M
ake A Sta
akeAStar.com has its origins in the early days of the web as a site for new artists to help build their careers by connecting with new fans and the music industry. Founded on a mission to provide artists with a platform to help grow their musical careers though monthly music competitions, Make A Star is a place where quality talent can gain large scale exposure - regardless of location or musical genre. MakeAStar holds monthly music and music video contests in bracket formats with $100 (£63) cash prizes given to the winners in several categories, totaling over $32,000 (£20,159) awarded. Current monthly categories are Music Video, Song by a Duo or Band, Song by Male or Female Solo Artist, Instrumental, Sing in 30 Seconds (a cappella), Rap Battle and Stand Up comedy.
Artists first upload their performances to contender rounds where 100% fan votes determines who qualifies for each monthly bracket. At the start of each month, the songs and videos with the most votes advance to the bracket, where a mix of fan votes and the discerning scores of music industry judges determines who wins. music video for The Disablists featuring Foreign Beggars. Other recent winners of note with great potential for success include LA rapper Dayda Bass, female vocalist Melissa VanFleet and South African rock band Chasing Friday. In 2008 Make A Star TV launched a weekly half-hour show in the states on Fuse. Make A Star TV ran for 13 episodes gaining thousands of fans and new artists culminating in a $10,000 (£6,300) grand prize on the final episode of the series. http:// www.makeastar.com/MakeAStarTV.asp To earn a spot on the show, performers uploaded their music video directly to MakeAStar.com and competed in bracket style matches with a mixture of fan votes and judge scores. Each week, MAS TV highlighted the best videos from the web competition, giving many artists an instant rise from web obscurity to national TV stardom. 29 artists advanced to the final phase of the contest, and included several names that have gone on to achieve measureable success: Authority Zero, Sick of Sarah and Friends For Hire to name a few. The final match featured Fools & Horses vs Zen Vendetta, and with a strong fan voting score, Zen Vendetta won the $10,000 (£6,300) grand prize. Recent winners include Turkish rock singer Aydilge, Canadian electro act Connekt, Brooklyn’s Dinosaur Feathers, Chilean singer Yael Meyer and young pop-country singer Killian – all of whom have large online followings on Facebook, Twitter,YouTube and/or Last.fm. MakeAStar is currently preparing for a second season of TV in 2012 which will prove to be another exciting contest with prize limits exceeding the first season’s grand prize of $10,000 (£6,300). You can enter your audio or video performances and be competing on MakeAStar.com today!