The Tiny Desk Contest is NPR’s annual search to find the next great undiscovered artist for the Tiny Desk Concert. Unsigned bands and musicians are asked to film themselves performing an original song at a desk of their choice. Scott Brocato spoke with two of the contest’s ten judges: Anamarie Sayre, co-host of Alt.Latino and the curator/producer for Tiny Desk, and Robin Hilton, host and senior producer of Tiny Desk and All Songs Considered, about the Tiny Desk Contest and Concerts.
Scott Brocato:
Before we talk about the Tiny Desk contest, for those few who may not be familiar with it, talk about the Tiny Desk concerts and its origin.
Robin Hilton:
Oh gosh. Well, in 2008, Bob Boilen and Stephen Thompson saw a quiet singer-songwriter named Laurie Gibson play at a bar in Austin. Couldn't hear her. Afterwards, they joked, we ought to just have her come play at her desk and asked her and she did it. And it was just sort of us having fun. But it was so cool. I said, “Let's do another one.” And I saw that Vic Chestnut was going to be in town in D.C., and so I asked him to come in. And he came in and became the second Tiny Desk.
At that point, Bob Boilen said, "Well, if we end up doing this as a series, what should we call it?” And he had been in a band called Tiny Desk Unit. So I said, "Well, we could call them Tiny Desk Concerts." And it just kind of kept going from there. It was just a group of friends having fun. There was never a moment when someone got a bunch of suits together and said, “Hey, I have this idea. What if we brought artists in and had them play at our desks and we do it like this and we call it Tiny Desks?” That never happened. It was all very organic. And it continues to be a passion project. It's still very organic. You'll never find a bunch of suits sitting in an office deciding who gets to play at the Tiny.
Scott Brocato:
As far as the artists at this point, since it's been on for a while, do you reach out to them, they to you, or a little bit of both?
Robin Hilton:
A little bit of both.
Anamarie Sayre:
A little bit of both. A little bit of both. I would say it's kind of well-known now. It's kind of a massive dream for...I would go so far as to say, most artists at this point. So definitely we get pitched a lot, but I don't know. I actually feel better oftentimes when it feels like I'm the one pursuing it a bit more. Like there's just no way that this artist can't play. They need to be here, and that feels pretty good.
Robin Hilton:
We used to get them, we used to just grab artists when they were in town: “Oh, so-and-so's in town. Let's see if they want to do it,” and that's the only way we ever got anybody. But now we have them coming to us and saying, “We'll fly everybody in from Europe.”
Scott Brocato:
Well, there has to be a limit to how many people you can fit behind that desk, or is that just the magic of camera angles, that it's bigger back there than it appears to be watching it?
Robin Hilton:
You can either have a lot of people with very few instruments, or you can have a few people with a lot of instruments. I mean, it's...I think the record is 21 people...
Anamarie Sayre:
No way. 21??
Robin Hilton:
Yeah, we had a marching band. Yeah, they were sitting up on top of the shelves and--
Anamarie Sayre:
I thought it was 13 or 14.
Robin Hilton:
Oh, no, we've definitely...I think we had more than that just in, like Justin Timberlake's was...
Anamarie Sayre:
No, I think Justin Timberlake was 13 or 14.
Robin Hilton:
But they also really blew it out with a lot of instruments in that set too.
Scott Brocato:
So let's talk about the contest now, the Tiny Desk Contest and its concept. This is the 12th year?
Robin Hilton:
Yeah, I think that's right. I think we started in 2014.
Scott Brocato:
And performers, what do they need to do to enter the contest? What are the regulations, the rules? What do they have to do?
Anamarie Sayre:
I mean, it can really be quite simple. It's one original song. recorded wherever you want to record it. It doesn't have to be the most impressive background in the world.
Scott Brocato:
But it has to be behind a desk?
Anamarie Sayre:
You do need to include a desk, yes.
Robin Hilton:
Sometimes that's a little miniature dollhouse-sized desk that you're...
Anamarie Sayre:
Yeah, we'll look for anything.(Laughs)
Scott Brocato:
Is there a limit to the number of people in the same entry? Or does it have to be just one? Or can there be more?
Anamarie Sayre:
Definitely more if they want.
Robin Hilton:
We've had a lot of crossover bands, like I'll watch one entry and then I'll watch another entry from a totally different band, but realize, oh, they have some of the same players who were in that other band. Or maybe someone enters as a solo artist, but then they play in somebody else's entry.
Scott Brocato:
The deadline to enter is February9th?
Robin Hilton:
February 9th. And you do have to be 18 and it's US only.
Scott Brocato:
How many entries have you had so far for this contest?
Robin Hilton:
This year, I don't know. They're starting to pour in. We had like 7,500 last year, I think.
Scott Brocato:
And what do they win?
Robin Hilton:
Well, they get to play the Tiny Desk, and they get paired with an industry mentor to help talk about what they want to do with their music professionally. And then they go on a ten-city tour.
Scott Brocato:
There are ten judges?
Robin Hilton:
I think that's right. Emily or Annamarie, do you know? Check me on that.
Scott Brocato:
And both of you are two of them, correct?
Robin Hilton:
Yeah.
Scott Brocato:
And what do you look for?
Anamarie Sayre:
What do I look for? Something that I love. Something that I love, something that speaks to me, something I've never heard before, something that feels like I wouldn't have had the opportunity to hear it anywhere else. And that can mean a whole bunch of different things.
Scott Brocato:
And what has been the outcome for some of the past winners? I mean, there's been recording contracts, right? You mentioned concerts.
Robin Hilton:
Yeah, label deals. Some have won Grammy Awards. It's been a real range. I mean, it can definitely be a very big boost to your career.
