Here is a video that is essential viewing for every songwriter! Paul McCartney is one of the biggest influences behind The UK Songwriting Contest, and in this new interview he talks about how he wrote and recorded some of his most iconic songs. We had to share this one with you because we know all songwriters will find this fascinating and will benefit from watching!

In the interview Paul talks about the first song he ever wrote using the chords C, F, G and G7 and how he wrote songs together with John Lennon in the early days and how they never came away from a session without a new song. He tells us how he came up with the idea for Eleanor Rigby and how he found the name for that song character. He describes how George Harrison saved And I Love Her with a simple four note riff. He talks about how he comes up with song ideas and how he develops them, confiding that expressing his innermost personal feelings in his songs is so important. Around twenty songs are covered and there are some fascinating insights.

CONTEST DEADLINE APPROACHING
This month is your last chance to get the package of 4 international songwriting event in 1 - with  FREE ENTRY into two of them!  Full details and entry forms at www.uksongwritingcontest.com
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SCIENCE CONFIRMS THAT SONGWRITING IS GOOD FOR YOU

The act of creative writing, and songwriting in particular, has more benefits than most people realize.

The benefits are far reaching, affecting us both physically and mentally, and the interesting thing is that the quality of the writing has nothing to do with it. Just the act of writing itself leads to strong physical and mental health benefits and it doesn´t matter if anyone else reads your lyric or hears your composition, or if it is a commercial success or not. Just writing it is enough. The many benefits documented by researchers include long-term improvements in mood, reduction in stress levels, a reduction of depressive symptoms, lowered blood pressure, better lung and liver function and an improved immune system with fewer illnesses.

A major study at the University of Sidney (by Karen Baikie and Kay Wilhelm) on emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing discovered just how much time spent writing is needed to make a big difference. And its not that much. They say that although the more time spent writing the better, just 15 to 20 minutes of writing on three to five occasions over the course of their four-month study was enough to make a real and noticeable difference.

Another amazing finding is that writing can even make physical wounds heal faster. A study in New Zealand found that if medical biopsy patients wrote about their thoughts and feelings for just 20 minutes for three days in a row before the biopsy their wounds healed more quickly than the people in a control group. Other studies have shown that people with asthma who write have fewer attacks than those who don't, AIDS patients who write have higher T-cell counts and cancer patients who write have more optimistic perspectives and improved quality of life.

So what exactly is it about writing that makes it so good for you? Well, researchers are generally agreed that the important thing is to express your own personal, traumatic, stressful or emotional events in your writing and composing. It seems that this is the key and it is this expression of personal events and trauma that leads to improvement in physical and mental health.

One well known researcher in this area is James W. Pennebaker from the University of Texas, Austin, USA. He is a leading authority on expressive writing and health and he says; "When people are given the opportunity to write about emotional upheavals they often experience improved health. They go to the doctor less. They have changes in immune function." Pennebaker and others believe that the act of expressive writing distances people from the upheaval and trauma in their lives and allows them the space to creatively step back and express and evaluate their personal dramas and tragedies. They stop obsessing unhealthily on those events and instead they focus on turning this into a positive creative outcome. This leads to lower stress levels, a more positive outlook and an improvement in general health.
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The good news is that you don't need to be a famous or successful songwriter to get these great benefits. You just need to write! As a songwriter you probably already know that writing songs goes deeper than, well, just writing songs. We all instinctively know when we write that there is more going on at a deeper level. But now it has been confirmed by science. Every time you write a lyric or poem that expresses your feelings and your inner self, or compose a piece of music that expresses and contains a part of you, you are acting as your own personal therapist and doing your physical and mental health a huge favour.  If you are a songwriter you are certainly doing something right. Keep on writing!

The International UK Songwriting Contest is now open for entries at www.uksongwritingcontest.com

Best wishes,
The UKSC Team
www.uksongwritingcontest.com

EARLY DEADLINE 7 AUGUST
The deadline for entering songs in this first session of the UKSC is 7 August. After that date all songs entered will go into the second session. If you want your results early and see song status updates during August you need to enter them before midnight on the 7th. 

