Colenso & Spark Give Musical NZers the Chance of a Lifetime through TikTok

Despite the huge changes that social media has brought to the way new musicians are discovered, the music industry remains a notoriously difficult one to break into. #SparkOpenAudition is an initiative from Spark to provide New Zealanders with a shot at a career in music through the power of technology.

Entrants were challenged to duet on TikTok with NZ rapper, JessB, with their upload becoming their submission. Three contestants were then chosen to be mentored by NZ producers from Joel Little’s music studio, Big Fan, helping them to write and produce new music. From there, the winners will go on to perform live on ZM radio, with an overall winner decided by the NZ public winning $10K worth of prizes from Spark.

“For someone chasing a career in music, that first step of being discovered is often the hardest part. But technology has changed the game. These days, with a phone and a platform like TikTok anyone has a shot at being seen.” Said Lucy Cole, Colenso BBDO managing partner.

“This opportunity gave New Zealanders the chance to showcase their skills in front of some of the industry’s most influential people as well as the NZ public, and could be the kickstart to their career. We are stoked with the massive response, and in awe of the talent in the submissions.”   

Spark’s director of marketing and data, Matt Bain, said, “We’ve been getting New Zealanders closer to the music they love for the last nine years with our money can’t buy VIP music experiences and our partnerships with Spotify and Spark Arena. We’re thrilled that we can now support the artists who, one day, could be selling out Spark Arena themselves.

“Driven by our guiding Kaupapa (philosophy) of Hello Tomorrow, which uses technology as the vehicle to unleash an Aotearoa that’s full of possibilities, Spark Open Audition is all about supporting musically talented New Zealanders to harness their creativity and kickstart their career in music.”

Voting is currently open to decide the overall winner. The live event for #SparkOpenAudition runs next Thursday the 23rd of November at 8pm and can be watched and listened to via ZM and on www.spark.co.nz/hellotomorrow.