Get Your Songs Ready!

The International UK Songwriting Contest 2020 starts on April 1. And there are some interesting new song categories that might keep you busy songwriting over the coming months. For example...

THE SONGWRITING CHALLENGE
This is a completely new category that involves songwriters in a way that has never been done before by any event. Songwriters will be given a set task to write a lyric or a melody. Lyricists will write a lyric to a set metre and song structure, and musicians will write a melody in exactly the same set format. We will choose a Lyrics winner and a Melody winner and put them together into one complete song. The prize is a professional recording of the resulting song and more! We also have some variations on this that will make it even more interesting and more of a challenge!

RECORD DEAL PRIZE
This year also sees the introduction of a new Record Deal prize. This is something people have been asking for, and we have delivered. The track will be released on an important label and distributed worldwide on the world´s biggest stores and streaming sites. More information will follow on this, and there are details on the UKSC website at https://songwritingcontest.co.uk

CRISIS SONG CATEGORY
This is a new category for songs about the current COVID-19 Global Pandemic and also any other crisis such as the ongoing climate crisis and the state of the world today in general. (Crisis Song is a working title for this category - if you can think of a better one let us know.

UNPLUGGED CATEGORY
There is now a new Unplugged Category for acoustic entries. This replaces the old Acoustic/Folk category. Folk songwriters now have their own Folk Category.

WORK IN PROGRESS
This category is for unfinished songs. Send us what you have with some notes about how you see it going. We are looking for ideas with potential.

BLUES AND JAZZ
These have now been separated into two separate categories.

COLLABORATIONS
We are also looking at ways to encourage collaborations between writers and will update you on this.

So... get your songs ready for April. We look forward to receiving them. The judges are ready and waiting. It is going to be an very good contest this year!

Very Best Wishes,
UKSC

This is the last weekend to submit songs for great opportunities, star ratings, signings, certificates, cash and more. Visit www.songwritingcontest.co.uk to submit your song before the Sunday midnight deadline. Here is a video message from UKSC judge Stuart Epps who will be co writing a song this year with one lucky winner. https://youtu.be/ZDDVEQv8D6k

FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
The 2019 UK Songwriting Contest Finals Results are now in entrants´ dashboards. All the Semi Finalist songs were carefully considered for a place in the Finals, and those that were selected have had their Semi Finalist Certificates upgraded to Finalist. All Finalists will now move to the Grand Finals selection panels. Visit your song dashboard at www.submitmysong.com/dashboard

GRAND FINALS
All the Finalist songs will be carefully considered for the Grand Finals which will take place in late November. The Grand Finalists will be featured on the UKSC website at that time and a large panel of judges including past UKSC entrants and winners and the celebrity judges will vote for the 2019 Overall Winner.

PAYPAL SPECIAL - LATE SONG ENTRIES
Many people did not enter songs because they prefer to use PayPal and we were not offfering this option. This month however SubmitMySong.com, our submissions partner, will add PayPal payments as an option so we have decided to open again for a limited time to accept late entries using PayPal. You can submit a song now using the special PayPal Only entry form. This is for a limited time only and full details are on the UKSC website. The PayPal Song Entry Form is at www.submitmysong.com/uksc

WORLD CONCERT DAY
Every songwriter and entrant in the UKSC this year will receive a personal invitation to take part in World Concert Day 2020. Special instructions will be sent to every entrant with details on how to best use and profit from this opportunity and the UKSC will promote entrants in the event. More details will be available as we approach the event, which is set for Spring 2020. In the meantime we suggest that you "Like" and follow World Concert Day, and also Music Aid, on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest news about the events.

CO-WRITING PRIZE
Prizes this year include co-writing a song with producer and UKSC judge Stuart Epps. Stuart now concentrates on developing new up-and-coming artists and he has worked very closely with some of the world´s most famous songwriters. This is a unique opportunity to write and record with one of the most respected names in the UK music industry. Check out Stuart´s website, hear his productions and read about his work and his amazing stories about the music industry at www.eppsmusicproductions.com

NEW OPPORTUNITIES
We will soon announce some new partnerships with the Music Aid Organization, with Song Copyright services, and with music distributers that will exclusively benefit you and all UKSC songwriters. We are working hard on developing these new arrangements and there will be some unique opportunities and offers coming your way soon including album and singles deals with the new Music Aid record label.

Dear Songwriter,

Here is an update and some reminders about the 2019 UK Songwriting Contest.

YOUR DASHBOARD
Login to your dashboard at any time at www.submitmysong.com/dashboard. Use the username and password that you signed up with. If you have forgotten your password use the Forgotten Password link on the login page and contact us if you have any problems. In your dashboard you will see all songs that you have entered and you will see your results and certifcates there. The dashboard is often updated with information so it´s a good idea to visit and check regularly. If there is a problem  with your song entry the details will be posted there. Please also make sure that your contact details are correct - if you change your email address remember to update it there so that we can contact you about your songs.

