Contest Rules & Guidelines

 

 

1) ELIGIBILITY

• The contest is open to songwriters who are 18 years of age or older on the date of song submission. Any entrant who is a minor in his or her jurisdiction of legal residence will be required to obtain and submit written permission from his or her parent or legal guardian to participate in the contest.
• Employees of NewSong, their families, subsidiaries, and affiliates are not eligible.
• For the purposes of the competition, a song must have both lyrics and music. All submitted songs must be original, unpublished (or self-published) songs that have been written or co-written by the entrant(s).
• For competition purposes, an unpublished song is defined as being recorded and self-released by the entrant(s) and/or not co-published by a commercially active music publisher.
• Co-writers are subject to the same eligibility criteria.
• Past grand prize winners of the international NewSong Contest are not eligible to enter the contest. All other previous entrants and finalists are eligible.
• Artists from anywhere in the world are eligible to enter. However, all finalists selected to perform at the live performance showcase and competition finals in Asheville, NC must pay for their own travel and lodging expenses.

 

2) SUBMISSION POLICY

• Each entry must be an original, unpublished musical composition (“composition”) for which the contestant retains the copyright and authority to submit and perform the composition in the contest. Payment for each composition entered in the contest must be made at the time of submission. NewSong is not responsible and disclaims any liability for late, lost, damaged, misdirected, postage due, stolen, or misappropriated entries or for any errors in online submissions, including, but not limited to unsuccessful file uploads. Materials submitted will not be returned and NewSong reserves the right to dispose of all submitted material in any manner.

 

3) COST TO ENTER – THE FINAL DEADLINE TO SUBMIT IS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2026.

• One Song Entry:  $40.00
• Two Song Entry: $70.00
• Each Additional Song: $25.00

 

4) HOW TO SUBMIT TO THE 2026 NEWSONG MUSIC COMPETITION, PRESENTED BY CITIZEN VINYL

 

ONLINE: UPLOAD MP3S OR SONG LINK URL (SOUNDCLOUD, YOUTUBE, SPOTIFY, ETC) AND PAY WITH A CREDIT CARD HERE.

MAIL-IN: MAIL IN A CD WITH YOUR SONG(S) AND A CHECK OR MONEY ORDER MADE PAYABLE TO ‘NEWSONG, LLC’ TO THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS. ALSO INCLUDE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS AND TELEPHONE NUMBER AS WELL.

 

NewSong Music Competition
c/o NewSong Music
179 Merrimon Avenue
Suite 425
Weaverville, NC  28787

 

5) FINALIST AND WINNER SELECTION

Finalists:

A total of eight (8) finalists will be selected to perform in the live performance finals of the 2026 NewSong Competition Finals in Asheville, NC on October 25, 2026. The finalists will be selected from their mp3 audio submissions by a panel of judges. 

Winner:

Judges will select three of the eight finalists to return to perform two additional, original songs. Judges will then select an overall winner.

 

6) THE FINALS 

• On stage at the live contest finals, a single accompanist may sing along with you, play an instrument, or both.
• All finalists chosen to perform in the Award Round must pay for their own travel to and from the NewSong Music finals in Asheville, NC.
• The NewSong Contest is both a performance AND songwriting competition. As such, all finalists will be judged equally on both performance and songwriting.
• The format for the finals is as follows: each of the eight semi-finalists will perform one original song of their choosing in front of a panel of judges and a live audience. Three finalists will then be selected from the eight, and these three finalists will then perform two additional original songs. From these three, the overall winner will be selected.

 

7) PRIZES

The overall winner of the NewSong Music Competition will receive a fully funded recording project of a six song EP, recorded at Citizen Studios in Asheville, NC and released on the NewSong Recordings label. 

All finalists will join the ever-growing NewSong community of performers and songwriters, and have opportunities to perform and network in future NewSong showcases, tours, recording projects and more. 

 

8) NOTIFICATIONS & WAIVERS

– Selected finalists will be notified by email and each winner must provide the following items to be eligible to compete in the NewSong Contest finals:

(i) an affidavit confirming

(a) that the winner meets the contest eligibility requirements,

(b) that his or her composition is original and unpublished, and

(c) that he or she owns the copyright in the composition;

(ii) a performance license and mechanical and synchronization licenses for audio and video recording rights; and

(iii) a publicity release (collectively, the “Affidavit”), all within 14 days of the notification date. The failure to sign and return the Affidavit within Fourteen (14) Days or the submission of false or inaccurate information will result in immediate disqualification and an alternate winner will be selected for the applicable regional or general round. Affidavits for winners under 18 years of age at the time of submission must be countersigned by a parent or legal guardian. All Affidavits are subject to verification by NewSong and its agents. Each contestant’s submission constitutes his or her permission to use his or her name, likeness, and voice for future advertising and publicity purposes without additional consideration.

NewSong retain the exclusive right to use in perpetuity any media inclusive of ancillary rights created in conjunction with the NewSong Contest including but not limited to; live recordings, video, webisodes, and photographs. Participants grant NewSong the use of this archival material in perpetuity.

 

9) RESTRICTIONS

This contest is void where prohibited. All federal, state, and local laws, regulations, rules, and ordinances apply.

• Entries must be unpublished original songs.
• Submissions are not subject to a time limit. But if you are selected as one of our eight finalists, your live performance of one original songs on the finals contest stage must meet a strict six (6) minute limit or you will be penalized.
• The song MUST be performed by the song contest entrant. Songs that have been recorded with more than one backing musician can be submitted — for example, sending in a cut from a CD with multiple players. But remember, should you advance and perform live, you will only be allowed one backing musician on stage. This accompanist may play an instrument(s) and/or sing backup.
• Co-written songs may be submitted, but the person who enters the song must be the one who is the lead singer of the tune.
• IMPORTANT POINT: Though co-writers will be acknowledged, only the performer of the tune can qualify to win a prize.

 

10) EXPLANATION OF RIGHTS

• The writer(s) retains all rights to submitted songs.