Global Rockstar Kicks Off World’s Largest Online Music Contest

Revolutionary crowdfunding and promotional model for the stars of the future

Vienna — Global Rockstar is looking for the best acts in the world: until 30 September, musicians in every genre can enter original tracks to the national preliminary rounds for the chance to represent their country in the Global Finals. The winner will receive a cash prize of USD 25,000. Global Rockstar helps provide financial support to all of the participating bands as well as raising awareness of their music.

The world’s largest online music contest has begun. Until the 30 September deadline, bands, solo artists, singer-songwriters and other artists from all over the world can enter the national preliminaries at www.globalrockstar.com. Songs from all musical genres are eligible – as long as they are original compositions and not covers. National winners will be decided by public vote, and will go on to compete for the grand prize of USD 25,000 in the Global Finals from December. The top three acts will also receive equipment from AKG by Harman with a total value of USD 10,000.The contest is sure to be followed closely around the globe: in 2013, more than 2,400 artists from 73 different countries took part in the Global Rockstar pilot project. Over 3.5 million music fans cast their votes, with Portuguese rock band Kandia emerging as the winner.

Global Rockstar: a global stage for undiscovered artists

“We set up Global Rockstar because we believe in music. There are so many great unknown artists and songs in the world – especially from countries that you seldom see in the charts. We want to put the spotlight on these musicians. Artists that enter their songs for Global Rockstar can present their music to listeners all over the world. This global exposure is priceless for young bands that want to get their music and their names out there,” explained Christof Straub, CEO and co-founder of Global Rockstar. Supporters of Global Rockstar include numerous international stars including Grammy Award winners Macy Gray and The Commodores or guitar legend Al Di Meola.

Revolutionary crowdfunding model for music

Global Rockstar doesn’t only bring the artists that take part worldwide exposure – it also offers financial support, thanks to an innovative crowdfunding model. Music fans all over the world can vote for their favourite act via social media, using Free Votes, but they are also able to cast extra “ROCK’N VOTES”, which are acquired by making donations. Half of the net proceeds from “ROCK’N VOTES”go directly to the chosen artist, and fans get exclusive rewards in return, such as song downloads or signed T-shirts.

“These days more and more musicians are asking themselves how they can make a living from their work. With Global Rockstar, we believe that we’ve found a revolutionary and highly promising way to generate income. The artists gain the attention of fans all over the world, as well as industry experts, radio stations and potential sponsors. This global recognition vastly improves the chances of success when it comes to crowdfunding,” pointed out Ronny Steibl, CMO and co-founder of Global Rockstar.

How the Global Rockstar 2014 competition works

A multi-stage process will be used to select the Global Rockstar 2014. The national preliminaries begin on 1 September and last until 4 November 2014 – after which the winner from each country will have been decided. The national winners will be announced as part of a live show on 4 November at the ORF Radiokulturhaus in Vienna, which will be shown worldwide via a webcast. From 6 November to 1 December 2014, fans across the globe can vote for the national winners in order to select the 64 most popular acts. Then, between 2 and 14 December, the Top 16 will be elected from this list. From 15 December, fans can vote for their Global Rockstar from the 16 artists on the shortlist. The winner will be announced on 20 December. Throughout the competition, updates and background info will be provided by the Global RockstarWebshow, a 20-part video series to be shot in Vienna and featuring big-name musicians.

Overview of key dates:

1 September: National preliminaries open

4 November: National winners announced (live show with simultaneous webcast)

6 November: Global stage begins

1 December: Worldwide top 64 announced

14 December: Worldwide top 16 announced

20 December: The Global Rockstar 2014 is announced

About Global Rockstar

Global Rockstar (www.globalrockstar.com) is an international music platform headquartered in Austria. Global Rockstar conducts the world’s largest online music contest, featuring thousands of entrants from over 120 countries and offering a grand prize of USD 25,000 for the winner. This makes Global Rockstar the biggest platform for undiscovered artists and an international content provider for radio stations. Global Rockstar also supports all of the artists that take part, using a newly developed crowdfunding model: for a donation of little more than one euro, fans receive “ROCK’N VOTES”- from which 50% of the net proceeds go to the chosen artist. Global Rockstar was founded in 2011 by composer, lyricist, guitarist (“Papermoon”) and producer Christof Straub together with marketing professional Ronny Steibl. (PR Newswire)