Stig Rästa urges artists to turn Eesti Laul attention into income

Musician Stig Rästa said artists should know how to capitalise on the attention generated by winning Eesti Laul, Estonia’s Eurovision selection contest, ERR reported. He said he had not fully made use of the interest surrounding his own victory, while his most successful Eurovision song, “Goodbye to Yesterday,” may have earned nearly 200,000 euros.

Rästa said competing in Eesti Laul does not necessarily have to cost an artist anything. He cited Ott Lepland’s song “Kuula” as an example, saying the piano was provided on stage and Lepland was given a suit.

He has advised young singers to approach the contest creatively and ask friends for help with makeup and clothing. However, special effects, such as a guitar that shoots flames, come at a cost.

“You get three weeks to promote yourself from morning to night. If you do not use that opportunity, it is foolish,” Rästa said. He recalled that he had not known how to make full use of the attention when he went to Eurovision, as social media was still new to him. Everything he posted at the time nevertheless received thousands of likes.

According to Rästa, Eurovision used to be more focused on the song, while staging now plays a much larger role. He estimated that the song accounts for 25 percent and everything happening on stage for 75 percent, adding that staging generally costs money.

Rästa said artists could seek support from businesspeople and wealthy individuals, offering performances in return. He cited the projection of the dress used in Elina Netšajeva’s Eurovision performance, which cost about 50,000 euros and required additional funding.

Rästa also recalled attending Eurovision in Israel with Victor Crone, where effects had a separate price list. He said the opening fee for using an effect was 2,500 euros, followed by a further 4,000 euros for the effect itself, such as smoke. He estimated that Crone’s stage show cost between 10,000 and 30,000 euros.

Rästa said artists should begin promoting themselves before winning Eesti Laul. He described the contest campaign as lasting four months and said contestants should use the opportunity fully. He speculated that Tommy Cash may have invested 100,000 euros in Eesti Laul and could have earned almost 1 million euros back by now.

Large investments can pay off over time, Rästa said, because a song can generate royalties, receive airplay and lead to more performances. He estimated that “Goodbye to Yesterday” may have earned nearly 200,000 euros, adding that Elina Born had probably also received many performance opportunities because of the song.