ARTIST KO! ARTISTS & MUSICIANS MARKETING COOPERATIVE
For all artists in any fields, you can now have the option to showcase your mastery while learning more from your co-artists. Through ARTIST KO! ARTISTS & MUSICIANS MARKETING COOPERATIVE.

Artist KO is a duly registered association of artists, musicians and entrepreneurs with a common bond of interest who voluntarily joined together to achieve a lawful, social and economic end by making equitable contributions and accepting the fair share of the risks and benefits in all undertakings.
We work for the welfare of our members and integrate ourselves into the life of the entire artists and musicians community of Cebu!
Their Mission: To establish and market Artist Ko and its members as a service oriented organization by creating effective means for artist members to earn income.
Their Vision: ART WORKS
Artist Ko is a Profit Entity. It is not to say that we’ve thrown our souls to the fire and that we shall now take part in the works of the devil. What we are doing is simply participating in an activity called TRADE. We are basically just selling our PRODUCTS, which are the end-result of our individual and collaborative productivity, and our SERVICES which are the unified form of our skills and abilities.
This does not mean that we have taken on a journey towards irresponsible commercialism. We are simply acknowledging the value of our art and, at the end of the day, giving value to ourselves as artists.
Simpy put, we are working for our art and we are making our art work for us.
Yes. Art works.

VISPOP'S SHOUT OUT TO SONGWRITERS: “BISAYAA UY!”
Cebu City, Cebu – Cebuano songs are definitely in this year, with Artist Ko and Tsinelas Inc. inviting all songwriters to join the newest Cebuano songwriting competition, VISPOP. Taking on the ambivalent tagline "Bisayaa Uy!", VISPOP aims to alleviate the current state of Cebuano music on radio by introducing a more professional and competitive playlist of new Cebuano songs. Event organizers place great emphasis on VISPOP as being a campaign rather than just a competition. The campaign includes educational opportunities in the form of songwriting workshops and symposiums wherein possible entrants can hone and professionalize their songwriting skills.
Campaign rules and entry forms may be downloaded at vispop.multiply.com. Entries may be emailed to visayanpop@gmail.com with the following as attachments: a scanned duly accomplished entry form in .jpeg format, lyrics sheet in .doc format, 3” x 5” photos of the songwriters in .jpeg format and an mp3 file of the entry song. Entries may also be hand-delivered or mailed to Outpost Restobar, 976B Veteran’s Drive, Lahug, Cebu City 6000. Deadline of submission is on August 14, 2010. There will be no extensions of the deadline. Entries that are submitted after the deadline will not be accepted.
The campaign will culminate on October 30, 2010 for the Finals Night at Saint Theresa’s College Auditorium. The six chosen finalists will perform their winning songs alongside Cebu’s finest musicians and performers.
"We are looking for good Cebuano songs that can break into current radio airplay,”, says project manager Jude Gitamondoc. “Songs that have both a hook and a heart, songs that are entertaining, and yet are also substantial in their theme and approach. Basically, just good Cebuano music we can all be proud of."
VISPOP also prides itself as having the endorsement of many local celebrities such Born Diva Raki Vega, MC Rey of Brownian Method and Missing Filemon frontman Insoy Niñal.
There will be six VISPOP Carrier Singles that will help promote VISPOP on Radios, 2 of them are "OKRA" (Okay Ra) by Stagecrwes Vocal Rommel Tuico and "We Will Rise Again" by Raki Vega.
VISPOP is organized by ARTIST KO Artists & Musicians Marketing Cooperative, a community-based organization run by musicians, artists and entrepreneurs in the creative field, in cooperation with Tsinelas Foundation, Incorporated, a non-government, not-for-profit organization that gives educational assistance to poor students in mountain barangays and depressed areas in Cebu.

RAKI VEGA
Even before pursuing a singing career in Manila, Cebuana songbird Raki Vega was already a local musical darling.
At 8, she was already the ultimate performer, singing in family reunions where relatives would even “pay” her to perform. As she hit her teens, Raki became part of the school choir and joined various amateur singing contests and theatrical productions. Later, she graduated into doing corporate jingles for local establishments which then earned her the moniker “Cebuana Jingle Queen.”
After college, Raki became a voice teacher at the Asian Academy in Cebu. This eventually opened opportunities for the songbird to become an interpreter in the Cebu Popular Festival in 2001 where she placed third, and in 2002 where she placed first.
One of her memorable competitions would be the Sound of Human World songwriting tilt. Held in Taiwan, Raki bested interpreters from 20 countries by clinching the Grand Prize for the composer and the People’s Choice Awards and Best in Singing citation for herself.
Then came “Born Diva.” Catapulting above a hundred auditionees, then later, 16 finalists, the “Classic Diva” was declared grand prize winner of ABS CBN’s “Born Diva” reality-TV show, earning the title “Ultimate Born Diva.”
After “Born Diva,” Raki then conquered the theater scene by playing the lead character ‘Ti Moune’ in “Once On This Island”—a Tony nominated musicale set in the Caribbean Islands.
In 2008, Raki signed up with Star Records. Among her projects was the theme song of ABS CBN’s hit series “Lobo” as well as two tracks of TV host Boy Abunda’s “Love Life” album. Raki was also grand finalist in the 2008 World Championships of Performing Arts in Hollywood. She also became the endorser of NGenius and Clara International beauty products. Raki is now being managed by STAGES.
After her big win at the 2009 Awit Awards, Raki and her management company are currently in negotiations for more definitive projects this 2010.

THE RISING
22 Tango Records is proud to be assisting the local promotion and distribution of Raki Vega’s amazing new single “We Will Rise Again”. The song is written and composed by award-winning songwriter Jude Gitamondoc. Both decided to endeavor on this project to inspire hope and restore optimism among calamity-stricken Filipinos who are now on the verge of electing a new set of leaders to govern the nation. The song throws a lot of encouragement for the country regardless of who wins in the elections. It is a reminder that the future does not lie on the candidates and politicians but in the PEOPLE and the role they play in nation-building.
In Raki’s own words, ‘The title speaks for itself. It was so inspiring that I had to do something about it.’ So, Jude and Raki put together a set of musicians to participate in the production. Of course, the main input of the musical arrangement started with sound engineer and arranger Jad Bantug who put together a mix of melodies that truly support the core message of the song. And the connecting factor of it all was the “voice”, one of the best voices in the nation, that voice we simply call Raki Vega.
At this point, after hearing the track, 22 Tango Records believe that Raki Vega is the true inspirational singer of our time. And we believe that this personal effort of hers to promote her music sends out a message that we do not need traditional record label, network TV culture and artist representation to dictate our musical journey. It tells us that we can work with them but, definitely, NOT for them.
The single also boasts of a music video that is produced and directed by award-winning world-class film makers Ruel Antipuesto and Tessa Villegas. The video has a nationalistic flair and it shows a few snippets of the challenges of our nation as well as victorious moments that all Filipinos should be proud of.
Cebu, the nation, and the whole world should watch out for this wonderful piece of material that’s coming to life soon, in both audio and video formats. It’s something that all of us can truly be proud of.
Yes, we’ve always known, Raki Vega will rise again. Only this time, she’s bringing the real message.
ARTIST KO posted in Cebu Events Blog.
VISPOP posted in Cebu Events Blog.
Raki Vega's We Will Rise Again posted in Cebu Events Blog.