SPECIAL OFFERS
This year there are FREE ENTRY add-ons to other major international songwriting events and special discounts (for the LOTY Awards for Lyrics, the CSC event and the ISAs International Songwriting Awards event). These are listed in the UKSC entry form so make sure you tick the boxes for the special offers and free entries that you want to receive. Full details are on the contest website at www.uksongwritingcontest.com

NEW PRIZES
There are some great new prizes added this year in addition to the popular Mentoring, Production and Studio Session prizes. Selected entrants will receive Honorary Diplomas in Music (Dip.Mus) from Music Aid International´s new Music Aid Academy and we will also be issuing up to 50 free Grade Music examinations bookings  (grade one to grade eight). There are also International Copyright Registration packages with the SCO for selected entrants. As usual there are UKSC Certificates and judges scores for every song from every entrant.

YOUR SONG DASHBOARD AND EARLY SUBMISSIONS
Every entrant this year gets a personal song submissions dashboard to list, check and track the progress of song entries. All songs entered before the 7 Aug deadline will soon be updated in your dashboard and you will able to see very early if they were selected for the Semi Finals or if they are being considered for other awards. For full details of this and all the great benefits on offer this year visit the official UKSC website at www.uksongwritingcontest.com

We wish you every success with your songwriting now and in the future,
Best wishes from the UKSC Team
www.uksongwritingcontest.com

​PS: The photo shows UKSC winner Irina Barzykina with producer and UKSC judge Stuart Epps during their recent Studio Session together. Look out for news about this coming soon.

The header photo above shows UKSC 2017 Winner Irina Barzykina with well known producer, and UKSC judge, Stuart Epps during a studio session last week. Stuart chose Irina as the UKSC category winner he would most like to work with and produce and last week they spent time together working on some new songs and recording a brand new track. (Insider info: the AKG C12a mic in that photo is one of Stuart´s prized possessions. It originally belonged to the Rolling Stones and has been used by many other famous rock and pop legends while recording their vocals).

One of this year´s UKSC 2018 entrants will also be chosen for studio sessions and there are some great prizes on offer including Honorary Music Diplomas (Dip.Mus) for the top entrants and much more. The international UK Songwriting Contest 2018 is now open for entries and you can get full details and entry forms at www.uksongwritingcontest.com

We also have a Facebook UKSC Songwriters Community group where you can interact and network with other entrants, ask questions and get support. And you can always contact us directly at any time with questions using the contact form on the UKSC website.

If you haven´t entered a song yet; we hope to hear from you soon. If you have already entered songs this year, look out in your inbox for a special mailing to entrants over the next few days.

Very best wishes
The UKSC Team
www.uksongwritingcontest.com
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Dear Songwriter,

The 2018 UKSC is now open for entries.

Big changes this year include a brand new entry system where you can check and follow your song entries online in your personal submissions dashboard.

Every song this year receives FREE ENTRY in The Lyricist Of The Year Awards (there is also something special in the pipeline coming for Instrumental writers too). There is also FREE entry in The Commonwealth Song Contest for entrants from any of the 53 Commonwealth nations, plus there is also an option to submit your song into The International Songwriting Awards for a small fraction of their usual fee. Some writers, depending on the category, will be able to enter up to four different events with just one form and one price!

There are also some great new prizes this year including Honorary Music Diplomas (Dip.Mus)... check out the prizes page on the website for full details of all of this year´s prizes.

The song categories this year are: Pop, Lyrics Only, Singer/Songwriter, Rock, Adult Contemporary, Love Songs, Acoustic & Folk, Music Videos, Under 18s, Jazz & Blues, Country, Christian/Faith, R&B/HipHop/Rap, Instrumental, Open/Other Category, EDM, Christmas Songs, Retro, World Music and Indie. Winners are chosen by the UKSC panel of professional top award winning judges - details on the contest website.

Full details of 2018 prizes, the latest news, and the 2018 contest entry forms are on the official website at www.uksongwritingcontest.com

We hope to see you in the 2018 event and we wish everyone reading this every success in your songwriting career.

