So why not give both groups of people something they can be a part of and, more importantly, give something of real value back to the artists? Jagermeister SA, in association with MK, have launched their 'Back the Artist' campaign this week and have every right to be excited about it.
What is 'Back the Artist' exactly? Well, in a nutshell, Jagermeister SA and MK are looking for South Africa's next big hit single, and in return, they will be giving the winner a fully produced and mastered EP by SAMA Award-winning producer, Justin de Nobrega (Die Antwoord, Jack Parow and Toya de Lazy), valued at R75,000.
When asked about the campaign, brand manager for Jagermeister SA, Brink Van Zyl, said, "We don't mind if it's rock, hip-hop, dance, trance, electro, drum 'n bass, folk, jazz or pop. We also don't mind if you are a household name, or a DJ spinning in your own room at home, or even just some unknown garage band. This is for all the artists out there. Anyone can stand a chance of winning. That's the whole point. We want to collectively see known artists, as well as unknown artists, from all different music styles competing against each other and give out a fabulous prize to the winning artist."
Asked about the mechanics of the campaign he said, "The campaign is really simple. All you must do is: go to backtheartist.co.za or Jagermeister SA on Facebook, enter the competition, send us your best track and get your fans to vote. The artist of the winning track wins a fully produced and mastered EP by Justin de Nobrega, who produced Die Antwoord and Jack Parow, valued at R75 000. It's really simple, it's fun and I think the prize is really awesome, because it's something the artists could use to propel themselves."
Jagermeister SA are no strangers when it comes to aligning themselves with music, and have a list of top South African acts who they sponsor. Van Zyl went on to say, "We do put quite a lot back into bands, artists and music festivals, because we know that the music culture sits well with our brand. It always has, so we really wanted to do a national campaign that would focus on the artists and their fans."
So, you've heard it from the horse's mouth. It doesn't matter what genre of music it is, it doesn't matter whether you are well known or not, this is for all the artists out there, so best you get to backtheartist.co.za, or to Jagermeister SA on Facebook and enter your hit. This could just be that lucky break you've been waiting for.
The campaign is going to be running for eight weeks and goes through four rounds of elimination, until a winner is announced. To stand a chance to win, however, artists have to have entered their track by Monday, 19 August. Submit that hit single you've been hiding and get your friends and fans behind you. You never know, you could just be sitting on South Africa's next biggest hit!
