The 30th Anniversary Song Contest Rules

The American Songwriter®

30th Anniversary Song Contest

sponsored by

Tunecore, LR Baggs, Presonus, Blackwing Pencils and Santa Cruz Guitars.

The American Songwriter®Song Contest (“Contest” or “Agreement”) is open for entries from August 1 to midnight on October 31. American Songwriter will judge the lyrics November 1-7, 2014, and the board of judges will judge from November 7-14.  A fan vote to select the grand prize winner will take place November 15-22, 2014. This contest is offered by ForASong Media, LLC (d/b/a American Songwriter)(“American Songwriter” or “We”) in conjunction with its listed sponsors and partners, including Songspace, Inc. We may modify this Agreement and such modification shall be effective upon posting on Americansongwriter.com. You agree to be bound to any changes to this Agreement when you enter this Contest after any such modification. Therefore, you should review this Agreement regularly to ensure you are updated as to any changes.

1. How to Enter.   Each entry must be assigned to one of the five contest genres:  Pop, Country, Hip-Hop/R&B, Rock, and Americana/Roots.  All entries must be submitted as a video performance to Songspace.com in the form of a video link to YouTube, Vimeo or other publicly-accessed website.  All lyrics must be in English and listed in the video’s description. An entry fee of $25 (payable to American Songwriter) is required with each entry.  You agree that the entry fee is necessary to cover the processing and administration of the Contest.  You may submit as many entries as you like for the contest;  however, each entry is limited to submission in one genre.  No physical entries accepted, including entries by US Mail. Payment must be in U.S. funds. You acknowledge that we have the right to charge for the Contest, which will be decided by our panel of judges based on merit.  If we terminate your entry because you have breached the Agreement, you shall not be entitled to the refund of any unused portion of fees.

2.  Winners/Prizes.  One winner will be awarded for each genre and one winner will be chosen as a Grand Prize Winner from the winners in each category.   The writer(s) of the winning song for each genre will receive the following prize package:

• $250 cash
• 1 Pair PRESONUS Eris 4.5 Monitors( Retail Value: $249.95) Notion 5 Notation Software (Retail Price: $149.95)
• 1 L R Baggs Venue D1 Acoustic PreAmp EQ/D1 Tuner Pedal (Retail Price: $399.00)
• 1 Blackwing Pencil Gift Box (Retail Price:  $50.00
• 1 Santa Cruz Guitar Goodie Bag (Retail Price:  $150.00)
• 1 Year of Album Distribution from Tunecore (Value:  $29.99)

In addition, the Grand Prize Winner will receive:

• $1500 ($250 plus $1250 grand prize money)
• 1 Santa Cruz OM Grand Guitar with mahogany neck, Sitka Spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides, ebony fingerboard overlay and bridge (complete specs at www.santacruzguitar.com/instruments/om-grand). (Retail price $4,950.00)
• Tunecore Music Publishing Administration Account (Value: $75.00) plus promotion of winner in TuneCore social media and blog
• Feature performance at the American Songwriter 30th Anniversary Party (in late January or early February, 2015) plus domestic airfare to Nashville, TN and two nights in a luxury hotel.

All winners will be featured in the 30th Anniversary print issue of American Songwriter and on www.americansongwriter.com.

3.  Eligibility.  The Contest is open to any amateur songwriter.  American Songwriter defines an amateur as a songwriter who has not earned more than $5000 from songwriting related royalties, advances, or works for hire. Employees of and independent contractors for American Songwriter, Songspace and their immediate families or employees of sponsors are not eligible.  By submitting, you are agreeing that you are an amateur as described above and that you are not employed by or affiliated with any of the contest sponsors and that you have not received a W-2 or 1099 from ForASong Media, LLC, American Songwriter Magazine LLC or American Songspace LLC or Songspace, Inc. in the past two years.  You represent and warrant that (a) all registration information you submit is truthful and accurate; (b) you will maintain the accuracy of such information; (c) you are 13 years of age or older; and (d) your entry to the Contest does not violate any applicable law or regulation. If you are under 18 years of age, however, you must have permission and clearance to enter the Contest from your parent or legal guardian.  Entry of the Contest is void where prohibited.

4. Judging.  This Contest is a talent and skilled-based business event.  All entries are judged based on the quality of the music, lyrics and the performance in that order.  All entries will be first judged by a team of American Songwriter employees.  The ten best in each genre will then be judged by professional songwriters to determine the winner in each genre.  The grand prize winner will be selected by a fan vote on www.americansongwriter.com.  Judges reserve the right to eliminate any genre winner from fan voting, should they deem a winner in any genre not worthy of the Grand Prize.  The judges for each genre will be announced by August 15, 2014,

The decision of the judges is final. Winners will be notified via email or phone. By entering the contest, the entrant allows American Songwriter to post the entrant’s video and information about the song and songwriter in American Songwriter, on www.americansongwriter.com and www.songspace.com, and on social media accounts managed by American Songwriter and Songspace.

5.  Content.  We do not claim ownership in the materials you submit in conjunction with the Contest. Such materials include written text, files, images, photos, video, songs, lyrics, poetry, sounds, musical works, works of authorship, remarks, suggestions, ideas, graphics, tags, hashtags, genres, splits, ownership splits, identifiable numbers, identifiable codes, songwriter name, personal identifiable information, copyright registration information, affiliated companies or individuals, rights holder, administrator, publisher, or any other materials (collectively, “Content”) that you display, upload, transfer, publish, or post to American Songwriter or Songspace, whether public or private.

By submitting any Content through the Contest, whether public or private, you hereby grant to us a limited, non-exclusive license to use, modify, format, stream, transmit, beam, store, publicly perform, publicly display, adapt, translate, create derivative works, reproduce, and distribute such Content, in any format, whether known or unknown, including the limited right to use your likeness, persona, logo, trademark, and right(s) of publicity for purposes of the Contest.

By entering the Contest, you represent and warrant that your entry is an original work and that the performance entered does not violate the privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, trademarks, contract rights or any other rights of any person or business.  You further agree to indemnify and hold American Songwriter and all contest sponsors, their subsidiaries, and affiliates, and their respective officers, agents, partners and employees, harmless from any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of any breach of your representations and warranties set forth above and/or if any part of the entry causes American Songwriter to be liable to another.

6.  Other Rules & Regulations.  By entering the contest through Songspace.com, you expressly agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy listed on the Songspace.com website, the contractual terms of which are incorporated herein by reference.  To the extent that the terms of this Contest conflict with any other agreement, the terms of this Contest shall take priority.  American Songwriter reserves the right to disqualify any entry that does not meet the rules herein outlined with no obligation to return any entry fee.  We expressly disclaim any warranty and we cannot guarantee and do not promise any specific results. In no event shall we be liable to you or any third party for any indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, statutory, special or punitive damages, including lost profit damages arising from your entry into the Contest.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, our liability to you for any cause whatsoever and regardless of the form of the action, will at all times be limited to the amount paid, if any, by you.

7. Conflict Resolution: The parties shall attempt in good faith to resolve any dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement promptly by negotiation between persons who have authority to settle the controversy. Any party may give the other party written notice of any dispute not resolved in the normal course of business. If not resolved, any dispute, claim or controversy (i.e., contractual, tort, and/or statutory) arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity thereof, including the determination of the scope or applicability of this agreement to arbitrate, shall be determined EXCLUSIVELY by arbitration in Nashville, Tennessee before one arbitrator. The arbitration shall be administered by either AAA or JAMS.  This Agreement and the rights of the parties hereunder shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Tennessee, exclusive of conflict or choice of law rules.