This page contains those songwriting competitions that I've found to be genuine. There are several contests, however, where they just take your money and never even listen to your song. So be cautious, enter only those songwriting competitions that have a good reputation, like the ones below.
If you'd like to enter your lyrics only (i.e. no music), there are a few lyric writing competitions that have a "Lyics Only" category.
Songwriting Contests
Great American Song Contest
Frequency: annual
Started: in 1999
Enter: by mail or online
Price: $30 for the first and the second song and $25 for each additional song (there is a separate fee for each song). The maximum number of entries is 10.
Categories:
▪ Pop/Top 40
▪ Rock/Alternative
▪ Adult Contemporary (AC)
▪ Country/Bluegrass
▪ Folk/Americana
▪ Instrumental
▪ Christian/Inspirational
▪ Hip-Hop/R&B
▪ Special Category Music (Children's, Christmas, Patriotic, Novelty)
▪ Lyrics Only
▪ Rock/Alternative
▪ Adult Contemporary (AC)
▪ Country/Bluegrass
▪ Folk/Americana
▪ Instrumental
▪ Christian/Inspirational
▪ Hip-Hop/R&B
▪ Special Category Music (Children's, Christmas, Patriotic, Novelty)
▪ Lyrics Only
Song review: Everybody who enters will get a professional review of their song in writing. This is the only competition here that offers this service.
Prizes: $1,000 cash grand prize together with a free TAXI, SongU.com membership, gift cards, software programs, CD Baby discount certificate, books and more. Other winners get similar but smaller prizes.
Judges: Professional songwriters and experts, like Pat Pattison, Robin Frederick, Rand Bishop, John Braheny, Pat & Pete Luboff and more.
International participants welcome: yes
Started: in 2001
Enter: by mail or online
Price: $30 for the first song and only $22 for each additional song (but only if you enter before July 15, if not, every song is $30). There is no maximum number of entries.
Categories: any kind of music, you don't even need to specify the genre.
Song review: no
Prizes: $25,000 cash grand prize together with a free TAXI, SongU.com membership, recording equipment and more. Other winners get similar but smaller prizes.
Judges: There are always several famous judges in this competition. There are some new judges every year. Past judges include: Kelly Clarkson, Ozzy Osbourne, Tori Amos, Alejandro Sanz, Adele, Joss Stone, Jerry Lee Lewis, Rihanna, Ricky Martin, Nelly Furtado, Timbaland and many more.
International participants welcome: yes
John Lennon Songwriting Competition
Frequency: semi-annual
Started: in 1997Enter: by mail or online
Price: $30 per song
Categories:
▪ Rock
▪ Pop
▪ Jazz
▪ Country
▪ Latin
▪ Gospel/Inspirational
▪ Hip-Hop
▪ R&B
▪ World
▪ Electronic
▪ Folk
▪ Children's
▪ Instrumental
Song review: no
Prizes: $20,000 cash grand prize, recording equipment and more. Other winners get similar but smaller prizes.
Judges: There are some famous judges in this competition: Fergie (from the Black Eyed Peas), The Veronicas, Natasha Bedingfield, Lamont Dozier and more.
International participants welcome: yes
The U.S.A. Songwriting Contest
Started: in 1995
Enter: by mail or online
Price: $35 per song
Categories:
▪ Latin
▪ Lyrics
▪ R&B
▪ Dance/Electronica
▪ Folk
▪ Country
▪ Rock/Alternative
▪ Pop
▪ Hip-Hop/Rap
▪ World
▪ Instrumental
▪ Jazz
▪ Gospel/Inspirational
▪ Novelty/Comedy
▪ Children
Song review: no
Prizes: $50,000 cash, merchandise and services grand prize. Other winners get similar but smaller prizes.
Judges: Label publishers, producers, A&R people and other industry professionals.
International participants welcome: yes
The UK Songwriting Competition
Started: in 1995
Enter: online
Price: £15 per song
Categories:
▪ Pop
▪ Rock
▪ Adult Contemporary (AC)
▪ Jazz/Blues
▪ Singer/Songwriter
▪ Country
▪ Love Songs
▪ Christian/Faith
▪ R&B/Urban
▪ Lyrics Only
▪ Instrumental
▪ Open Category
▪ Acoustic/Folk
▪ Show Songs
Song review: no
Judges: The judges are industry professionals.
International participants welcome: yes
These are the most serious and quality songwriting contests. Feel free to let me know about your experiences regarding these or other songwriting contests or tell me if you've encountered any other great ones!
Lyric Contests
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