SONG CONTEST BLOG

Last week, I wrote about a free song contest idea where the winner would receive a million dollars cash.  No strings attached.  If you missed it, here it is.

So, if YOU win, what will you do with the million dollars?

Leave a comment here.

A million dollars is a lot of money.

It’s enough money to change your life.

I discussed the prospect of launching an international songwriting competition with a one million dollar cash prize with a colleague of mine today.  We agreed that, in order for the music industry to take songwriting competitions seriously, we’ve got to put our money where our mouth is.

Imagine – one lucky and immensely talented individual will win $1,000,000 cash.  That’s enough capital to launch any half-decent record to the stratosphere.  And what label, manager, publicist or radio plugger wouldn’t work with an artist with that kind of marketing capital?

A million dollar prize is bigger than performing on the American Idol stage.  It’s bigger than going on tour with a legacy act.  It’s bigger than any artist development opportunity the music industry has collectively called to action since… ever??

I’m talking about a cool million with no strings attached.  And if you want to put the money into a lush condo instead of your music career, it’s your prerogative.

Oh, and submissions would be free.

Now that’s an international songwriting competition to take note of.

Your thoughts?

Most song contests state that the production qualities of the recorded submissions they receive are not factored into the judging process.  In other words, the judges are instructed to ignore everything but the song and, in some cases, the vocal delivery.  This is true of We Are Listening’s song contest rules.

Song contest judges have the ears to distinguish between song and production.  However, production, like a good suit or firm handshake, makes a strong impression that’s impossible to ignore.  I wouldn’t be surprised if a couple of rough diamonds have been overlooked as a result.

I stand by our rules.  But these rules are not enforceable.

To be perfectly honest, if I were a judge, I think I would be swayed by awesome production.  Wouldn’t you?

I’m ready to take action.

If We Are Listening’s song contest has let you down, let me know.  If any other song contest has let you down, let me know.

What is it about our service that’s broken, below par or simply unappealing?  And what about other song contests?  Your feedback is We Are Listening’s future.

Let me know.

Songwriting contests are not lotteries.  But if you can stack the numbers in your favor, why not play the odds?

Looking at the numbers from our Free International Songwriting Competition, statistically, those of you who entered into the Lyricist or Songwriter categories are 5 to 10 times more likely to win than those of you who entered the Singer/Songwriter category (remember, we select one winner from each category):

77% selected the Singer/Songwriter category

14% selected the Songwriter category

6% entered the Lyricist category

I’m not suggesting that, next year, you enter the Lyricist category if your strengths lie in melody and vocal delivery, or that you enter the Songwriter category if you are, in fact, a singer/songwriter and prefer to be recognized as such.

However, if you feel that your work crosses genres (or categories, in this case), why not pick the category where your material will face less competition?

If you haven’t already entered, you might find this information pivotal.  Keep in mind that you can only enter once, so pick your category carefully.

Folks, if you wrote a song or lyric with someone else, please make sure you have your co-writer’s blessing before entering it into one of our song contests.

More often than not, your co-writer will be delighted that you’re taking the initiative to promote your collaborative work.  But, if you don’t ask for permission first, you might find yourself in a sticky spot.

Aside from the legal implications of “exploiting” a co-write without your co-writer’s prior consent, it’s simply bad form.

Ask first.

from: Steven Arkley
to: Lior Shamir
date: Mon, Nov 1, 2010 at 11:25 AM
subject: Re: Final Notice: You Have 5 Days To Submit Your Songs

Lior,

I just wanted to thank you for getting together with Steven Williams and offering his critique services through We Are Listening…
I got a very positive response from him for all of the lyrics I sent him…
Anyway… I also wanted to let you know that I believe feedback from the staff at We Are Listening on my other lyrics has helped me tremendously and it is much appreciated…

Thanks again for your continued, valuable service…

Steven

from: Evan Field
to: Lior Shamir
date: Thu, Sep 30, 2010 at 1:12 AM
subject: THANK YOU from Honor By August!

Lior,

On behalf of the band I just wanted to thank you again — and emphatically — for everything that We Are Listening and Tinderbox have done for us.

As I mentioned to Jon, the band has been extremely excited about all of the success at radio and the licensing potential from the 10 show agreements Jon was able to secure for us.

We can’t thank everyone at Tinderbox enough for all of the great work and results they’ve achieved for Honor By August and, as Jon has been quick to point out, we have you to thank for making it all possible.

We hope to be able to maintain a relationship with you both moving forward and hope to be able to share success stories that we can attribute to your work and investment in the band.

As I said to Jon, if there’s anything we can do, like provide a quote or blurb from the band, please let us know and we’d of course be happy to provide anything that might be helpful. We’ve already raved about this experience to many of the bands we cross paths with on the road and will certainly continue to do so.

Cheers and thanks again,

Evan,
Honor By August

I received this email yesterday:

YouAreNOTListening…..

We need to earn a little something from our music, not give it away to web projects like YOU.  We have some world-class music, but could easily be £6,500 out of pocket if we had subscribed to all of the websites like you, who want our money.

Back off.  You are not helpful.

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Thanks to Jon Delange, our TV licensing mojo maker, 2006 song contest winner, Laurell, landed a HUGE placement in the season finale of The Real World: New Orleans.  The show aired on the 15th September with Laurell’s “In The Air”, vocals up, with ID.  Success!

Give it up for Laurell…