About The UK Songwriting Contest
The international UK Songwriting Contest was launched in London in 2002 in association with The BRIT Trust, The BRIT School, The BRIT Studio, Music Aid International, The Guild of International Songwriters and Composers and Roland Music UK. The BBC suported the event from the start with many finalists and winners receiving BBC Radio coverage. The BBC remains a strong UKSC supporter and many entrants are featured and interviewed on BBC Radio every year.
The UK Songwriting Contest is one of the world's most popular, longest running and estabished songwriting events. It works with top british producers and industry professionals and was formed with the aim of "discovering and encouraging new songwriting talent and promoting the craft of songwriting". The event has the lowest entry fee of all major international songwriting events or competitions in keeping with these launch aims and commitments. It is an international event with entries from many countries with winners an finalists featured on major international network TV shows worldwide. Over 100,000 songs have taken part and over £1,000,000 worth of prizes has been awarded to entrants. Beginners and experienced songwriters compete together on an equal basis and it is well known in the international music community as a launching pad for new songwriting talent and it is one of the world's most popular songwriting events.
The UK Songwriting Contest is one of the world's most popular, longest running and estabished songwriting events. It works with top british producers and industry professionals and was formed with the aim of "discovering and encouraging new songwriting talent and promoting the craft of songwriting". The event has the lowest entry fee of all major international songwriting events or competitions in keeping with these launch aims and commitments. It is an international event with entries from many countries with winners an finalists featured on major international network TV shows worldwide. Over 100,000 songs have taken part and over £1,000,000 worth of prizes has been awarded to entrants. Beginners and experienced songwriters compete together on an equal basis and it is well known in the international music community as a launching pad for new songwriting talent and it is one of the world's most popular songwriting events.
PRESTIGE
No other songwriting event has the backing of so many respected organisations and music industry professionals and many UKSC entrants have been ‘spotted’ and go on to successful music careers and deals (see the Success Stories page). Judges include respected Grammy, Emmy, CMA and BRIT Award winning Gold and Platinum Album producers and artists sch as Sting's producer Kipper Eldridge, producer Stuart Epps (Elton John, Robbie Williams, Oasis etc), Britney Spears' Musical Director Simon Ellis and numer one Platinum award winning songwriter Shelly Peiken among many other top music professionals. Many past entrants have been signed by publishers, producers and record companies - see the Success Stories page: and every year many entrants receive press, TV and radio coverage of their results and their songs, sometimes with royalty earning radio play for their entries. Semi Finalists, Finalists and Winners have been featured on TV nationally and internationally and have gone on to launch careers successfully writing for major recording artists. TIP: For this reason we always recommend that Winners, Finalists and Semi-Finalists should contact their local media with news of their results in the contest as this often leads to media coverage and interest from important people in the music industry.
PRIZES
Prizes in the UKSC are designed to help songwriters in their careers and often include personal mentoring and partnerships and recording sessions with some of the world's top producers, international copyright packages, songwriting courses, promotion on the music industry's annual "Best of UKSC" albums, music software, music books, the "Mozart Awards", GISC memberships and much more. Everyone who enters the contest receives valuable SongU.com and Broadjam.com memberships worth US$100 - which is more than four times the entry fee!. The contest has awarded well over £1,000,000 in prizes since its launch. Everyone who enters receives a personalised UKSC Certificate for each song. Entrants also receive a judges score for each song so that they can see how their work was rated by experienced professionals. Full details of this year's prizes are on The Prizes Page.
OPPORTUNITIES AND SUCCESS
This contest is often described in the media as "prestigious" because it is the only songwriting contest in the world that has had winning writers and finalists signed by top industry figures and it is the only songwriting event established in association with respected bodies such as The BRIT Trust and the Music Aid Organization. Many entrant's have gone on to success and have been signed to major publishing and recording deals, have been asked to write for major artists and major TV shows, have been interviewed and featured in the media worldwide and have had their UKSC winning songs played to many millions on national TV and Radio stations around the world and signed to major publishing companies. Many entrants have earned royalties from radio play of their entries both in the UK and internationally. Anyone who enters this contest could have similar success and could be noticed by the top industry professionals worldwide who follow this event closely looking for new songwriting talent. See Entrant's Success Stories here
JUDGES
The UKSC judges are top Grammy, Emmy, CMA and BRIT Award winning Gold and Platinum Album producers and artists. They include Sting's producer and musical director Kipper Eldridge, top UK producer Stuart Epps (well known for his work with Elton John, Robbie Williams, Led Zeppelin, Bill Wyman, Paul Weller, George Harrison, Oasis), BRIT Award winning producer, songwriter and top musical director Simon Ellis (S Club 7, Britney Spears), CMA Award winning international country star and songwriter Lucie Diamond; producer, musical director and arranger Richard Niles (Paul McCartney, Kylie Minogue, Boy Zone, Mariah Carey, Take That, Cliff Richard) and the UKSC's own past winner Natalie Chua (signed by Simon Cowell after the contest and a Platinum Album recipient). Judging panels also include industry executives, publishers, managers, music organisations, experienced songwriters, past UKSC winners, UKSC directors, broadcasters, music journalists, authors and others from the UK and international music industry.
