Call for entries: Namibia’s Next Big Thing competition

The winner will get an opportunity to record a 12-track album of any genre, a music video and one year of free management consultations with Kallo On The Beat.

To enter, music fans should SMS the name of the artist or group – for example, 'Kallo (Artist Name/Group)' – to 10010. The top 10 contenders will be announced and the public will vote for the winner.

The deadline for entries is 30 June. The winner will be announced on 15 August.

“A lot of aspiring artists inbox me every other day to ask for advice on how to start their music careers, so here is that chance,” Kallo On The Beat said. “I've been hearing the cry of artists. Music production is costly and most aspiring artists cannot afford album production, the shooting of a music video or hiring a management team.

“We partnered with ViralCOM to give music lovers a fair chance to SMS the name of the artist they would like to see win this golden opportunity. The artist or group with the most SMSs will win.”

Kallo On The Beat said the competition is open to all artists, but reiterated that the focus was on talented artists with little resources.

“Music videos are expensive. Scripting is also an issue. Many people can shoot a music video but a few know about scripting and conceptualising ideas. We want to groom, guide and mould the artist. The industry is rough. Just having an album and video does not guarantee you success. This is like on-the-job training."