Rules and Regulations
All postal submissions must be accompanied with the applicable submission form which can be found at www.songoftheyear.com/enter.htm . You can find the proper submission form by clicking on the desired submission package and printing it out. Each song submitted must be the contestant's original work. Songs may have multiple co-writers. Prizes will be awarded to the primary person on the submission form. It is the winner's responsibility to allocate the prize money and awards to any co-writers as he/she deems necessary. All personal information received by Song of the Year will remain confidential.
Contestants may submit as many songs into as many categories as he/she wishes, but each category submission or additional song requires an additional entry fee. One check or money order payment for multiple entries/categories is permitted. If you are mailing in your material on a CD or cassette tape, you may include all of the entries on one CD or cassette. (All fees are non-refundable from the point/date of purchase). Neither Song of the Year nor any of its affiliates are responsible for lost or damaged entries. If a damaged product arrives by mail, you will be notified and will have the opportunity to resend the material. The resent material must be received within 5 business days after you are contacted to be eligible for that specific running contest. Otherwise, your song will be automatically submitted into the next contest per the deadline specifications. CD's, cassettes, or other submitted materials will not be returned. Do not send the original copy of your material. No copies are retained or archived as all materials received are periodically disposed of. Submissions online or by mail can not be returned.
It is the contestant's responsibility to submit the correct amount for the song entries. If multiple songs are entered and the monies submitted to Song of the Year do not cover all the song submissions, Song of the Year will accept the first songs listed on the submission form as entries into the contest. It is the contestant's responsibility to select the appropriate pricing package when entering. It is the contestant's responsibility to provide accurate and complete information on the submission form. The contestant is responsible for providing Song of the Year their material either through postal mail, email, upload, or via a website and/or EPK. Refunds will not be issued if the contestant does not provide their submission to Song of the Year. However, Song of the Year may offer a credit into another contest on a case by case basis. Entries submitted by postal mail must have an email address specified on the submission form as this will be used for further contact and announcement notifications. Recording quality will not be considered when determining the winner. Only the songwriting of the material is taken into consideration. Home recordings and live recordings are acceptable and will not negatively affect the judging of the songwriting.
Song of the Year's winners and finalists will be chosen in each category on a "per-contest" basis. Song of the Year reserves the right to place your song in the next contest if the postmark exceeds the prior round's deadline. The postmark will determine which contest the song is enrolled in. Song of the Year reserves the right to extend deadlines of a round's competition if deemed necessary. Song of the Year reserves the rights to exchange the prize packages at anytime with other products or service with the same or greater value (the cash prize will remain the same). The 2010 cash amount and prizes may vary from the previous year's contest. The songwriter with the highest scores from the judges will be the "Winner" in each category. There will be one winner from each of the ten categories. Those top songs from each category will be considered the "Top Ten" winners and entitled to the prize packages as specified online. The top ten songs selected from each category will then compete against each other (category versus category) for the Grand Prizes. There will only be one Grand Prize winner from the top ten songs. Only the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners from the top ten will be awarded cash prizes as specified online. The prize packages are based on a "per song" basis and will only be awarded to one primary songwriter (though multiple writers for the winning song can be posted online as co-writers). It is that person's responsibility to distribute the money and prizes to the other co-writers (if applicable). Having multiple songwriters on a winning song does not multiply the cash and/or prize packages. All promotions, pricing, and opportunities made available before January 10th, 2010 are void. Only the current information on the 'official' website located at www.songoftheyear.com will be considered current and correct information in the 2010 contest. Computer cache files may display older information. Refreshing a computer's brower and removing cookies will give an updated version of the current site. All third party offers or promotions by email or via the internet are void. The Song of the Year website is the only official listing of the contest rules, judges, prizes, and other contest details. SongPro is the parent company of Song of the Year and has the final authority on any and all issues that may arise.
All winners and finalists will be contacted after the results are determined. Song of the Year winners and finalists will be sent additional information which will include a Distribution Agreement (aka 'Release Form). This form must be returned within 7-10 business days after it is distributed to the songwriter. This document will give Song of the Year permission to submit your material to various media outlets, not limited to television, radio, internet sites, and publications for publicity and advertising purposes. Enclosed with the Distribution Agreement will be additional forms that allow Song of the Year to submit your song(s) to record labels, management firms, entertainment attorneys, publishing companies, and other industry professionals. The songwriter is not required to sign the Distribution Agreement. Should the songwriter decide not to have their material distributed to the Song of the Year resources, they will still be eligible for all prizes. Neither Song of the Year nor any of its affiliates will own any part of your song or copyright. The songwriter will continue to be the sole owner of any material submitted into the contest. No songwriter's rights of the material are given up by entering or winning the contest.
Refunds will not be issued by Song of the Year nor any of its affiliates that are involved with processing applicable monies. Song of the Year reserves the right to not accept submissions and payment from individuals and companies at it's own discretion. Any “non-payment” will disqualify the songwriter’s entry in the competition. A disqualification due to “non-payment” may extend even after the contest’s results have been announced. Song of the Year is 'only' responsible for the services provided as a songwriting contest (submissions into the competition). All other services or products purchased at www.songoftheyear.com but offered by third-party or affiliate companies will constitute a customer relationship directly between the purchaser and that organization. That organization will be responsible for providing the services or products purchased.
Song of the Year reserves the right to 'not' accept payments or submissions for any reason. Any "spamming" or inappropriate use of the Song of the Year website or email addresses is forbidden. In the event these actions are maliciously conducted by a contestant in the competition, that contestent will be removed from the competition including any and all previous or future entries, transactions, and postings.
All of the entries submitted into the competition will be reviewed in their entirety. The preliminary judging panel made up of music professionals will review and judge all of the entries. This panel includes individuals from record labels, publishers, songwriters, music promoters, radio program directors, and others who have an understanding of music, songwriting, and the music business as a whole. The preliminary judging panel will score all of the entries and their top 180 selections will then be judged by the elite judges. These elite judges will then review those top 180 selections to determine the winners and finalists from each category.
Rules and regulations and sponsorship prizes are subject to change at Song of the Year's discretion. Song of the Year reserves the right to make any final decision on the judging results should there be any problematic or unforeseen issues that arise. Song of the Year reserves the right to add new (or change judges) throughout the year. Cash and prizes may be subject to local, state, and federal taxes. It is the songwriter's responsibility to make all tax payments relating to cash or prizes. Song of the Year will report all cash prizes distributed. Cash and prizes, contest rules, and entry into the contest are subject to all laws set forth in Australia, The United States, and globally. It is the responsibility of the contestant to investigate and abide under any and all federal, state or local laws. Void where prohibited.