Guidelines

Important Dates

Prizes

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 Music, their families, subsidiaries, and affiliates are not eligible.
For the purposes of the competition, a song must have both lyrics and music and can be of any genre. All submitted songs must be original, unpublished (or self-published) songs that have been written or co-written by the entrant(s).
For competition purposes, an unpublished song is defined as being recorded and self-released by the entrant(s) and/or not co-published by a commercially active music publisher.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 NewSong Music Competition 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.

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Each entry must be an original, unpublished musical composition (“composition”) for which the contestant retains the copyright and authority to submit and perform the composition in the contest.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 Music are 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 Music reserves the right to dispose of all submitted material in any manner.

3) DISCOUNTED ‘EARLY BIRD’ COST TO ENTER (PRICES INCREASE ON MONDAY, AUGUST 3, 2026 ). IN HONOR OF OUR 25TH ANNIVERSARY, ALL ‘EARLY BIRD’ SUBMISSIONS BEFORE AUGUST 3 ARE ONLY $25.00 EACH!

One Song Entry: ~~$45~~ $25
Two Song Entry: ~~$80~~ $50
Each Additional Song: ~~$30~~ $25

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

ONLINE: UPLOAD MP3 SONG FILES OR A URL SONG LINK (SOUNDCLOUD, YOUTUBE, 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
Attn: 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 from advance song submissions, by a panel of music industry judges, to perform in the live performance showcase and competition finals. There, each finalist will perform two original songs in the first round.

Winner:

Judges will select three of the eight finalists to return to the second ‘Award Round,’ to perform one additional, original song. Judges will then select an overall winner.

6) 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 Music Competition 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

(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 and NewSong Music 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 Music retains the exclusive right to use in perpetuity any media inclusive of ancillary rights created in conjunction with our Singer-Songwriter Competition, including but not limited to; live recordings, video, webisodes, and photographs. Participants grant NewSong Music the use of this archival material in perpetuity.

7) 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 song 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 performing finalist can qualify to win a prize.

10) EXPLANATION OF RIGHTS

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

We are now accepting original song entries to the 25th annual NewSong Music Performance & Songwriting Competition (2026), presented by Citizen Vinyl.

The discounted ‘Early Bird’ deadline to enter this year is Sunday, August 2, 2026 at 11:59 PM PST (at which point submission prices increase). In celebration of our 25th year, ALL EARLY BIRD ENTRIES ARE A DEEPLY DISCOUNTED $25.00 PER ENTRY!

The final deadline to submit to the 2026 LEAF Competition is Sunday, September 13, 2026 at 11:59 PM PST.

This year’s eight finalists are scheduled to be announced on Facebook, Instagram, our website blog and newsletter on Friday, September 19, 2026.

The 25th Annual NewSong Music live performance showcase and competition finals will take place at The Grey Eagle in Asheville, NC on Sunday, October 25, 2026.

The winner of the NewSong Music Competition, selected from a panel of music industry judges, will receive the opportunity to record a fully funded six song EP, recorded at Citizen Studios in Asheville and released on the NewSong Recordings record 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.

The 25th Annual NewSong Music Competition (2026), presented by Citizen Vinyl

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