YOUR SONG ENTRIES
Semi Finals results for songs entered before the early deadlines are already online in your dashboards. All songs that you enter now until the final deadline of 14 October will have Star Ratings, Semi Finalist results and Certificates online before the end of this month. If your song is chosen as a Semi Finalist a Semi Finalist Certificate will be prepared for you and if the song then goes on into the Finals or Grand Finals the Certificate will be updated to reflect this. Commended Entry, Highly Commended and Special Mentions are also awarded for outstanding songs. Star Ratings appear on the Certificates. Check your dashboard for updates. In your dashboard you will also see a copy of each song you enter so that you can verify for yourself that it is safely in the contest.

WORLD CONCERT DAY
Every songwriter and entrant in the UKSC this year will receive a personal invitation to take part in World Concert Day 2020. Special instructions will be sent to every entrant with details on how to best use and profit from this opportunity and the UKSC will promote entrants in the event. More details will be available as we approach the event, which is set for Spring 2020. In the meantime we suggest that you "Like" and follow World Concert Day, and also Music Aid, on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest news about the events.

CO-WRITING PRIZE
Prizes this year include co-writing a song with producer and UKSC judge Stuart Epps. Stuart now concentrates on developing new up-and-coming artists and he has worked very closely with some of the world´s most famous songwriters and artists. This is a unique opportunity to write and record with one of the most respected names in the UK music industry. Check out Stuart´s website, hear his productions and read about his work and his amazing stories about the music industry at eppsmusicproductions.com

NEW OPPORTUNITIES
We will soon announce some new partnerships with the Music Aid Organization, with Song Copyright services, and with music distributers that will exclusively benefit you and all UKSC registered songwriters. We are working hard on developing these new arrangements and there will be some unique opportunities and offers coming your way soon.

NEW JUDGES
New judges joined this year and like you they are all UKSC registered songwriters and past UKSC entrants who know how you feel as a participant this year. These new judges include Rachel Mason (also a judge on SKY TV´s "Sing - Ultimate Acappella" show hosted by Cat Deely), Katie Kittermaster (the recent Under 18s Winner who is achieving great success this year touring the UK with the Boyzlife Tour and with Ronan Keating), Belle Humble (a past UKSC winner with over 250,000,000 YouTube views and two massive worldwide hit songs), Neil Fitzpatrick (whose UKSC winning song "Apart" has already raised over $100,000 in sales), and Susan Muranty (a twice winning lyricist who with special input into judging the Lyrics Only category).

HOW TO ENTER
Visit songwritingcontest.co.uk for the entry forms. Log in with your username and password and then enter your song in a few easy clicks. If you have forgotten your password or username click on the forgotten password link on the login page to reset your details. If you have any problems please contact us for support. The final event deadline is 14 October but we recommend that you submit your song as early as possible to avoid the last minute rush of entries that happens every year at this time.

We wish you every success in this year's event and with all your future songwriting projects.

Best wishes,
The UK Songwriting Contest Team.
www.songwritingcontest.co.uk

NEW JUDGES IN 2019
We have updated the Judges section on The UK Songwriting Contest website. Check it out at www.songwritingcontest.co.uk/judges and meet the new judges - all are past UKSC entrants who know exactly how you feel as a participant this year.

New judges include Rachel Mason (also a judge on SKY TV´s "Sing - Ultimate Acappella" show hosted by Cat Deely), Katie Kittermaster (the recent Under 18s Winner who is achieving great success and is now touring the UK with the Boyzlife Tour and with Ronan Keating), Belle Humble (a past UKSC winner with over 250,000,000 YouTube views and two massive worldwide hit songs), Neil Fitzpatrick (whose UKSC winning song "Apart" has already raised over $100,000 in sales), and Susan Muranty (a twice winning lyricist who with special input into judging the Lyrics Only category).

GRAND FINALS
This year features a Grand Finals stage where an Overall Winner will be chosen by past entrants together with our regular celebrity judges. Submit your song by midnight September 21st to find out within days if your song is in the 2019 Semi Finals. All songs rated with 5 Stars by the judges are considered for the Semi Finals and all Semi Finalists are considered for the Finals and Grand Final in October. Entry forms and details at www.songwritingcontest.co.uk

CO-WRITING PRIZE
Prizes include co-writing a song with legendary producer Stuart Epps. Stuart works with new up and coming artists and has worked closely with some of the world´s best known songwriters and artists including Elton John (Stuart was one of the first people that Elton played Your Song to for an opinion), Oasis, Robbie Williams, Led Zeppelin and many others. This is a unique and valuable opportunity to work with and write with one of the most respected names in the UK music industry. Check out Stuart´s website, hear his productions and read about his work and some of his amazing stories about the music industry at www.eppsmusicproductions.com

HOW TO ENTER
Visit the official contest website at http://songwritingcontest.co.uk and follow the entry links. All songwriters from any country may enter. If you have any problems please contact us for support.

If you still have songs to submit, don't forget that the deadline is soon, midnight 21 September.

We wish you every success in this year's event and with all your future songwriting projects.

Best wishes,
The UK Songwriting Contest Team.
www.songwritingcontest.co.uk