[NoHo Arts District, CA] – Calling artists and creatives! Gritty In Pink is teaming up with iconic rock band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Jett’s label Blackheart, as they search for one lucky creator to design a tour poster! Contestants will have the opportunity to submit their work through Gritty In Pink’s new network and marketplace INPINK. The contest will run from August 16 – August 31.
How to Enter
To enter, creators are required to sign up to Gritty In Pink’s INPINK marketplace, post their listings of services under the Graphic Design/Illustrator subcategory on the platform, along with providing a portfolio. Illustrators will have the opportunity to be hired by Blackheart and win the Grand Prize of $500 payment through INPINK, and one copy of the poster signed by Joan Jett herself, personalized to the winning talent. The winner will be announced on September 2 via Gritty In Pink’s and Joan Jett and the Blackheart’s Instagram accounts.
INPINK is a new online marketplace destination that connects industry professionals to a diverse community of female creators. Like a female-powered Upwork for the music business, INPINK aims to democratize access to a gatekept industry, and provide a pipeline of female talent for industry pros who are looking to hire from a diverse community of female creators. Once their listing is approved, the contestants will be available for hire on INPINK, for future gigs as well.
Blackheart and Jett are no strangers to Gritty In Pink’s founder Shira Yevin’s dedication to women and girls in the music industry. Prior to the start of the female-led platform, Jett and the Blackhearts and Yevin were both on the 2006 Vans Warped Tour. Yevin’s Shiragirl Stage, which she created to feature hundreds of female artists after crashing the male-dominated tour, made an impression.
“Joan used to bike over and watch the bands on our stage! When things got rough on the road, Joan encouraged me to keep going, that we were doing a good thing. On the last day of tour, we even performed ‘Bad Reputation’ together, and actually got featured together in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Warped Tour exhibit- one of the biggest honors of my life.”
Blackheart continued to support by sponsoring the return of Shiragirl Stage on the last Warped Tour in 2018.
Blackheart and Gritty In Pink are using this contest as a way to continue to bring women to the forefront. Jett, of course, has a legacy of carving a path for women in rock, from her early days in her pioneering band The Runaways, to her iconic career with the Blackhearts, and producing artists such as riot grrrl legends Bikini Kill, and more.
From Caroline Jaecks, head of content at Blackheart, “We are excited to partner with Gritty In Pink for this contest and use their INPINK marketplace to find the perfect designer for a Joan Jett and the Blackhearts tour poster. We love what Gritty In Pink and Shira have created with their platform– helping women get hired in the music industry, which is still a real boys’ club. Shira has been championing girls and women in music since her early days on the Warped Tour. She has been very supportive of Blackheart as well, giving bands of ours like Girl in a Coma, The Dollyrots and Fea a place on the Shiragirl Stage. Blackheart was proud to support her initiatives then, and we can’t wait to see what INPINK will do for women and other marginalized demographics in the industry today.”
Gritty In Pink
Gritty In Pink is a new platform empowering women in music through performance, partnerships, and networking opportunities. Founder Shira Yevin has a legendary history of breaking down barriers and carving out a space for women, as the creator of the Vans Warped Tour Shiragirl Stage, which featured 300+ female musicians, including
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Paramore. Gritty In Pink continues the legacy of providing a community and a platform for female voices in a male-dominated industry, having showcased 250+ artists with a collective following of 27 million on IG/TikTok.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Through four decades and counting, Joan Jett remains one of the most beloved and influential artists in popular music. After blowing the door to the rock ’n’ roll boys club off its hinges with her first band, The Runaways, Jett went on to form Joan Jett and the Blackhearts in 1979, with whom she has had eight platinum and gold albums, nine Top 40 singles and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. With a career that has spanned music, film, television, Broadway, and humanitarianism, Joan Jett remains a potent force and inspiration to generations of fans worldwide. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts continue touring the globe– currently on The Stadium Tour with Def Leppard, Motley Crue and Poison. They’ve also released ‘Changeup,’ their first-ever acoustic album that is as intimate as it is ferocious. ‘Bad Reputation,’ a documentary about Jett’s life, premiered to critical acclaim at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and is now available for streaming.
Blackheart
Joan Jett and longtime producer and music partner Kenny Laguna co-founded Blackheart Records from the trunk of Kenny’s Cadillac after rejections from no less than 23 labels. Forty years later, Blackheart is a thriving entertainment company producing music, film and television, and continues to champion emerging bands.