PIRATE RESIDENCY 2023: SUMMER ON STAGE
This summer, we’ve partnered with promoters and radio stations across the US to secure paid performance and airplay opportunities for our community of artists. Whether performing for a sold-out club or hearing your track on the airwaves for the first time–make summer 2023 your stage with Pirate Residency.
FESTIVAL AND VENUE PARTNERS
DITTO MUSIC
6-month Ditto trial FREE for ALL applicants
Ditto is offering ALL applicants to Pirate Residency a 6-month free trial. With Ditto, you can release your music to more global platforms than anywhere else.
HOTEL CAFE / FIERCE FEMME SOUNDS
1x band slot *Women and gender nonconforming people only
A live music series in LA featuring female and non-binary performed and produced sounds at historical Hotel Cafe.
QSTV
1x band or DJ slot
“The Link Up“ is a QSTV event for producers, musicians, and fans to connect. Featuring live beat sets, jam sessions, and DJ sets from NYC artists and beyond.
GRAPENUT BRUNCH CLUB
Multiple DJ slots
Grapenut Brunch Club is an enigmatic NYC-based creative collective. They throw parties and organize events for artists/brands through their creative agency, big ugly llc.
CATCH ONE
1x DJ slot
Catch One is Southern California's premiere multi-purpose venue offering an eclectic array of events nightly, right in the heart of Los Angeles.
DEATHPROOF INC.
1x DJ slot
DEATHPROOF INC is an underground independent label that consists of musicians, producers, graphic designers, party promoters, skaters, photographers and videographers.
Ill Behavior
1x DJ slot
Ill Behavior techno is the voice of underground techno in LA. They have 1 mission: make people dance.
BASS N BABES
1x DJ slot *queer women, nonbinary, and trans people only
Bass n Babes is a community space curated for the girls, gays, theys & babes who love to rave and want to feel the bass.
ONE NIGHT NYC
2x DJ slots
They pride themselves on being music-focused, and always booking talent that they feel will create an insane and mesmerizing experience. See you on the dance floor.
EMPIRE STATE MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL
1x band slot, 1x DJ slot
The Empire State Music And Arts Festival is an annual multi-genre music and arts celebration in New York City that seeks to cultivate relationships between musicians.
RADIO PARTNERS
TRANSATLANTIC LINES
Get your track played on Transatlantic Lines.
Monthly Radioshow on Radio LoRa showcasing music from both sides of the Atlantic with a focus on Abya Yala/Latinamerica.
KPFK
Get your mix played on KPFK
KPFK, in Los Angeles, is the second of what would eventually become five Pacifica Stations to go on the air. Blessed with an enormous transmitter in a prime location, KPFK is the most powerful of the Pacifica stations and one of the most powerful public radio stations in the Western United States.
WHAT OUR 2023 RESIDENTS WILL GET
- A live performance slot at a festival or venue OR
- Their song played on an independent radio station
- $250 worth of free studio credit to use in any of Pirate’s 24-hour rehearsal, recording, DJ, dance and podcast studios worldwide
- Mentoring and development workshops from some of music’s brightest minds
- A share of £/$5,000 Paradise Worldwide vouchers to develop your career
- + Our public vote winner will also receive an extra $10,000 in free studio credit
- Every applicant (win or lose) will get a 6-month free trial of Ditto Music
HOW TO APPLY
STEP ONE: If you haven’t already, create a Pirate account – this will only take a couple of minutes.
STEP TWO: Head to our application form to submit your details and select the opportunities you’re applying for. If you’re applying for a gig slot, we’ll need a short clip of you performing (doesn’t have to be at a gig, could be at home or in the studio) and if you’re applying for radio airplay, you’ll need to submit an original track or mix.
STEP THREE: Let your friends and fans know you’ve applied for Pirate Residency by downloading our image toolkit – available once you’ve submitted your application. Drumming up support could help you when it comes time for the public vote.
PIRATE RESIDENCY 2023 TIMELINE
APPLICATIONS OPEN: 6TH MARCH - 27TH MARCH
Applications for performance slots and radio play are open to any artist with a Pirate account (sign-up here if you don’t have one).
JUDGING + RESIDENTS ANNOUNCED: 27TH MARCH - 17TH APRIL
Pirate’s A&R team and our brand partners will listen to all entries and select the winning Residents. The winning artists will be contacted and announced across Pirate and partner social channels on the 17th of April.
PUBLIC VOTE: 19TH - 30TH APRIL
Our 2023 residents will have their winning entries uploaded to YouTube for a public vote. The public vote winner will receive an additional $10,000 free studio credit and the opportunity to headline our showcase event.
SUMMER SHOWCASE EVENT: DATE TBC
Fans, industry guests and journalists are invited to a summer showcase event where our Residents will perform live.
WHAT IS PIRATE RESIDENCY?
Since launching in 2022, Pirate Residency has given 50 artists (our Residents) over £80k worth of free studio time, equipment packages from our partner brands, skills workshops and development opportunities.
Our residents receive ongoing support from Pirate through performance opportunities, exclusive access to our partner brand workshops and events, and features on our blog and social channels.
MEET SOME OF OUR 2022 RESIDENTS
JELLY – LOS ANGELES
As well as practising for gigs across Los Angeles, JELLY spent her Pirate Residency helping aspiring DJs get started, offering beginners lessons in how to use CDJs, mixing and Rekordbox.
JKLN – BERLIN
Making use of Pirate’s recording, DJ and rehearsal studios, combining deep and dark electronic dance productions with dreamy pop-inspired vocals, JKLN’s unique sound has taken her to the top spot in the Ukrainian Charts.
BRIXTON CHAMBER ORCHESTRA – LONDON
Brixton Chamber Orchestra has been using their Pirate Residency to work on their latest project ‘Grime Orchestrated’ which you can watch live in London in the new year.
