I feel that advertising a songwriter competition as free but then, after going through all the upload etc., asking for money is a bit of a low down trick. I thought you guys were better than that?
Regards,
S
We ARE better than that.
This is not the first email of this nature that I’ve received since launching our free songwriter competition. To be clear, the contest is absolutely free. However, when you’re filling out your entry form, you’ll find options to also submit to our paid songwriter competitions such as The Singer/Songwriter Awards and Lyric Writer Awards. Simply select “No” for each and “No” for the paid critique, and you will be charged NOTHING for your submission for the Free International Songwriting Competition.
These are not hidden fees or automatic opt-ins. You have complete control of your entry form. If you have any ideas as to how we can make this process more transparent and user-friendly, I’m all ears…
There are two reasons why songwriters participate in a songwriting competition:
The Judges
These are the people you want to get in front of. For better or for worse, they are the insiders who pull the strings. Their reputation and expertise open doors. In a songwriting competition, that could result in a handful of songwriters taking the fast track to music success. I’ve seen it happen again and again.
The Prizes
The bigger the prize, the more likely the outcome of a true commercial success for the songwriting competition winner. If the prize is big enough, it may change the winner’s life forever. I’ve seen that happen too.
In 2011, We Are Listening has a tough decision to make. We have limited resources to expand our network and, therefore, must be selective about where we invest. So, I’m paying forward this decision to you…
…Should we invest in recruiting more judges or developing bigger prizes?
These blog posts represent your topics of greatest interest in 2010 and how you envision the future of We Are Listening. More than ever, I have enjoyed and benefited from my on-going dialogue with you, our members, and look forward to big strides in songwriting, song competitions and songwriter resources in 2011. Thank you for your participation!
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.
In 2007, Alexandria Maillot submitted a co-write between her sister, Amanda Maillot, and producer, Joby Baker, titled “Revolution” into We Are Listening’s The Singer/Songwriter Awards.
Though the song did not win, it made a considerable impact on our judges, Thomas Scherer in particular, and was awarded as one of only four finalists for the song contest. Thomas, Managing Director of Parasongs in Germany at the time, and a valued We Are Listening panelist to date, secured the publishing rights for “Revolution” after I facilitated an introduction to Alexandria. Thomas pitched the song to Universal Europe for the Swedish artist, Stefanie Heinzmann, and it was released as the third single from her Platinum certified debut, “Masterplan”, in 2008.
The song reached 47 on the German music charts and included in a number of compilations released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The video for “Revolution” has been viewed more than 900,000 times to date and featured on Perez Hilton’s blog.
This year, Alexandria tried her luck again with We Are Listening and was selected as the winner of The Singer/Songwriter Awards with “All We Need”.
“Lior, I couldn’t be more grateful for the connections you made for me with Beth and Jon. I signed a contract with Imaginary Friends this week, and also talked to Jon. I was nervous to work with both of them at the same time, but Jon called Beth yesterday.. and everything will be working out fine. Jon will be pitching my music to MTV and ETV! and Beth will be licensing for other TV networks. Jon says there are new shows opening for June, and placements will happen really quickly. I will let you know if I have more good news! Thank you so so much.”
MusikPitch offers free song contests for songwriters. Simply select a free song contest and submit your songs. There’s no cost to take part, it’s a great way to get your music heard, and there’s a cash prize for the winner.
Over the weekend, I was thinking about the many artists out there that don’t have the means to write with others, learn from others, and finance a demo or live showcase.
You see, at We Are Listening, we look at an artist’s musical merit. But we also realize that in order for an artist to demonstrate his full potential, he has to have support and encouragement from family and friends, access to venues and recording facilities, and a little money to travel, record and self-promote.
Many artists simply don’t have the opportunity to be heard, let alone get signed or published. Some come from broken homes, dead-end jobs, and unmanageable debt.
I was thinking that creating a scholarship program where we finance a talented artist based on his or her financial circumstances – not just musical merit – would be an excellent initiative for We Are Listening.
A We Are Listening scholarship program would provide a handful of struggling artists with an opportunity to rise above the noise and ease the harsh realities of their day to day lives.
I’d like to think that it would make a difference.
Now here’s a novel idea: SongVest is a bidding platform for music copyrights. Bidders have the opportunity to own a stake in their favorite published songs and, in turn, collect the royalty cheques. The highest bidders also receive a personlised plaque to put up on their wall and show off their claim to music fame. The songwriter or copyright owner retains a majority stake in the song up for auction, therefore, retaining full control of its use. The songwriter also sets the minimum bidding price which, as you would expect, may be in the tens of thousands of dollars for a small piece of a commercially successful song.
SongVest positioned itself as a ‘memorabilia’ offering as opposed to a copyright market. This is a unique approach to tapping into music fans desperate to own a piece of something they love as opposed to a community seeking to capitalize on copyright transfers and administration. Both scenarios are viable, though.
The essence of owning a piece of copyright is to ensure that the copyright is associated with something broadly admired, reputed, and very well known. Indie’s hoping to gain coverage out of this venture are unlikely to succeed. For SongVest, getting A-list songs is paramount and they seem to be on their way having already featured songs made famous by Carrie Underwood, Ozzy Osborne, Cher, Ringo Star, and The Monkees.
Now here’s a novel idea: 
Subscribe via email
Subscribe via RSS
Follow on Twitter