As proud prize partners of Unsigned Only, Play MPE is thrilled to share the chosen winners of the 2025 Music Awards!
Widely recognized as one of the premier music awards for independent talent, Unsigned Only provides a unique space for artists to get their music heard. With thousands of entries from over 100 countries, the winners are selected by a panel of high-profile industry professionals. This year’s panel includes renowned artists, journalists, music managers, talent buyers, and more.
The winner of the Artist of the Year award takes home $20,000 USD in cash. Other categories include Best Rock Artist, Best Country Artist, Best Blues Artist, etc and have one winner. Each winner will receive a custom abstract sculpture to commemorate their achievement! These trophies are crafted by Society Awards, known for designing high-profile entertainment awards. (See The Emmys, Golden Globes, and more!)
Examples of past winners include GAYLE, Ingrid Andress, Jordan Adetunji, Gabby Barrett, Coco Jones, Tenille Arts, Faouzia, Jordan St. Cyr, Brett Young, and many more. These artists have gone on to sign major label deals, tour internationally, and build successful careers. It is quite a feat to add your name to this impressive list!
Australian Artist Orlando Kallen Named Artist of the Year
This year, Orlando Kallen takes home the most prestigious award. Artist of the Year goes to a singular artist whose music and artistic vision deeply resonates with the judges. Kallen is a young pop artist who is emerging as one of Australia’s most exciting new talents in contemporary music as a gifted singer, songwriter, and producer. With millions of streams across platforms and a fast-growing social media presence, Kallen has built an international fanbase and is positioning himself as an artist to watch on the global music stage.
“His distinctive voice and commanding presence sets him apart. He signals the arrival of a major new talent – and he represents exactly the kind of artist that Unsigned Only was created to spotlight.” – Candace Avery and Jim Morgan, Co-Founders/Directors of the Unsigned Only Music Awards.
Watch the official music video for his song “don’t worry baby” and see for yourself!
Along with Kallen, many other extremely talented artist won in each category. 63% of the 2025 winners come from outside the USA! Hailing from all over the world, they range from talented amateurs to seasoned performers. To check out the full list of winners, click here!
Play MPE Awards Music Promotion Packages to Unsigned Only Special Promotion Winners
Unsigned Only ran some special promotions throughout the year which gave artists in the running for the Awards the chance to win some pretty great prizes. You can check out all of the promotional winners here.
Play MPE will award the Win Some Love winners Brendalynn and David Majzlin a comprehensive International Music Promotion Distribution Package. As part of their prize package, they will win one Caster music promotion package for one single, including two US Radio Formats, Global Bloggers, and three months of MTR radio tracking from Play MPE.
Additionally, we are pleased to award 2 fantastic winners with our special prize promotion: Promote Your Music Like The Pros! The Takeoff and Cassandra will receive one Caster music promotion package each for one single, including an International Radio Bundle (per applicable format) plus Global Bloggers from Play MPE. Additionally, they’ll receive MTR radio tracking for three months across 5000+ stations in North America.
For more information about Unsigned Only and to learn about ALL of this year’s winners head here.
You don’t have to wait to win a music contest to start promoting your music to radio! We’re ready for your next release. Click here to start on Caster now!