ZYMIX launches SPOTLIGHT to champion the UK’s next generation of student creators, with Toby Lee announced for Manchester celebration

Student sign-ups open today ahead of ZYMIX’s official launch in late September, offering student creators recognition, professional mentorship, industry opportunities and a place on the SPOTLIGHT stage

LONDON, 16 September 2026 — ZYMIX today announces the launch of ZYMIX SPOTLIGHT, a nationwide creator discovery and recognition campaign inviting student musicians, performers, comedians and creators from across the UK to share their work, find an audience and access opportunities capable of transforming creative promise into a sustainable career.

Opening for sign-ups ahead of ZYMIX’s official product launch in late September, SPOTLIGHT has been created around the belief that talent is everywhere, even if the opportunities, professional networks and cultural platforms needed to recognise it are not, positioning ZYMIX as a new destination where young people can be discovered by their peers and supported as they begin building their creative futures.

Rather than following the familiar structure of a traditional talent contest, SPOTLIGHT removes categories, judging panels and elimination rounds in favour of an open discovery platform shaped by the ZYMIX community, where creators working across different disciplines can appear alongside one another without being reduced to a single genre or judged against a narrow definition of talent.

Through Spotlight Rank, members of the community can cast free daily votes for the creators they want others to discover, while Boost Rank gives supporters the option to purchase additional votes, creating two distinct measures of audience engagement while allowing the leaderboard to evolve in real time as new performances are shared and new creative voices begin to find their following.

“SPOTLIGHT is built around a simple but important idea: young talent should not have to wait for an established gatekeeper to decide that it deserves to be seen,” said Nikita Sun, Chief Strategy and Corporate Affairs Officer at ZYMIX. “By bringing discovery, community support, meaningful rewards and access to industry expertise into one place, we want to create the kind of first opportunity that can give a young creator the confidence and momentum to keep going.”

Recognition designed to lead somewhere

At the heart of SPOTLIGHT is a programme of prizes and professional opportunities designed to offer more than a trophy or a temporary moment of attention, giving emerging creators access to learning, mentorship, industry relationships and public recognition that can continue to support their development after the campaign has ended.

Twenty finalists will be recognised equally at the SPOTLIGHT Grand Finale, with each receiving the same headline prize package and the same opportunity to walk the red carpet and be celebrated on stage, reinforcing the campaign’s commitment to discovery.

The prize programme includes MasterClass memberships, giving finalists access to lessons and insights from internationally recognised figures across music, performance, film, writing, business and the wider creative industries, alongside mentorship and career-development opportunities with leading agencies and industry professionals who can help creators understand how to shape their work, grow an audience and navigate the commercial realities of a creative career.

From a first audience to the world stage

To celebrate the launch of SPOTLIGHT, ZYMIX has announced acclaimed British blues guitarist Toby Lee as the headline performer for a live show at New Century Hall in Manchester on 11 November 2026.

Toby Lee began performing at the age of 10, when a guitar tribute he recorded for blues legend B.B. King travelled far beyond its original audience, attracted millions of views and introduced his playing to people around the world, demonstrating the extraordinary distance a single performance can travel when it connects with a community willing to share it.

At 11, he joined the original West End cast of School of Rock as Zack Mooneyham, performing live each night as part of the young ensemble that received an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music, before continuing to develop his career through recording, touring and appearances on stages across the UK and internationally.

Toby has since performed at the Royal Albert Hall, appeared on international television and shared stages with artists including Buddy Guy, Peter Frampton, Slash and Joe Bonamassa, while his performances have attracted hundreds of millions of views online and established him as one of the most compelling young guitarists working in British blues.

“Toby’s career shows why early recognition matters, because one performance, one audience or one person willing to champion an emerging artist can change the direction of a creative life,” added Nikita Sun, Chief Strategy and Corporate Affairs Officer at ZYMIX. “His appearance in Manchester will give SPOTLIGHT’s community the chance to celebrate an artist who understands what it means to begin young, be discovered and turn that opportunity into a lasting body of work.”

SPOTLIGHT live at New Century Hall

The SPOTLIGHT live celebration will take place at New Century Hall in Manchester on Wednesday 11 November 2026, with Toby Lee headlining an evening bringing together live music, emerging creativity and the growing ZYMIX community. Tickets start from £10 for ZYMIX users, with the reduced price available to those who download the app and join ZYMIX before booking.

SPOTLIGHT is now open for creator sign-ups, voting and discovery, while tickets for the Manchester concert can be purchased through the official SPOTLIGHT page at: https://www.zymix.ai/en/spotlight/

About ZYMIX SPOTLIGHT
ZYMIX SPOTLIGHT is a creator discovery and recognition campaign delivered through a dedicated mini app within ZYMIX, giving student musicians, performers, comedians and creators from across the UK a space to share their work, build an audience and access meaningful opportunities for creative and professional development.

About ZYMIX
ZYMIX is the UK's first all-in-one social SuperApp, built for Gen Z. ZYMIX combines messaging, events, short video, communities and payments into one app — everything Gen Z actually does online, in one place. ZYMIX launches across UK universities in Autumn 2026. Join ZYMIX on the App Store or Google Play.

Media enquiries: press@zymix.ai