The university's chapter of the Music and Entertainment Industry Student Association (MEISA) worked cooperatively with the LimeWire staff to give students meaningful real-life experience.

Under the supervision of the LimeWire team, MEISA students at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas curated and produced Ear to the Ground: Las Vegas, which was released on April 27th, just before the school year ended.

Taking it one step further, LimeWire has tapped the students with promoting Ear to the Ground: Las Vegas throughout the summer and into the next school year, including distribution of promotional cards and possible events.

The 18-track free sampler features some of the scene's hottest local acts and is available exclusively at LimeWire Store. From the glitchy IDM of APOX to the big-band funk of Santa Fe & The Fat City to the riff-laden indie-rock of Dude City, the compilation shines the light on artists making independent music on their own terms.

"MEISA is grateful for the invaluable hands-on experience that working with LimeWire provided. Working on the Ear to the Ground project helped us understand the procedures and hard work involved in putting together a large compilation album," said Alan Pineda, UNLV's MEISA Chapter President.

"Working on the Ear To The Ground: Las Vegas project has been a great opportunity to showcase some of the great original music Las Vegas has to offer," said Paul Bordenkircher, faculty advisor for UNLV's MEISA Chapter. "And the double benefit of MEISA students at UNLV getting a practical, hands-on opportunity to work on a live music project just made it that much better."

"Our approach to the Ear To The Ground series has always been very hands-on and grassroots — involving the MEISA students is just another way for us to be inclusive, not exclusive," said Tom Monday, Director of Partner Relations. "The MEISA students will likely become the next generation of entertainment industry professionals and the artists we're highlighting might become the next big thing — we're excited to be fostering relationships between the two."