Read more about the judges here
Aims and Mission
The UK Songwriting Contest was originally launched with The BRIT Trust to encourage and promote the art of songwriting and to discover and showcase new talent and new songs. For this reason the entry fee has not been increased since the launch in 2002 and contest has one of the lowest entry fees of all the world's major songwriting event. Every songwriter who enters, whether they are experienced or a complete beginner, has the same chance to be discovered and noticed and to have their work judged by top names in the music industry.
Read More: Entrants' Success Stories : The Story So Far : The Judges : The Prizes : Contest Results By Year
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No other songwriting event has the backing of so many respected organisations and music industry professionals and many UKSC entrants have been ‘spotted’ and go on to successful music careers and deals (see the Success Stories page). Judges include respected Grammy, Emmy, CMA and BRIT Award winning Gold and Platinum Album producers and artists sch as Sting's producer Kipper Eldridge, producer Stuart Epps (Elton John, Robbie Williams, Oasis etc), Britney Spears' Musical Director Simon Ellis and numer one Platinum award winning songwriter Shelly Peiken among many other top music professionals. Many past entrants have been signed by publishers, producers and record companies - see the Success Stories page: and every year many entrants receive press, TV and radio coverage of their results and their songs, sometimes with royalty earning radio play for their entries. Semi Finalists, Finalists and Winners have been featured on TV nationally and internationally and have gone on to launch careers successfully writing for major recording artists. TIP: For this reason we always recommend that Winners, Finalists and Semi-Finalists should contact their local media with news of their results in the contest as this often leads to media coverage and interest from important people in the music industry.
PRIZES
Prizes in the UKSC are designed to help songwriters in their careers and often include personal mentoring and partnerships and recording sessions with some of the world's top producers, international copyright packages, songwriting courses, promotion on the music industry's annual "Best of UKSC" albums, music software, music books, the "Mozart Awards", GISC memberships and much more. Everyone who enters the contest receives valuable SongU.com and Broadjam.com memberships worth US$100 - which is more than four times the entry fee!. The contest has awarded well over £1,000,000 in prizes since its launch. Everyone who enters receives a personalised UKSC Certificate for each song. Entrants also receive a judges score for each song so that they can see how their work was rated by experienced professionals. Full details of this year's prizes are on The Prizes Page.
OPPORTUNITIES AND SUCCESS
This contest is often described in the media as "prestigious" because it is the only songwriting contest in the world that has had winning writers and finalists signed by top industry figures and it is the only songwriting event established in association with respected bodies such as The BRIT Trust and the Music Aid Organization. Many entrant's have gone on to success and have been signed to major publishing and recording deals, have been asked to write for major artists and major TV shows, have been interviewed and featured in the media worldwide and have had their UKSC winning songs played to many millions on national TV and Radio stations around the world and signed to major publishing companies. Many entrants have earned royalties from radio play of their entries both in the UK and internationally. Anyone who enters this contest could have similar success and could be noticed by the top industry professionals worldwide who follow this event closely looking for new songwriting talent. See Entrant's Success Stories here
JUDGES
The UKSC judges are top Grammy, Emmy, CMA and BRIT Award winning Gold and Platinum Album producers and artists. They include Sting's producer and musical director Kipper Eldridge, top UK producer Stuart Epps (well known for his work with Elton John, Robbie Williams, Led Zeppelin, Bill Wyman, Paul Weller, George Harrison, Oasis), BRIT Award winning producer, songwriter and top musical director Simon Ellis (S Club 7, Britney Spears), CMA Award winning international country star and songwriter Lucie Diamond; producer, musical director and arranger Richard Niles (Paul McCartney, Kylie Minogue, Boy Zone, Mariah Carey, Take That, Cliff Richard) and the UKSC's own past winner Natalie Chua (signed by Simon Cowell after the contest and a Platinum Album recipient). Judging panels also include industry executives, publishers, managers, music organisations, experienced songwriters, past UKSC winners, UKSC directors, broadcasters, music journalists, authors and others from the UK and international music industry.
Read more about the judges here
Aims and Mission
The UK Songwriting Contest was originally launched with The BRIT Trust to encourage and promote the art of songwriting and to discover and showcase new talent and new songs. For this reason the entry fee has not been increased since the launch in 2002 and contest has one of the lowest entry fees of all the world's major songwriting event. Every songwriter who enters, whether they are experienced or a complete beginner, has the same chance to be discovered and noticed and to have their work judged by top names in the music industry.
Read More: Entrants' Success Stories : The Story So Far : The Judges : The Prizes : Contest Results By Year
To the Home Page
To the Top of this Page
