What is the Gigstarter competition?

The Gigstarter competition is divided in two categories: Artist of the Year (bands, duos, solo artists) and the second category with the DJ of the Year 2021. The process is exactly the same for each category.

Different steps of the 2021 competition:

Subscription period: Artists can subscribe for the competition from November 4th until November 14th 2021.

Preselection step: A jury makes a shortlist out of all the artists that entered the contest. The shortlist will be announced on November 15th 2021.

Voting period: From November 16th to November 27th at 12am, fans and followers can vote for their favourite artists from the shortlist. To vote, people should go to the Gigstarter profile of the artist or DJ they support.

Top 3 finalists: In each category, the first 3 artists who received the most votes, will have to record a ten-minute performance video and send it to the Gigstarter team before December 8th. The external jury will choose the two winners among the 3 finalists of each category.

Final: online event: The top 3 finalists of each category will be invited to the online event on December 1th when the winners will be announced and interviewed. Their recorded performances will also be broadcasted. This livestream will be accessible for everyone.

What are the prizes?

The winner, chosen by the expert jury, holds the title of Gigstarter Artist of the Year 2021. The Artist Of The Year will win a 1000 euros cheque and the DJ Of The Year will win a 500 euros cheque.

Which artists can participate?

Every artist who has a public profile on Gigstarter and who has the possibility to record a live video with his/her own original music for 10 minutes maximum, can participate in the competition. Artists of the Year finalists from previous years are excluded from the competition.

How can I participate?

1. Login on your Gigstarter profile and go to your dashboard
2. Click on the participation button on your dashboard to be involved in the competition
3. Share your participation with the rest of the world.

Participation period: from November 4th to November 14th

I participated, what is the next step?

Among all the participants, the jury will determine according to the musical quality around 10 artists and 10 DJs for the shortlist. This shortlist can contain artists with different musical backgrounds and/or genres.

I am preselected, what’s next?

Well done, you are in the shortlist! Now, the voting can start!

Share your Gigstarter profile to as many friends, fans as possible to get the most votes.

Voting period: From November 16th to November 27th at midday

How can people vote?

People can vote for their favorite artists, from November 16th, 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 people vote?

Everyone can vote from November 16th till November 27th at midday. On this date, the top 3 finalists of each category will be announced.

How many times is it possible to vote?

People can vote only one time on every artist. For instance, you can vote once for every contestant. If we suspect any form of fraud, we have the right to remove those votes.

Votes are over. I am one of the top 3 finalists, what’s next?

From November 28th, you will have until December 8th at midday to send to the Gigstarter team your ten-minute live video. Only your own songs are allowed, no covers, even for DJs. Be really careful on the sound and video quality, you can also record it from a cool venue if it is allowed. The jury has the right to disqualify any finalists if the rules were not respected.

Once the Gigstarter team receives your video, it will be transferred to the jury who will make a decision and announce the winners during the final.

When does the final take place?

The online final of the competition will take place on December 16th at 7pm. The livestream would consist in:

• Broadcast of a ten-minute recorded performance of every finalist (60-minute online "concert")

• Live interviews in English

• Live Announcement of the Artist & DJ of the Year

Everyone is more than welcome to support their act and discover the winners: friends, fans, family, everyone.

Will finalists receive monetary compensation?

Gigstarter can not provide any money compensation for the participants that do not win.

Which artists won last year?

After our first digital final last year, PanKart band won the Artist of the Year and LLout was elected DJ of the Year 2020.