What is the Gigstarter Artist of the Year competition?

Gigstarter Artist of the Year is an annual competition since 2014. People can subscribe for the competition from 13th September until the 30th September 2018. After that period a jury makes a shortlist out of all the artists that entered the contest. The final shortlist will be announced at October 16, 2018. From that moment on fans and followers can submit their votes on the artists on the shortlist. On the Gigstarter profile page of the artist, fans can submit their votes. The top 3 live acts with most of the votes will be invited to play a live gig during the Artist of the Year final on December 8th, 2018. This year’s final will be held at Sugar Factory, Amsterdam.

What happens at the Gigstarter Artist of the Year final?

The three artists that win the online voting competition get to perform during the final. After the three live performances, the expert jury will decide which act will become Gigstarter Artist of the Year 2018. In addition to a jury-prize, Gigstarter will be giving away a prize to the performance that wins the audience’s popular vote. Furthermore, the DJ of the Year will be entertaining the crowd with its music.

Which artists can participate?

Every artist who has a public profile on Gigstarter and who can perform original compositions for at least 40 minutes, can participate at the competition. Competing artist-formations can range from live solo-artists to full bands and are only allowed to play one cover song during the final. For DJs a parallel, yet separate competition is organised, which allows the winning DJ to perform during the event at the Sugar Factory, Amsterdam. Artists of the Year finalists from previous years are excluded from the competition.

How do artists participate?

With only one push on the button you can participate in the Gigstarter Artist of the Year 2018 competition. To compete, login, go to your artist dashboard and click the "Participate" button, registrations closes on September 30, 2018. On October 16, 2018, the jury will announce the shortlist and fans and followers can start voting on their favorite band. A ‘vote’ button will be showed temporarily on your Gigstarter Artist profile. Make sure to ask all your fans to vote for you through social media by sharing the link to your profile after you are part of the shortlist!

Shortlist

The jury full of experts from the music industry depends their choice for the shortlist on the musical quality of the artists and the quality of the Gigstarter profile. The shortlist can contain artists with different musical background and/or genres. Take a look at the shortlist and vote for your favorite act!

What can artists win?

The winner, chosen by the expert jury, holds the title of Gigstarter Artist of the Year 2018 and will not leave empty handed. The competition gives artist great exposure and a unique opportunity to perform at a high-end international venue.

Can DJs join the competition?

There is a special competition for the DJs on Gigstarter. Every DJ who has a public profile on Gigstarter can participate in the competition. The DJ should be able to perform for at least one hour and is free in its selection of music. The DJ with most votes can perform during and after the final.

How can I vote?

You can vote for your favorite artists, from October 16, through a link on the profile of competing artists. You will need to login with Facebook to identify yourself (this way we know that every user is unique and helps us detect fraud). We will only use your voters' email addresses to send a single invitation for the Artist of the Year final.

Until when can I vote?

Everyone can vote from October 16, 2018 until November 6, 2018. At that point, the top 3 most popular artists and the winning DJ will be determined.

How many times is it possible to vote?

You can vote only one time on a particular artist, but on as many different artists as you’d like! If we suspect any form of fraud, we have the right to remove those votes.

Can I attend the Gigstarter Artist of the Year final?

For sure! The exciting final of the Gigstarter Artist of the Year competition will take place on December 8th at the Sugar Factory, Amsterdam. More information is coming soon!

Will finalists receive a remuneration?

Gigstarter cannot provide travel or accommodation expenses of any kind for finalist.

Which artist won last year?

After 3 amazing performances during the final Artist of the Year 2017. The talented band Dean and the Moonboys went home with the title Gigstarter Artist of the Year 2017, as well as several nice prizes! DJ Mike Gerritsen won the title DJ of the Year 2017 and played a set during the final.