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.
In response to an email alert that automatically goes out to our members seven days before a song contest deadline, I received this email this morning. It made me chuckle. Is that bad?
I am pleased to see that there are only 7 days remaining before this farce comes to a blissful end. Every day this “opportunity” has been before us it has seemed like a miserable exercise in futility. Please inform me when you have completely closed your doors to any additional submissions so I can rest in peace. It’s been a nightmare.
Most contests are a scam. But the reason musicians come to this conclusion is because they pay some big fee to enter a “contest” and they never hear anything back except an email telling them they didn’t win. Kind of like what I got from your contest. Sure it had a chart that said I got 3 stars, but why? Can’t even get a review included with my $30? Oh well, live and learn.
Hi. My name is XXXXXXX. I was wondering if we could maybe strike a deal. You see, I have no money because I am not famous yet. If you can help me become famous, then instead of giving you 30 dollars, I will give you 500 dollars!
Anyone who enters a song contest should get feedback.
As of next month, anyone who enters our song contests will.
We’re in the final stages of launching our Song Contest Score Card, which will allow the judges to rate six elements of your song or lyric from a scale of 1 to 5. The Score Card will be delivered to you via email and saved in your We Are Listening account.
Whether you’re a winner, finalist, runner-up or not selected, you can be sure that at the end of each song contest that you participate in, a Score Card will be emailed to you – free of charge.
In a blog post, Spinme.com Editor, Joe Taylor writes:
“If you type the words ’songwriting contest’ into Google, you’re going to come back with close to a million entries. And that number is growing all the time. Too many scam artists are realizing that it’s far too easy to convince a songwriter to part with her money on the assumption that she’ll get ‘found’.”
In a separate post, Joe Taylor writes:
“Too many songwriting contests market themselves with the fantasy that music business veterans and chart-topping superstars will be holed up in a conference room, poring over your submission. For the most part, that simply doesn’t happen unless you make it to the final round of the most elite and well-respected songwriting contests.”
Do you think there’s any merit to Joe Taylor’s sentiments?
Graduating from the University of Southern California with a degree in Public Relations and Entertainment Communications, Eavan began her music career as an A&R intern at Atlantic Records. In 2007, she joined the Artist Management Department at Vancouver-based Nettwerk Music Group. Out of Nettwerk’s LA office, Eavan works directly with the artists Jars of Clay, Sixpence None the Richer, Maria Taylor, Griffin House, and Lucy Schwartz on a day to day basis. In 2009, she began working with manager Kevin Kocher for the artists Chromeo, Datarock, and Fan Death, as well. In her free time she throws parties and books shows with other music industry friends under the moniker “Less Jack More Jill” and is quite fond of gummy bears and puppies. We’re delighted to welcome Eavan to our panel of song contest judges.
For his prize, Vincent Robert Trocchia, winner of Round 3 of The 2009 Lyric Writer Awards, joined forces with We Are Listening’s songwriting duo, Pat and Pete Luboff to polish his lyric, set it to music, and produce an outstanding demo.
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