Best wishes,
The UK Songwriting Contest Team.
www.uksongwritingcontest.com

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/uksongwritingcontest
TWITTER: www.twitter.com/uksongwriting
YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/uksongwritingcontest

Dear Songwriter,

DEADLINE - SUNDAY NIGHT - LAST HOURS TO ENTER

The entry deadline for The UK Songwriting Contest 2017 is midnight Sunday 1 October. So if you haven't entered yet, or you want to enter more songs, you have until midnight Sunday to submit them.
 
The UK Songwriting Contest is an opportunity to show your work to top names in the music industry in London and the world, to have your songs examined and marked by expert songwriters and to win great prizes and awards. Gold and Platinum Album, Grammy, Emmy, CMA and BRIT Award winning judges choose the winners - and prizes this year include the chance to work in the studio with the legendary producer Stuart Epps and to be personally mentored and coached by hit songwriter Mark Cawley. You can enter your demo recordings, videos, or written lyrics, and every entry will be graded and scored by the judges and a certificate issued.

Full details of all the great prizes, the opportunities and the entry forms - and the four important reasons all songwriters need to be part of this international event - are on the official contest website at www.songwritingcontest.co.uk  

Best wishes,
UKSC

PHOTO: The photo below shows music producer and contest judge Stuart Epps working and checking out entrants on the UKSC website. Stuart will produce a lucky winner in London and Stu and the other judges are waiting for your song!

1. THE EXPERIENCE
Most people enter songs in the UK Songwriting Contest to be part of a large respected international songwriting event and to have their song examined by experienced industry professionals. The UKSC is trusted worldwide and followed by many important people in the music industry so songwriters are comfortable and confident to enter their songs. This is the only songwriting event in the world that gives an exact judges' score for every song to be used as feedback to rate and compare each song entered. Every song in the event is awarded a different Award level to help the songwriter see which of their songs are most successful, and every song in the contest receives an official UKSC Certificate showing its position in the event.

2. THE JUDGES
Winners are chosen by some of the best professionals in the business including Platinum, Gold, Grammy, Emmy, CMA and BRIT Award winning professionals such as top producer Stuart Epps (Elton John, Robbie Williams, Oasis), Multi Platinum number one hit songwriter Shelly Peiken, renowned musical director and BRIT Award winner Simon Ellis, top producer and arranger Richard Niles (Paul McCartney, Kylie Minogue, Take That, Mariah Carey), Double Grammy and Emmy winner Kipper Eldridge, CMA Award winning country star Lucie Diamond, number one hit songwriter Mark Cawley, Oscar nominated TV and Film Composer Jamie Serafi, and UKSC winner and Platinum Album artist Natalie Chua. Unlike other major contests you can see for yourself that our judges really are involved in the event: we link  to them, they join in and post on social media, and they provide personal comments on their favourite songs.

3. THE OPPORTUNITIES
It is well known that success in the UKSC can often open doors and give big career opportunities to new songwriters. There are many examples of writers have gone on to sign recording and publishing deals, have released highly successful tracks, appeared on prime national TV in many countries, and have had major press coverage and radio play. We have at least one writer who went Platinum, others who have topped charts world wide, many who have had their win featured on TV, many signings and releases, writers who have since written for major artists or have had their entries covered by major artists and writers whose songs have had tens of millions of youtube views. 

4. THE PRIZES
If all the above is not enough there are also the Prizes! This year the overall winner will be flown to London at our expense to record with top producer Stuart Epps (or take the cash equivalent), top songwriter Mark Cawley will personally coach a lucky winner, they are valuable professional memberships to be won, song copyright registrations, software and so much more. Everyone who enters gets free gifts (membership of Broadjam and SongU with song pitching opportunities) worth $100.

Dear Songwriter,

The entry deadline for The UK Songwriting Contest is midnight 30th September. Many of you have already entered your songs, but if you haven't entered a song yet, or you want to enter more songs, you still have time to submit. The 2017 UK Songwriting Contest is an opportunity to showcase your work to the music industry in London and the world, and to have your songs examined and marked by experts.

Entry forms are at the official contest website at http://songwritingcontest.co.uk Songwriters from every country can participate and everyone who enters this respected international contest is told the judges score for each song and gets an official UKSC Certificate with details of their song's achievements and placements. There are also valuable guaranteed gifts and prizes worth many times the entry fee for everyone who enters.

