
Let Me See That Song!*:
Pitch Page
This plan only came into being a few days ago but I'm very excited about it and keen to make it into something nice, successful and sustainable. To do that, I think I need a sponsor to provide some prizes which will motivate more performers to sign up and Pirate's involvement could provide these prizes while giving the competition an extra feel of credibility via a respected name in the grassroots music space.
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*working title
The concept
This event is a song contest scheduled for Sunday 17 August at the 160-cap venue The Others in Stoke Newington, London. The video details most of the ideas I've had so far.
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I have a lot of experience of organising, promoting and hosting gigs of a similar size (see my Rock & Robots pages on this site for my music/robot fighting night series at the same venue at which I plan to host the contest).​​​​
​​​I'm planning to have at least 12, maybe up to 16 performers each performing one original song, unreleased prior to the event. This will be followed by a voting period on paper ballots, an interval act while votes are counted and a dramatic Eurovision-style vote reveal process on a scoreboard which I meticulously designed in Excel. Artist and audience votes will be balanced soeach group provides 50% of the points. All voters will give points to their top 3 songs. The rules and format are very closely based on those of the Eurovision Song Contest but the link won't be used much once the project gets off the ground.
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Would also just like to reassure you that Pirate is the first potential sponsor I have approached.
What Pirate could provide as a sponsor
My main request from a sponsor would be prizes to incentivise entries. I'm thinking £100 of Pirate credit for 1st place, £50 Pirate credit for 2nd and £25 Pirate credit for 3rd.
​​Pirate's involvement would solidify the event's message as one for grassroots artists and creatives. The contest could be advertised to users of Pirate's facilities in London via posters at those venues and in some capacity on Pirate's social media channels. The familiar name could also give artists more confidence in the contest's legitimacy and could seal the deal for them to become entrants.
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I will also request that Pirate sends one employee or nominated person to the contest (they will be comped, of course), both to hand out the prizes and to supervise the vote counting alongside one neutral person, ensuring that the result reflects the votes cast.
What I can provide for Pirate
I would be willing to make Pirate the title sponsor of the event, possibly with a "Powered by Pirate.com" subtitle to the event. I can also show and share Pirate promotional material during the contest and on social media in the lead-up. We can also discuss if Pirate's name makes it onto the competition's trophies, which I will be getting 3D-printed.
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Pirate will be recommended as the practice facility provider of choice to competitors in the contest, some of whom will use a Pirate space to rehearse or record their backing tracks for the contest. A special discount code for entrants to use in the build-up to the contest would incentivise that, although that's up to the company. The winners, once they have used their credit, are likely to continue using Pirate for their future practice needs.
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In line with Pirate's values:
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I plan to make entering a song free for artists
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I plan to celebrate and empower all those who take the creative risk to enter this contest
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I plan to provide support for those who may be disappointed by their placing (they can't all be winners)
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I plan to have a feedback form where audience members can leave anonymous feedback for contestants, which will be provided to them after the contest - useful for those whose songs didn't make it into many people's top 3 but still made an impression
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I plan to distribute 50% of any profits from ticket sales among the contestants.
If this staging of the contest proves successful, I plan to run it 2, 3 or 4 times per year, continuning at the same venue until demand outstrips capacity. We can review after this staging if the partnership is one which should continue, which I hope it will.
Interested?
E-mail me at tolerablemusic@gmail.com to discuss more