'American Idol' to offer online contest

LOS ANGELES, June 20 (UPI) -- An Internet radio station called American Idol Underground will offer an online version of "American Idol," Billboard magazine reports.

Starting this fall, interested contestants can pay $50 to upload their music to the service in genres such as rock, hip-hop/rap, R&B, country, Christian and pop. Billboard said each track will receive a minimum of 200 spins. Listeners, who can sample the music for free, will rate each track on a scale of 1-10.

Every six months, a panel of celebrity judges will listen to the top-rated track from each month in the each category. Jason Turner, director of Interactive for Fremantle Media, told Billboard the overall grand prize winner will receive either cash or music-related services like free demo recordings.

Turner said there will be no direct integration of the TV show with the online service and winners will not be guaranteed a record contract.