MTV is the hub for renowned musicians and their iconic music. However, even these stars began their journeys by performing the songs of others when they were young and unknown. So, how can we pay tribute to the future stars of today? By providing them with a grand stage and infusing the channel with hours of music content.

In partnership with B-reel, we introduced MTV Cover of the Month, a global music campaign driven by user-generated content. This initiative invites fans to create their unique renditions of beloved songs, allowing them to showcase their musical talent on television.

Execution

Collaborating with YouTube and enlisting the participation of renowned artists such as Bebe Rexha, Shawn Mendes, and Post Malone, we extended an invitation to our audience to cover one of their songs each month and share it with MTV. These submissions breathed fresh musical energy into our linear channels, playing during every commercial break across our network of 35 markets.

Initially, we featured the finest cover submissions across all our worldwide platforms. One song, interpreted in thousands of unique ways!

To begin with, the top cover submissions were spotlighted on all our global platforms, demonstrating the incredible diversity of interpretations for a single song. Thousands of versions emerged from this creative endeavor!

Then, the artists themselves personally selected their favorite renditions, bestowing upon them the title of "Cover of the Month." Each month, we delved into the stories behind these victorious covers.

Then, the artists themselves picked the ones they like the most and crowned them “Cover of the Month”. Every month we profiled the stories of the winners.

The event

We organized productive sessions at YouTube's studios located in London. During these sessions, the winners had the opportunity to professionally record their songs using top-notch equipment and receive valuable guidance from industry experts for refining their sound. They collaborated with fellow musicians, broadening their professional networks, and gained insights on building their followings from our friends at YouTube. Additionally, they received career advice from our music industry partners, including invaluable insights from artist BeBe Rexha herself.

As a grand finale, they were treated to an exclusive private concert, during which the most recent winner had the honor of performing their cover on stage.

The impact

The campaign enabled MTV to amass an extensive library of music content, as it not only showcased the winners on-air but also featured submissions from individuals all over the world.

Credits


VP Creative: Sean Saylor
VP Marketing: Tanya Leedekerken
Creative Director: Maxi Borrego / Nacho Gil
Director Digital Marketing Strategy: Mikael Fröberg 
Operations & Production Director: Josefina Marfil 
Design Lead: Charlx Alemañy 
Senior Art Director: Carlos Mendez
Designer: Nacho Varone
Lead Producer: Delfina Chiesa
Producer: Francisco Romairone 
Editor Supervisor: Martin Rocha

Production Company: B-reel

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