-Deezer NEXT reveals first round of artists for its 2018 programme, continuing to champion emerging acts worldwide
–New artists include Eddy de Pretto, Sopico, GASHI, Lewis Capaldi, Yxng Bane, Irie Kingz, Mike Bahia, EUT, El Kanka, Marta Soto and L.A.
New York, January 16th, 2018: Deezer, the world’s most diverse, dynamic and personal streaming service, is rolling out Deezer NEXT 2018, its annual program aimed at identifying and championing emerging international talent and providing an avenue for exposure to new audiences on Deezer.
Following a successful 2017, the first global artist announced is Jorja Smith, an R&B singer from England. With her soulful vocal style, Jorja has been gaining attention since the release of her 2016 single, ‘Blue Lights’ and most recently ‘Let Me Down’ feat. Stormzy. The 2018 program kicks off with the availability of Jorja’s exclusive ‘Inspirations’ playlist of her favorite songs on Deezer, with more special content to follow in the coming months.
Jorja Smith, Deezer’s global artist, commented: “Really happy to be part of Deezer’s 2018 Deezer NEXT campaign, thank you for the support. Looking very forward to sharing more music Xx”
In addition to Jorja, Deezer will select a further three global priority artists, along with up to eight regional artists per market (including France, LATAM, Germany, UK and the US) – to be announced throughout 2018.
The first round of regional acts are:
- GASHI: New-York based hip-hop musician, emerging with song ‘No No No’
- Eddy de Pretto: Paris artist, mixing rap & French Variété with debut EP ‘Kid’
- Sopico: French rapper, climbing the ranks from his 2016 release ‘Heat’
- Lewis Capaldi: Scottish singer-songwriter, rising in popularity with ‘Bruises’
- Yxng Bane: British singer and rapper, known for his involvement in the song ‘Bestie’ with Yungen
- EUT: catchy Indie band from the Netherlands, building momentum with ‘Supplies’
- Irie Kingz: Colombian duo mixing Spanish and English known for ‘Me Want Party’
- Mike Bahía: Colombian pop star ready to take on Latin America in 2018
- El Kanka: Spanish singer-songwriter, making waves with his latest release ‘Andalucía’
- Marta Soto: Pop star based in Barcelona, just released ‘Quiero Verte’
- A: Indie band from Spain, critically acclaimed with ‘Where The Angels Go’
Each year, Deezer works closely with the artists and their teams to develop their profiles, providing 12 months of support through a combination of playlisting and creative marketing campaigns involving special content (e.g. live EPs, interviews), marketing spend, fan events and amplification on social media. The Deezer global TV commercial also plays a central role, as music from a Deezer NEXT artist will be placed for sync. Music from last year’s Deezer ad topped the Shazam Ad Chart in 2017.
Now in its second year, Deezer NEXT has proven a success with 2017 artists seeing major gains in their fanbases on Deezer e.g. Rag’n’Bone Man +1,323%, Bausa +900%, Maggie Rogers +635%, Anne Marie +333%, Feid +300%. Importantly, non-English speaking artists proved that they could attract international fanbases as nearly half of the Top 10 most streamed Deezer Next artists in 2017 were non-English language (French, German, Spanish and Portuguese).
Sulinna Ong, Vice President, Artist Marketing comments “Following the success of Deezer NEXT 2017, we’re excited to be continuing Deezer Next this year with a new tranche of artists. There is an enormous amount of new talent across the globe, so this year we will be adding more artists, and even greater geographical diversity. Deezer users are hungry for new artists from all over the world, and there’s an increasing demand for international talent. This is still just the start – there is much more to come, and we will be announcing further Deezer NEXT artists throughout the year.”
GASHI, Deezer’s US artist, said: “I’m excited to be a part of Deezer’s Next program for 2018! Let’s get it.”
The next rounds of Deezer NEXT 2018 artists will be revealed in March, June and September.
For more information, please contact: pr@deezer.com