Having already recruited Santogold for their Viva La Vida tour, Coldplay will now employ a YouTube contest that will allow unknown groups the opportunity to be an opening act for one of the biggest bands in the world. The contest is run in conjunction with radio stations in six markets: Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Hartford, Philadelphia and San Jose, CA. In each case, potential warm-up acts are asked to upload their videos onto YouTube, where a panel of judges comprised of radio station employees will watch all the clips and whittle the nominees down to fifteen. After that, fan voting reduces the finalists to three. Coldplay will watch the final trio and decide which band wins. The prize: 20 minutes of stage time as Coldplay’s opening act, $2,000 and ten tickets to the concert. To enter the contest, check out Coldplay’s tour page.

[Photo: Getty]