Winning a competition is an exhilarating way for a band to earn some high end dividends. The stakes are usually opening slots at festivals and venues we couldn’t otherwise get, cash prizes, and a lot of publicity to new fans. The temptation is to enter them all, but we pick and choose which ones might be a good fit for us and then dive in with both feet. Some of them are too heavy with entry fees, others are too far away, and some of them are clearly disorganized sh**shows. But some of them are situated just right for us to make the effort.
Recently we recently entered the Loudest in Lou competition for a coveted slot at the Louder Than Life Festival in Louisville. Unfortunately we didn’t even make it out of the gate. And with zero feedback, amongst the potential thousands of entries, we can only guess as to why. Unfortunately, this is generally the case. Maybe our music didn’t fit with what they were looking for? Maybe we just weren’t as good as the other entries? Maybe we didn’t have the right look? Maybe it was political and we just didn’t have the contacts to get heard past the noise of so many entries? Maybe they just don’t like redhead female vocalists on Tuesdays?
There’s no way for us to know.
But now here we are with America’s Next Top Hitmaker Competition. And strangely, it really isn’t even about music. Like other competitions, there is a lot of fan voting. But in this case, there is NO judge voting at all. In fact this competition is simply about how many fan votes we can get over the course of time. And fans can buy votes. So really and truly, this is a competition about who can fundraise the best. And since this isn’t about music, it’s the least subjective competition we’ve ever done. It’s all about numbers, and numbers don’t care what your look is, your sound, or what you’ve done. If we don’t win it will be very clear that we didn’t get as many votes or donations as the winner. But, they know how to motivate us. The prizes are massive compared to other music competitions.
Winning means an all expense paid trip and festival performance in New York City, $50,000 cash, a professional photo layout in Rolling Stone magazine, and a LOT of new fans and interest in our band. OK, they got our attention! Now, what are we raising money for?!
Everything goes to support Global Citizen, an organization that mobilizes millions of people to end extreme world poverty. Sign up with them and earn points for actions you can take that will help, such as signing petitions, posting on social media, and taking awareness quizzes. Use your points to get rewards for free merch, concert tickets for tons of different artists like Coldplay and The Offspring, or to events like the World Cup and the Global Citizen music festival in New York City. Donations go to help them continue their efforts.
But wait, are they even reputable? I did a little research and evidently they have a great reputation. Charity Navigator gives them a 3 star rating (88%) and says you can give with confidence! They mobilize people and large scale corporations to give voice to the problem in multiple arenas over time and space. From awareness and public outcry comes lasting change. We may not be able to make change on our own, but together over time we really can make a difference.
Vote for us for free and consider donating on our behalf. Donation or not, we are confident that this work is bigger than the sum of its parts. Win or lose we’re doing good things. Thank you for all your support!