THE PRODUCTION AND MENTORING PRIZES
As part of the Grand Prize package renowned music producer Stuart Epps has agreed to work with the winner. Stuart has worked with some of the biggest names in the business including Elton John, Robbie Williams, Oasis, Led Zeppelin and many others. This is a unique once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work closely with, and be produced by, one of the best in the business! We will fly you (or drive you if you are close by) to London from wherever you are in the world to work with Stuart in one of his favourite London studios (or you can take the cash equivalent if you prefer!). Stuart has recorded a short video for the UKSC about this - watch it at https://youtu.be/ZDDVEQv8D6k  Top songwriter and coach Mark Cawley from Nashville will also offer a coaching prize to a lucky winner, so someone reading this will be in for a treat. One of the last winners of this coaching prize (a Lyrics Only category winner from Australia) ended up flying to Nashville to record with Mark as a result. Details are on the contest website.

AWARDS AND OPPORTUNITIES
There are new awards levels this year and we will feature the best songs and songwriters in each category online, on partner websites and in the media. The Mozart Awards will again be offered this year and, even better, as the UKSC is now the official submissions partner for The Commonwealth Song Contest, songs from this year's contest will be considered for that exciting new international song event when it launches next year in 2018.

TOP JUDGES
Grammy, Emmy, CMA and BRIT Award winning judges include the well known number one international chart topping Multi Platinum songwriter Shelly Peiken, the legendary Stuart Epps (Elton John, Robbie Williams, Oasis), producer and arranger Richard Niles (Paul McCartney, Kylie Minogue, Take That, Mariah Carey), CMA Award winning country star Lucie Diamond, Oscar nominated TV and Film composer Jamie Sefari, the composer and Grammy and Emmy winner Kipper Eldridge (well known in the music business as Sting's producer), chart topping hit songwriter Mark Cawley (who will mentor one of the winners) and UKSC winner and Platinum Album artist Natalie Chua (who was signed by Simon Cowell and went Platinum when she won the UKSC).

CATEGORIES
The entry categories this year are: Pop, Lyrics Only, Singer-Songwriter, Rock, Adult Contemporary, Love Songs, Acoustic & Folk, Under 18s, Music Videos, Jazz & Blues, Country, Christian/Faith, R&B/HipHop/Rap, Instrumental, Open/Other Category, Indie, Electronic/Dance/Ambient, Christmas Songs, World Music and Retro. Full details and descriptions of the song categories are on the contest website at http://songwritingcontest.co.uk

HOW TO ENTER
Visit the official contest website at http://songwritingcontest.co.uk for the entry forms. Use these simple forms to enter your song in a few easy clicks. All songwriters from any country may enter.

We wish you every success in this year's event and in your future songwriting. Visit our website for full details and contact us at any time if you have questions. We will do our best to answer and advise.

With very best wishes,
From the UKSC Team.
www.songwritingcontest.co.uk

FACEBOOK PAGE: www.facebook.com/uksongwritingcontest
COMMUNITY GROUP: www.facebook.com/groups/uksongwritingcontest

Dear Songwriter,
The UK Songwriting Contest 2017 is open and accepting entries everyone from aspiring beginner songwriters entering their first attempt at songwriting to experienced and published songwriters. 

PRIZES AND AWARDS UPDATE
Prizes this year include a recording session with top producer Stuart Epps in London, the chance to be personally coached by the number one hit writing songwriter Mark Cawley, the Mozart Awards and much more. A new prize, added this week, is official nomination and shortlisting for a place in the 2018 Commonwealth Song Contest! There are also new International Songwriter Awards (for non-UK songwriters) plus exciting new opportunities for lyricists - full details to be announced soon. There are also two new Awards Certificate levels this year: Special Mention and Higher Commended Entry.

The UKSC judges are some of the biggest and best names in the business, winners will be featured and widely promoted, and there is also much more on offer including guaranteed prizes for everyone who enters worth many times the entrance fee.
Full details and entry forms are at http://www.songwritingcontest.co.uk - visit now for full details of this popular international songwriting event. Contact us at any time if you have questions. (And look out for some new Insiders' Songwriting Tips blogs from the UKSC that will be starting very soon).
Best wishes,
The UK Songwriting Contest Team
www.songwritingcontest.co.uk