Airtel’s mobile music competition extended
Dates for submitting entries for the country’s first ever mobile music competition, which will see the winner pocketing K14 million, have been extended.
Initially, contestants were required to submit entries before December 10 for Airtel Malawi’s Trace Music Star competition, which is a partnership between Trace Music Star and American music star Akon.
“The competition stage has been extended to January 24 so customers can continue to submit their entries and get their friends to vote for them. Around the first week of February we will announce Malawi’s top five and the battle will begin for us to unveil Malawi’s next super star and the local grand prize winner of K14 million,” said Airtel Malawi’s brand and communications manager Isabel Kachinjika.
The Malawi winner will compete with the rest of Africa for the top prize of $50 000 alongside a recording deal with Kon Live, a distribution label through Universal Music Group as well as an intense mentorship programme with Akon in the US.
Since the launch of the competition, the response had been overwhelming with over 5 000 entries registered, according to Airtel.
“The uptake for Airtel Trace Star was initially slow as customers still couldn’t believe that such a life changing opportunity could be legitimate. The prospect of getting K14 million for singing well on a national platform or of visiting Akon as a Pan African winner was more than most customers could ever imagine.
“However, through positive word of mouth and a desire to become the next star, we have seen a good increase in participation since launch. As of Monday last week, we have received over 5 000 submissions and a good number of votes via SMS and the Interactive voice response popularly called IVR,” she stated.
So far, Airtel Malawi has put the first minute of the Airtel Trace Music Stars call for free.
“We have made it even easier for customers to enter by making the first minute of the call free. Customers can call in as many times as they wish to increase their chances of winning,” she explained.
To join the competition, people have to call Airtel Trace Stars number 59911 to have their song recorded. If it is approved by the judges, the entrant is given a code which they will use to vote for their song to win the coveted prize.
