UKSC 2016 DEADLINE EXTENDED TO SUNDAY NIGHT

If you are thinking of entering songs in this year's UK International Songwriting Contest you will be pleased to know that we have decided to extend the deadline by two days until Sunday night so that entrants will have a last relaxed weekend to submit their songs. This is in response to many email requests from entrants.

So if you haven't entered yet, or you have submitted and you are thinking of entering more songs, don't forget that there will not be any further extensions and all songs must be submitted by midnight on Sunday Oct 2nd. Stuart Epps and the other judges are waiting for you! We wish you every success in your songwriting and we look forward to receiving your work. International entrants from non-UK countries are welcome.

Best wishes,
From the UKSC Team.

UK Songwriting Contest winner Neil Fitzpatrick (pictured above) has just signed a major publishing deal with the world's biggest independent music publishing company for his UKSC winning song "Apart". He is now part of the elite group of songwriters signed to Peers Music Group, whose roster of songwriters and artists include Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Bjork, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce and Garth Brooks. The song was chosen by the UKSC's top music industry judges as a winner and was heard by many in the music industry when it appeared on the contest's annual promotional Winners Album. 

A UKSC spokesperson said "The judges thought that this song deserved to be a success and we promoted it to our contacts in the music industry, both in the UK and internationally, as we do with all UKSC winning songs. The response from industry insiders was very positive right from the start, so we knew the judges had made a good choice, and we are very pleased to know that Neil is now having such success with this song. It is well deserved."

Following the UKSC win sales of the song raised almost £30,000 for charity and Neil will be appearing in the Sky TV show about songwriters, Tin Pan Alley, which airs on Sky's Showbiz TV Channel on Sunday 2nd October at 6.30pm. The show  is hosted by DJ Mike Read and aims to showcase the very best of British songwriting.

Top UK British music producer Stuart Epps is a UK Songwriting Contest judge, and he has made this short video for everyone thinking of entering songs this year. Check it out at YouTube at https://youtu.be/ZDDVEQv8D6k 

You can find out more about Stuart's work and the many huge music legends he has worked with at his production website at http://eppsmusicproductions.com

The 2016 UKSC deadline is midnight 30th September. The prizes, opportunities and judges are the best in the industry. And the entry fee is still the lowest of any major songwriting event in the world - because this contest truly supports songwriters.

Visit the contest website at http://songwritingcontest.co.uk and enter your songs before the 30 September deadline. Stuart and the other top award winning judges are waiting to hear them. 

2016 DEADLINE
The entry deadline for the UK Songwriting Contest is coming up soon at the end of this month. Many of you have already entered your songs, but if you haven't entered a song yet, or you want to enter more songs, don't forget that you only have until midnight 30 September to submit.

Many semi finalists have already been announced in the new online Live Status updates and more will be posted over the next few days. After the 30th September the judges will be getting down to the very serious business of choosing the finalists and winners.
 
WINNERS & JUDGES VIDEO UPDATE
We have just been watching the video show of the UKSC 2014 -  and it was such a bumper year for entries and great songs that we thought we would update you on what happened to the winners in it. They all won great prizes of course - and they also got noticed by the industry... For example, since winning with her song Out Of The Maze, Elle Ray (in the video at 7.07) has become a very popular EDM artist and her latest single is currently getting over a millions plays a month on Soundcloud alone!  The then unknown Alisha Brilla (at 2.05) was offered a high profile co-writing opportunity on winning the contest, and she has since won a JUNO Award and has released an album with Amy Winehouse's personal mixer. Jaron Natoli (at 17.16 in the video) was featured on national Australian TV with UKSC judge Stuart Epps and seen by millions on the primetime TV show Today Tonight. A version of "Apart", written by Neil Fitzpatrick (6.40) has been selling well and has raised over £26,000 to date for Cancer UK. Radio and TV producers often contact the UKSC for recommendations and Neil has also recently been filmed to be featured in DJ Mike Read's new national TV series about songwriters called Tin Pan Alley. Leigh Haggerwood's song and video (17.14) has had over 600,000 views on YouTube, and his other UKSC winning song Favourite Time Of Year has had over 3 million YouTube plays. These two UKSC winning songs have been play-listed across major radio and TV networks all over the world and his song has been used as the Christmas theme music by one of the major national UK TV networks. Also appearing in the video are Lyrics Only winner Susan Muranty - who went to Nashville to work and record with UKSC judge and number one hit songwriter Mark Cawley - and also Hollywood Star Wars actress (and UKSC winner) Bonnie Piesse, who presents an award. Check out the video at https://youtu.be/yOPcVRzlGRQ

CATEGORIES
There are three new categories this year: Retro, Indie and World Music. And they are already proving very popular. The older categories are still there as well: 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, Electronic/Dance/Ambient and Christmas Songs. Full details and descriptions of the song categories are on the contest website at www.songwritingcontest.co.uk

HOW TO ENTER YOUR SONG
The contest deadline is at the end of September. Visit the official contest website at www.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. You are welcome to contact us at any time with questions.

The UK Songwriting Contest Team
www.songwritingcontest.co.uk

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