Vans wants you to submit music for the chance to win a prize

It's 2020. Millions upon millions of people are unemployed.  A global pandemic has destroyed life as we know it. And that is to say nothing of the music industry. Scores of music venues that have closed, never to reopen.

I can paint a sad picture of the valiant attempts by venue small business owners, passionate musicians and fans to try and coerce government officials to show some compassion and attempt to keep our culture going. 

But the truth is that the music industry has been struggling for years, thanks to Big Tech Overlords like Spotify devaluing music to the point where one is unable to make a living solely from their music.

Daniel Ek is actually upset with musicians for not giving him enough "content," and wants to dictate how frequently you should be releasing music on platforms like his that have made him billions of dollars

Thankfully another billion dollar company, Vans, is partnering with Spotify (and trillion dollar companies like Apple) for Musicians Wanted.

If you submit your music between today and October 11th, you might just win *checks notes* $2500 for music video production and promotion. And a chance to open for Aderson .Paak who is also one of the judges, at House of Vans pending COVID circumstances. So basically sometime between next year and 2022.

But that's not all!

Your music will  also be featured in Vans Spotify ads, although it is unclear whether they pay you for this. Probably not. But there's also a custom Vans "Musicians Wanted," Fender guitar and RJC drumkit, too.

That's if you are the grand prize winner.

If you aren't, have no fear. You might be one of the top five finalists who will get on Vans Spotify and Apple Music playlists, thereby earning you a fraction of a fraction of a penny, every time someone streams your song. You'll also get a Fender guitar and accessory pack, assigned a Fender regional rep (whatever that means) and walk away with some sweet Vans gear.

In other words, one person wins 2500 and an opening slot assuming we ever have shows again, and five people win a coveted spot on a playlist, a guitar and a pair of shoes.

I am certain terms and conditions apply because they always do. But Vans curiously isn't letting you know what those terms are unless you register first. 

This isn't quite as bad as Specialty Records buying the publishing rights to Little Richard's megahit "Tutti Frutti" for fifty dollars because Spotify he made a half a cent royalty rate per record, far more than Spotify. But it's still a really bad look.

Watch the promo video below. It came out in August and has a whopping 200 views. No doubt it's plastered all over social media, too. But seeing as how the original date to submit was September 2 to Septeber 30th, maybe the extension was due to a low number of entries.