The 2024 Tiny Desk Contest reaches music lovers across NPR platforms

NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest, the annual search for the next great undiscovered artist to play a Tiny Desk Concert, entered its tenth year in January with its biggest activation to date. Musicians from around the country submitted nearly 7,000 entries to the Contest.

The Philharmonik emerged as the 2024 Contest Winner. The group taped its very own Tiny Desk Concert at NPR’s headquarters in Washington, DC and embarked on a ten-stop, sold-out cross-country tour, celebrating with fans in Washington DC, New Orleans, Seattle, Los Angeles, Petaluma, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Austin, Atlanta and Chicago.

Capital One, the 2024 Tiny Desk Contest presenting sponsor, and The Lagunitas Brewing Company, the Contest’s supporting sponsor, aligned with every extension of the seven-month-long Contest, from messages encouraging entries on air and on NPR’s digital platforms to announcing a Contest winner and joining them on the 10-stop Tiny Desk Contest On the Road tour.

Sponsor branding was ever-present as fans navigated Tiny Desk Contest content across NPR and NPR Music platforms.

Sponsors joined Tiny Desk Contest on the road, bringing engaging on-site activations to each of the ten tour stops featuring Tiny Desk Contest talent.

Sponsor activations on the road included on-site branding, co-branded swag for giveaway, a co-branded Tiny Desk photo booth, and on-stage thank-you’s from the NPR Music team. The Lagunitas Brewing Company joined us at each stop, offering samples of their non-alcoholic hop water to the attendees.

In addition to our sponsors’ on-site presence, Capital One was able to reach music lovers through a ticket presale, giving Capital One cardholders access to purchase tickets before the general public. Capital One further aligned with NPR Music’s Tiny Desk by sponsoring Tiny Desk Concert content on YouTube in the months of February, April, June and July to reach Tiny Desk afficionados throughout the Contest flight.

In 2025, NPR Music will continue the search for the next best unsigned artist to play the Tiny Desk and go on tour. National Public Media is excited to join this search and celebration with our sponsors.