Step 1) Create a Sonicbids Account [HERE]

Step 2) Upload your music, bio, videos and photos.  

Make sure to include all of your social accounts, website and biography. 

Step 2) Submit to Perform at A3C 2017

Submit to Perform

Sonicbids is our exclusive artist submission partner, and we ONLY accept artist submissions via Sonicbids.  

 
Past Sonicbids selections include: Young Thug, Trinidad James, Rhymefest, Ca$h Out, Que, Black Sheep, Tanya Morgan, CJ Fly of Pro Era, & Propaganda.  

Submit to Perform

Artist Submissions are free through April 13th 

April 14 - July 31 = $5 Administrative Fee

August 1 - September 19th = $50 Expedite Fee 

Submit to Perform

We have a programming committee that reviews each submission.

We select over 100 artists to enter into "This Is My Year," which is an opportunity for the hip-hop community and fans to hand pick the artists they want to see live.  We started This Is My Year in order to highlight more artists and engage the hip-hop community.  We've been able to spark more artist discovery and involve fans in the programming process.  The artists win.  The fans win.  

How does "This Is My Year" work?  We select 6 stand out artists each week.  We highlight the artists and promote an online voting platform that puts the final decision in the hands of the fans and hip-hop community.   The 2 artists with the most votes each week win an opportunity to perform at the 13th annual A3C Festival & Conference.  Over 16 weeks more than 32 artists are selected through this process. 

In addition, our programming committee hand select between 12 and 30 artists that we're not selected via This Is My Year. 

Music Reviews from Industry Professionals

We are offering 2 different ways to have your music reviewed by A&Rs, Booking Agents, Record Execs and Industry Veterans.  

To be considered you must (1) submit to perform at A3C via Sonicbids and (2) fill out the Artist Application. 

Artists will be selected at random. We will contact you directly if selected.

Apply for Free Music Review

Our goal is to find the most talented (often undiscovered) artists that will gain the most from performing and attending the A3C Conference.  

We ask ourselves, is this artist prepared to take their career to the next level?  And here are some of the tools we use to determine that:

MUSIC

Does your music sound good?  Your songs need to be well recorded and engineered.  This is too often overlooked, but very important.

Is your music unique?  We listen to A LOT of music.  Your music might sound good, and we may like it, but  but if it sounds like a lot of other music we listen to, it is difficult to pick you from a crowd.  We hear a lot of music that sounds like the current "hip-pop-rap" music on the radio, and while we may like the music, what makes you unique?  We are looking for artists that stand out in a crowd of 2,000.

VISUALS

Do you have a consistent look/feel? You are a brand!  If we see that you've put in the time, energy and resources necessary to develop a dope brand, it means you're taking your career seriously.  

Do you have professional photos? This might seem minor, but it's a big deal. Music is about making connections. Fans aren't gonna connect with you, follow you, share your music, buy your merch... if they don't connect with your overall vibe.  That can start with great photos, with a style that is right for you.

Do you have dope videos? This is one of the most important tools artists have to reach people and build a fanbase.  If you don't have any videos (or your videos are poor quality) it shows that you haven't taken the proper steps to develop yourself.  You need to have solid video content that make it easy for fans to like and share.  A creative (and unique) video can help break an artist. 

FAN ENGAGEMENT

Do you have a fanbase?  Yes, we look to see if you have fans. If you haven't been able to generate any fans in your local market, that's a red flag. If your friends, family and neighborhood don't support you, then you haven't done step 1 and probably aren't ready for a national stage.

How do we tell if you have fans?  We look through your social media, YouTube and released music (ex. Soundcloud) to see if you have built any traction. We aren't looking for crazy numbers, but would like to see some initial engagement.

Do you engage with your fans? We look to see if you active on social media, and how much fan interaction you have.  If an artist has a large social following, but isn't actively communicating with fans, that's a red flag.  It shows that you aren't doing the little things.  It's like having a 5 Star rating on Yelp, but never being open for business.  A community needs to be nurtured, or it will die.

RECAP

You have a good chance of being selected if... your music is good, unique and professionaly mixed.  If you have creative visuals, and an actively engaged fanbase.

Submit to Perform