2022 RESIDENTS: IN THEIR OWN WORDS
MEET SOME OF OUR 2023 PARTNERS
DITTO MUSIC
Ditto Music is one of the world’s leading music distribution, publishing, artist management and record label services companies, supporting over 850,000 independent artists and labels across the globe. With Ditto, musicians can release unlimited music to more platforms than anywhere else, including Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon, TikTok, Instagram, Vevo, Pandora and more. Ditto’s record label services branch also supports both emerging and established artists with playlisting, social media, radio plugging, online and project management.
HOTEL CAFE / FIERCE FEMME SOUNDS
1x band set *Women and gender nonconforming people only
Fierce Femme Sounds exists to support and champion female music artists. This showcase is run in partnership with the prestigious Hotel Cafe. Fierce Femme Sounds has been featured in LA weekly.
QSTV
1x band or DJ slot
QSTV (Quality Sounds TV) is a Youtube show that started over two years ago during the height of the pandemic showcasing independent artists, musicians, music producers, DJs, and all creatives. Since the end of lockdown, QSTV has thrown monthly music-curated events in partnership with Soho House and recently Pirate.com.
One of QSTVs popular events is "The Link Up". “The Link Up“ is an event for Music Producers, Musicians, and Music lovers to connect featuring live beat sets, jam sessions, and DJ sets from some of the best creatives from NYC and beyond. QSTV also has their own radio show broadcasted through Blast Radio. We have multiple shows under the QSTV Radio umbrella that are hosted by different creatives.
Pirate Residency artists will be able to perform a 20-minute set at our next QSTV Link Up event. They will be paid $100 for their performance once event payment is received from the venue to the QSTV team.
GRAPENUT BRUNCH CLUB
Multiple DJ slots
Grapenut Brunch Club is a very enigmatic NYC-based creative collective. They throw parties and organize events for artists/brands through their creative agency, big ugly llc.
Grapebut is currently seeking DJs for their next events (3/4 Drop the Guillotine: the Neoliberalhell Birthday Bash and 3/31 Trans Day of Vengeance with TRAN4NY) and future projects. They’re particularly after hip-hop and house DJs from Bedstuy, UKG DJs, transgender DJs who play speed house, techno, and gabber-adjacent stuff, but everyone is welcome to apply. In their free time, they like to drink mimosas and gossip.
CATCH ONE
1x DJ slot
Catch One is a premier multi-purpose venue, offering an eclectic array of events right in the heart of LA. Most nights feature regular sets by DJs, electronic musicians & rappers.
DEATHPROOF INC.
1x DJ slot
DEATHOROOF INC is an underground independent label that consists of musicians, producers, graphic designers, party promoters, skaters, photographers and videographers. They came together to build their own community in the LA underground and also provide a platform for upcoming artists through shows, tours, providing studios, production, music videos, and industry connections they’’ve built through years of hard ground work.
Their most recent event is an artist showcase at KNUCKLEHEAD IN HOLLYWOOD .Knucklehead is an old-school punk bar that was shut down and re-opened recently.
ILL BEHAVIOUR
1x DJ slot
Back once again, Ill Behavior techno is the voice of underground techno in LA. They have 1 mission: make people dance. Ill Behavior is a highly curated night where we feature the best and brightest underground techno DJs with raw skills.
They wanted to make a night by ravers for ravers. This is not a club and not a night to social hangout. This is about getting down on the dance floor. The star of the night is the music. Leave your inhibitions at the door and strap on your dancing shoes. What's the time? It's time to get ill!
BASS N BABES
1x DJ slot *queer women, nonbinary, and trans people only
Bass n Babes is an event series conceptualized by Baby Kush to bring together queer bassheads, headbangers, wooks, and ravers for a night of hugs, love and wubz.
Embodying all the core concepts of PLUR, Bass n Babes centers queer women, trans, and nonbinary individuals to create more queer spaces within the EDM community and provide a platform for queer bass music DJs and producers. The ultimate goal of Bass n Babes is to elevate the queer community in the rave scene.
ONE NIGHT NYC
2x DJ slots
One Night was concocted by a twosome that quickly became a threesome. These three hot friends wanted to throw parties that are carefree, uninhibited, and unapologetically fun.
They pride themselves on being music-focused, and always booking talent that they feel will create an insane and mesmerizing experience. See you on the dance floor.
EMPIRE STATE MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL
1x band slot, 1x DJ slot
The Empire State Music And Arts Festival is an annual multi-genre music and arts celebration that seeks to cultivate relationships between musicians, performance and visual artists, community organizations, established brands, and startups in order to strengthen the foundation and platforms of the independent music and arts community.
Through the mix of multiple legendary and community-based venues throughout New York City, the ESMAF enables all neighborhoods, communities, and peoples to take part in an entire week of music and art celebration.
TRANSATLANTIC LINES
Submit a track or mix to be featured on Transatlantic Lines
Transatlantic Lines is a radioshow seeking to build a cultural bridge between the Latinamerican and European music scenes. The goal is to provide underrepresented artists, especially Latinamerican ones, a platform for their music to be heard by a wide audience.
The mixes are delivered by host BBYMOON and her guests. Tune in to hear the show every fourth Thursday of the month, on independent, Zurich-based station Radio LoRa on 97,5 MHz or online via www.lora.ch.
KPFK
Get your mix played on KPFK
KPFK, in Los Angeles, is the second of what would eventually become five Pacifica Stations to go on the air. Blessed with an enormous transmitter in a prime location, KPFK is the most powerful of the Pacifica stations and one of the most powerful public radio stations in the Western United States.
Get your mix played on a prime-time late-night slot.
Click here to view the full Pirate Residency 2023: Summer on Stage terms and conditions.
