Who Won Indieblock Records Feat. Venezuela 2020?
Let’s break down the song creation contest and see who took home the prize pool!
In Short
If you want to know who won the monetary price, just skip to the last section, but if you want to know why there are more than three winners in this contest, please read the whole article.
A little bit of context
Back in January, hand in hand with the official launch of our record label we announced our first song creation contest; however, behind all the hope, joy, and optimism that we received from our announcement, there’s a crude reality. As many of you may know, Venezuela has been in social and political turmoil for a while. Consequently, the financial situation of a big chunk of the Venezuelan community has led them in the worst-case-scenarios to flee the country and in the best ones to stretch their bolivares and engage into alternative economic activities.
On this side of the continent, Kevin and I — as a musician and a graphic designer, both independent — have heard multiple times that we will not be able to sustain ourselves if we dedicate our lives to art. We’ve heard that the big bucks are in other areas (e.g. health, business, law). Sure, there are economic incentives in different niches of the industry. Still, we’re convinced that if we want to grow as individuals the only way to do it is to grow as a community, all together, and leaving no one behind.
Through the foundation of Indieblock Records, we decided to change the narrative around making a living with your music. By flipping the pyramid of compensations in the music industry, we aim to give the artists from our catalogue at least 80% of the royalties generated from their streams.
As stated before, if we wanted to make this a reality, we will only be able to achieve it if we partnered up with individuals and organizations that shared our vision. Luckily enough, we stumbled upon Alberto, founder of EOSVenezuela. Among the projects that this Venezuelan block producer has, there was one that aligned perfectly with what we envisioned: FamilyTelos. A basic income experiment in Venezuela in which families in need will receive $1 USD per day in crypto for 90 days.
Why Feat.?
Everything was set. We had a solid vision, incredible partners, and a cause — to help Venezuelan families. We just needed a name for the contest, and that came out quick. Just like when artists collaborate and add a “feat.” text between their names on their songs, we imprinted our collaborative essence on the name of the event and we created “Indieblock Records Feat.” our flagship song creation contest. Who are we featuring in this edition? On this occasion, we’re featuring Venezuela, and that’s the reasoning behind Indieblock Records Feat. Venezuela (2020) name.
How did it work?
Thanks to our partnerships we fundraised approximately USD 700 worth of cryptocurrency which were distributed among the first three places of our contest. The contestants had to create a song of any genre with the central theme that was “Venezuela its current situation or possible solutions”,
The prizes were as following:
1st Place — $400USD* worth of cryptocurrency
2nd Place — $200USD* worth of cryptocurrency
3rd Place — $100USD* worth of cryptocurrency
As well, all of the winning songs will be uploaded to Emanate streaming platform and, thanks to the smart contract that Blockchain technology allows us to use, 50% of the royalties generated from the streaming will directly, automatically, and transparently be paid to FamilyTelos account to keep funding their universal basic income experiment; meanwhile, the rest of the royalties will also be distributed to the artists and in a tiny percentage to Indieblock Records.
Who won?
We had a great response! Many things came out as byproducts of this contest. For instance, we solidified a lot of partnerships with recording studios and some distributors in Latinamerica. Now, we’d be able to offer some music-related services to independent artists in Venezuela so they can record their music at a minimum cost or even for free — remember, we all grow together and no one is left behind. More on our partnerships, later.
By the end of the contest, we gathered a group of judges from Venezuela, and we worked together to decide who will be the winners from our competition.
The winners were:
drum roll please*
1st Place — Aquí Estoy by Alda Music
In approximately 2 minutes, this song reflects a generalized sentiment by the Venezuelans that today might not be in the country because they had to flee. Emotive, to the point, real. The rhythm and the melody perfectly matched the theme of the contest. The judges told us that if you listen closely you could hear the love that was put into it.
2nd Place — Alma Llanera by Samix Rusher
A humble production filled with truth and feeling. Our judges told us that it makes you feel at home for a second.
3rd Place — Querramos Venezuela by Rodnell Matos.
A familiar rhythm that still manages to play along the lines of Venezuelan folklore and play a little with the voice mixing.
Congratulations to the winners, we’re sure that each and every song will echo in our community; furthermore, every time these songs are streamed on Emanate, it contributes to the funding of one more day of living with dignity for the people benefited from FamilyTelos.
Last but not least. Thanks to all of our partners and collaborators: FamilyTelos, EOS Nation, Emanate Community, GenerEOS, Telos, and Venezuela Blockchain.
Who are you featuring next?
One of the reasons we were enamoured by the name of our song creating contest is that we could use it as a liaison among Indieblock Records and any cause or organization. We might feature a whole country again; as well, we might use it to feature a non-profit organization or even an individual in need.
Do you have a suggestion? Shoot us an email: info@indieblockrecords.com
