to gauge who the front runners are on this monumental night.”

In addition to debating the analytical information, host Ryan Stout will moderate a distinguished panel of experts that AXS TV has assembled to serve as “musical pundits.” Music critic Bob Lefsetz, who authors the highly regarded “The Lefsetz Letter,” is known for spirited opinions regarding the issues that are at the core of the music business.He is joined by DJ Skee—host of AXS TV’s SKEE LIVE—a leading newsmaker at the forefront of cultural trends in music, and one of the most influential figures in today’s entertainment business as a composer, radio host and disc jockey. Skee is revered for his knowledge of all music genres, from pop to rock to hip-hop to EDM, as well as spotting talent. Rounding out the panel is the CEO of CivicScience Inc., John Dick, a serial entrepreneur and business development executive whose company has provided trusted data for a variety of entertainment subjects. The panel will discuss topics such as who will win the GRAMMY for “Best New Artist?” Will it be James Blake, Kendrick Lamar, Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis, Kacey Musgraves or Ed Sheeran?

CivicScience is using a proprietary method for predicting the Grammy winners, by analyzing results to surveys conducted online among a mix of music enthusiasts and general consumers. This year, over 100,000 surveys will be included in the company’s analysis. To participate in the research study, fans can visit http://www.iqpoll.com/grammys/ or www.axs.tv, where they will be able to vote until the show’s premiere.

CivicScience’s method has been lauded by leading academics, most recently for the company’s forecasting of the 2013 Oscars. “In a forthcoming academic paper we show that Civic Science’s 2013 Academy Award polling stacked up very favorably against industry pundits and even statistical models. There is a lot of potential in the polling techniques they are using; this type of polling can be extremely accurate if you ask the right questions and know what to do with the data.” David Rothschild, PhD, economist at Microsoft Research.

GRAMMY PREDICTION CATEGORIES INCLUDE:

Record of the Year

Album of the Year

Song of the Year

Best New Artist

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

Best Rock Performance

Best Rock Album

Best Rap Album

Best Country Album