NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest is open for submissions through Monday, February 10th. Burgeoning artists can submit a video of themselves playing an original written song for a chance to perform a Tiny Desk concert at NPR in Washington, D.C.
Morning Edition host Kimberly Schofield spoke with the host and producer of NPR’s Tiny Desk concerts Bobby Carter about what performers can do to prepare their submission for the contest.
SCHOFIELD: When did the Tiny Desk concert start, and who came up with the idea?
CARTER: The Tiny Desk concert started back in 2008. Bob Boilen and Stephen Thompson came up with that idea. They invited Laura Gibson back in 2008, who was performing at a small but loud bar in Austin, Texas, during South by Southwest (SXSW). They sort of tongue-in-cheek, invited her to come and play in the office, and she took them up on the offer, and that was the beginning.
SCHOFIELD: Yeah, I have been to the office and that desk — it is tiny. I wonder how she reacted when she saw how tiny it was.
CARTER: Well, you know, it depends. We always say that the desk tends to shrink the more artists you put behind there. If you’re just a solo artist, it could be pretty big.
SCHOFIELD: Did the contest roll out right after that? Did people think, ‘this is a cool idea?’ How did that come to be?
CARTER: No, the contest came about 11 years ago in 2014. We get a lot of pitches, a lot of submissions, from unsigned acts. With only 365 days in a year, and we do about three shows a week, we have to say no to some things that we would want to have. So the contest started as a way to open it up for the unsigned artists, to put a spotlight on them and help jump start a music career for someone you’ve never heard of.
SCHOFIELD: When people are submitting their performances, what type of environment should they be in?
CARTER: Intimate … I always say, ‘Go watch your favorite Tiny Desk Concert and pick your favorite parts of that.’ Observe just how close people are, just how intimate it feels, just how it almost feels like you’re right there with them. So if you have a big band of, say, seven or eight people squeezing together, it’ll be a little bit uncomfortable, almost the way it is at the real desk. We would require a real desk in the video. It could be the desk that you’re sitting on. You know, we’ve had people get creative by, you know, having a little model of a small desk that fits in the palm of your hand. Just something that feels intimate, something that emulates your favorite performance at the desk in DC.
SCHOFIELD: I was thinking about the 2023 winners, Little Moon, and then the 2024 winners, The Philharmonik. The videos that I saw — Little Moon is in just one room and they’re all performing. Philharmonik has kind of a full music video, walking through an office. Are there any sort of requirements or things that catch your eye?
CARTER: I mean, we’ve had a little bit of it all. Do not feel pressured to have a highly produced video. We’re paying attention to the song first. We’re paying attention to the music first. But with that, put the effort into the sound. Try to make sure that the sound quality — we’re able to hear all of the instruments. Do what you can with the resources that you have, but the visual element isn’t as important. In the case with Little Moon and especially with The Philharmonik, that was a gigantic cherry on top, but it wasn’t the deciding factor when it comes to them winning. It was the song. Little Moon’s song, “Wonder Eye” just flipped us upside down. It was just so emotional and so sad, which is the thing that we’re looking for the most: feeling. Same with The Philharmonik. What’s it all mean, right? That song — anyone who works a job — how can you not relate to something like that? To me, he’s just a one-of-a-kind talent. There’s nothing that the Philharmonik can’t do. So, no, the visuals are great, but it’s not the deciding factor.
SCHOFIELD: Should it be acoustic? Can they have it be produced, as long as it’s on their own?
CARTER: Yes, 100%. If you’re just playing a guitar, acoustic guitar, and everything’s completely stripped down, that’s fine, too. But in the same way that the performances at the real desk have evolved, like if you have a recorded song and you can actually play the elements that you hear on the recorded version live, we invite that. Whether it’s something that’s synthy, whether it’s a beat machine, as long as we see you playing the instrument, we’re okay with it. So stripped down and unplug doesn’t necessarily mean just a solo piano or an acoustic guitar. It can mean a bunch of different elements, as long as you can play them. No backtracks, that’s all.
SCHOFIELD: Is there one key piece of advice that you have for people, or a group of people who are submitting?
CARTER: Stand out. Do what you can to stand out and stand out naturally. You have so many examples on how to do it. Go and watch a favorite Tiny Desk Concert. Go and watch some of the winners, and you’ll see that, especially with our winners, each winner has their own special identity, has their own special thing that we gravitated toward. But also take advantage of the time, right? Most Tiny Desk Concerts that you see, we did it in one take. With your submission, you have an opportunity to take it over and over again until it feels right. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Tiny Desk, I love the imperfections in all of those performances, but take the time to really make it to a point where you feel something and stand out.
