A new partnership between MySpace Canada and Corus Entertainment is giving the nation’s unsigned musical talent a shot at digi-stardom. Launching this month, the ‘Found on MySpace’ contest gives up-and-comers a new way to leverage the social net’s five million monthly uniques to harness a fan base, road test their material and create buzz around their music.
Targeting the crowd where they’re most active – online and radio – every month, musicians are encouraged to send submissions through MySpace Radio, launched last month. Users recommend and vote for their favourite artist at MySpace Radio after which five finalists are selected to be voted on by MySpace Canada users over two weeks. Finalists receive tips from MySpace on how to engage with their audience further through the platform.
Once the voting stage is complete, the winners are showcased the first Thursday of every month on ExploreMusic’s nationally syndicated radio show, hosted by music expert Alan Cross, and on its web portal ExploreMusic.com.
To help promote the contest, online display media campaigns are planned across the MySpace site. Targeted ad units running on MySpace’s splash page, MySpace Music, and Music Hub as well as through the newly launched ExploreMusic website are also part of the effort. Ads have also been placed in key music publications like Exclaim Magazine.
‘MySpace is the worldwide destination for new music and undiscovered artists,’ said Sue McGill, executive director of sales, marketing and business development, MySpace Canada. Opps for brands who want in on the environment include contest sponsorship.
