Song Contests for Songwriting

Here is a list of Song Contests that songwriters can try. There are a great many out there. These are the major songwriting contests:

Entrants should send lyric sheet only, no cassettes or musical direction. The winning lyric, along with four runners-up and ten honorable mentions from each contest, will be published in the issue of American Songwriter that follows the deadline of each contest.

The writer(s) of the winning lyric for each contest receives a DX1 Martin Guitar™ (valued at $669). One guitar per contest will be awarded. The bi-monthly winner will also receive a package of D'Addario and Planet Wave products, including a year's supply of acoustic guitar strings and accessories.

The annual winner, chosen from the six contest winners, will receive round trip airfare for two to Nashville on American Airlines and a master production demo from Music City Music Productions, Inc., valued at over $1500 and last but not least...a dream co-writing session with your choice of several soon-to-be-announced hit songwriters.

The Top 6 winning songs get single-song contracts with a major publisher. It's an opportunity for the aspiring songwriter to build relationships with top-notch songwriters, publishers and music industry executives that would normally take years to establish.

Beginning Jan. 15, 2008, the Top 15 finalists in the 8th Annual CMT/NSAI Song Contest will be posted at nsai.cmt.com. Music fans can go to the site through Feb. 28, 2008, listen to the finalists' demos and vote for their favorite song. The song with the most audience votes will be the CMT Listeners' Choice Award winner. In its first year, the contest received over 106,000 votes.

Prizes are awarded to One (1) Grand Prize Winner, One (1) CMT Listeners' Choice Winner, Four (4) Finalists, Ten (10) Runners-Up and Forty (40) Honorable Mentions. The contest is open to all genres of music. All songs entered receive a judging report. Music industry executives, professional songwriters and NSAI board members judge songs based on lyrics, melody and composition. Performance and production will not be evaluated.

The entry cost $30 per song for NSAI members and $40 per song for all non-NSAI members.

International Songwriting Competition Over $150,000 in cash and prizes shared by 56 winners. "In addition to great prizes, ISC offers the unique opportunity to have your music heard by the most impressive group of judges from a variety of industry backgrounds in any songwriting competition. This makes ISC the songwriting competition to take note of." – The New York Times.

Songdoor International Songwriting Competition Each song is ultimately judged on originality, melody, and composition/structure. Each entry is screened by SongDoor Advisory Board members — a nationwide group of seasoned music industry artists, producers, engineers, songwriters, lyricists and musicians.

Professional song evaluations will be provided for every entrant who supplies a valid e-mail address. Entrants also receive their a free self-paced songwriting course from SongU.com.

The USA Songwriting Competition Receive Radio Airplay! Grand Prize of US$50,000 in Cash & Merchandise! 15 different categories. Winners Will Be determined by Top Music Industry Pros including record label publishers, producers, A&R from Universal Music, Warner, EMI, Sony/BMG Music, and other distinguished professionals.

UK Songwriting Contest Every year finalists and winners are featured on national and international radio, TV and press and are offered recording, management and publishing deals.

Dedicated to promoting the art of songwriting and the discovery of new talent. All entries are very carefully examined by experienced industry professionals and everyone has the chance to get noticed. Aim to provide maximum exposure and genuine opportunities and are actively looking for promising writers.

Billboard Songwriting Contest Winners receive over $30,000 in prizes of equipment, merchandise and promotion. The top three winners in each of the eleven categories will have their song featured on a CD.

It is distributed exclusively to music industry decision makers – record company heads, producers, A&R executives, music publishers, important artists and celebrities, agents, managers and others in the music industry.

Song Of The Year Songwriting Contest - will take you to my webpage on this one.

The Chris Austin Songwriting Contest Have your songs heard by a panel of professional songwriters and other music industry professionals from the Nashville Music Community! The Chris Austin Stage features several of the most respected professional songwriters in the music industry.

Great Lakes Songwriting Contest Their song contests are kicked off with a lowered the entry fee and raised the Grand Prize. Teamed up with SonicBids so can enter on line.

Amateur Songwriting Contest Songs are to be judged on originality, lyrics, melody and composition by our panel of judges. Quality of performance and production will not be considered. Entry fee is only $20.00 per song.

All prizes are designed to help the amateur songwriters further their career. Every entry is listened to by the staff of J. Cooch Music(BMI),music publisher, for possible placement within their company.

Canadian Radio Star National Songwriting Contest Radio Star Song contests are for aspiring or proficient songwriters – self-published or unpublished – who are looking for a chance to get their material recorded and/or published.