Last year, Belfast-based rockers The Panama Kings were vaulted into the limelight after winning JD Set Unsigned by submitting their MySpace site.
Bands can or through the post and will be invited to a series of masterclasses led by music industry experts such as Donard Duffy, who has worked with The Pretenders and Supergrass.
Jack Daniels will also be touring various universities around the UK to sign up bands.
The nine finalists will be named at the end of January, and then given a series of one-on-one training sessions from sound engineers, record labels and live agents.
The best three bands will be picked as a warm-up slot at one of the JD Set gigs, televised by Channel 4, which has played host to artists such as The Wombats, Foals, CSS and Futureheads.
In June 2009, fans will vote for the best band, which will have a four-track EP recorded as a covermout for Artrocker magazine.
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