La Chispa

The worldwide playlist contest on Retaz · October 17 to November 16, 2026

The official announcement

La Chispa opens October 17. The world's music, chosen by people, one playlist to win.

Retaz is a music app where every playlist is made by a person, not a machine. On October 17, 2026 at midnight US Eastern time, Retaz opens La Chispa, a one-time founding campaign across 136 countries and regions. Members make playlists. Members vote for them with hearts. On December 1, 2026, the playlist holding the most valid hearts in the world names its curator the La Chispa Global Champion.

How it works. Create a playlist inside the campaign window, October 17 to November 16, 2026, US Eastern time. Every member can give each playlist one heart at a time. Nothing about the outcome is left to chance: the count decides, and a tie is split evenly among the playlists tied. Each country's leading curator is named its Country Champion, and the Global Champion is the curator whose playlist holds the most valid hearts across all of them.

Who can enter. Any Retaz member aged 18 or over who lives in a participating country. Taking part requires a Retaz membership. To qualify, hold the Curator badge, earned through eleven actions in the app, and publish at least one playlist inside the window. Founders, the members who signed up before October 15, 2026, hold the membership free for their first 12 months; for everyone else it opens on October 15, 2026 at the La Chispa founding price. Playlists created on October 15 and 16 are not entries; the window opens on the 17th.

What the country winners receive. Each Country Champion is recognized as that country's Ambassador (for example, "Canada Ambassador") and receives 25 years of Retaz membership, stated at the published membership price in that country (USD 999.75 at the United States price).

What the Global Champion receives. The grand prize has three parts, all awarded on December 1, 2026:

1. Public recognition as the La Chispa Global Champion of the Retaz Curator Association: a permanent badge on the Champion's profile and a place in the Retaz Hall of Founding Honor.
2. The Global Champion Award: the Champion's own country win, that is, their country's Ambassador recognition and 25 years of Retaz membership, together with USD 2,500 in cash. Its stated value is the membership at the published price in the Champion's country plus USD 2,500: USD 3,499.75 at the United States price.
3. An invitation to negotiate the Retaz Global Ambassador role, extended in writing on December 1 without condition. Extending the invitation is the award. The Champion may accept it, decline it, take advice, or do nothing, and keeps the recognition and the Award in every case.

About the Ambassador role, said plainly. The invitation opens a negotiation. Retaz opens it with terms of up to ten percent of Retaz LLC's annual EBITDA and up to ten percent of the net proceeds available to equity holders if the company is sold. Those terms are not the prize. They take effect only if the Champion accepts and both sides sign the Retaz Global Ambassador Agreement, and they may never take effect. The amount that can lawfully be offered varies by the Champion's country. The hours and duties of the role are settled in that negotiation and are not fixed by the Rules. If an agreement is signed, Retaz can end it for a failure to perform the role that is not put right, and no further payments are due after that. The parties aim to sign within 90 days of December 1; if nothing is signed by then, either side may end the negotiation, and the Champion keeps the recognition and the Award.

Tax. Retaz LLC pays every tax, withholding and levy charged on the grand prize in the Champion's country of residence for the year it is awarded, grossed up so the Champion is left no worse off, and pays for the Champion's independent tax advice on the prize up to USD 2,500, as the Rules state.

Integrity. Hearts are equal. A heart cast in a paid term that is later refunded does not count, unless it was cast before October 15 or inside a Founder's free membership. The founders, their immediate family, Retaz employees, paid advisors and contractors cannot win.

The official rules are published at retaz.fm/legal/la-chispa-rules/ and govern in every case. The Rules are written in English; if a translation differs, the English text governs.

La Chispa is sponsored and run by Retaz LLC, a West Virginia company in Lewisburg, West Virginia. Apple and Google are not sponsors of La Chispa and are not involved in it in any manner.

Where La Chispa takes place

La Chispa takes place in 136 countries and regions. Find your country or region. The official list is Schedule A of the La Chispa Rules.

How the result is checked

An independent observer certifies the result. How certification works.

Get the app

La Chispa happens in the Retaz app for iPhone and Android. retaz.fm/app opens the right store for your phone.