Music Row Publishers are thrilled with the caliber of songs submitted to the annual CMT/NSAI Song Contest and are looking forward to pitching the winners of the 2006 contest! Six major Music Row Publishers - Universal Music Publishing, CAL IV Entertainment, Curb Music Publishing, Famous Music Publishing, Hearts Bluff Music Publishing and Warner/Chappell Music Publishing – wi! ll offer single-song contracts to the Top 6 Winners in the 7th Annual CMT/NSAI Song Contest.
"We have found the quality of songs submitted by winners of the CMT/NSAI Song Contest to be competitive with the songs being pitched by major publishers," said Drew Alexander, Director of Publishing at Curb Music, when asked about Curb’s continued support of the annual song contest.
Past CMT/NSAI Song Contest winners have gone on to achieve greater professional success than simply winning a song contest.
2002 Grand Prize Winner Tracy Naples signed a label development deal with Dreamworks shortly after her win.
2003 Grand Prize Winner Jesse Terry signed a staff publishing deal with one of Music Row’s most prominent new publishing companies. Mashville Music is owned and operated by Mark Alan Springer, songwriter of hit singles “Two Sparrows in a Hurricane” (Tanya Tucker) and "That’s Why I’m Here," "All I Need to Know" and "Grandpa Told Me So" (all recorded by Kenny Chesney).
2005 Grand Prize Winner Zane Williams went on to win the 2005 Maxwell Song of the Year in the John Lennon Song Contest. Zane is currently negotiating his first major Music Row publishing deal!
In fact, the prize packages in the 7th Annual CMT/NSAI Song Contest are specifically crafted to help amateur songwriters on their road to becoming a professional songwriter. Just a few of the exciting prizes up for grabs this year include. . .
- An exclusive mentoring session with award-winning songwriter and artist John Rich of Big & Rich;
- A Single-Song Contract from a MAJOR Music Row Publisher;
- A $500 gift certificate to Sam Ash Music;
- A Three-Day Trip to Nashville
- A "Star Treatment Prize Package" including a special guest performance at the world-famous Bluebird Café, a limo ride to and from the show by Celebrity Limousines, a cut, color and style from Music Row’s Premier Salon Gordon & Co., an Artist Promo Package from Krista Lee Photography, A Kiehl’s gift box and Personal Consultation, and dinner-for-two at Sunset Grill;
- A demo of YOUR song by professional producers and musician at Parlor Studio on Music Row;
- A private tour of the CMT studios;
- Tickets to the 2007 CMT Music Awards;
- Prizes from Gibson, SHURE, Masterwriter, Elixir, CMT and more.
"These prizes are specifically designed to take six amateur songwriters’ careers to a whole new level," says Deanie Williams, Song Contest Director.
"We just can't say enough about all the great work NSAI does, whether it be helping young songwriters hone their craft or working on legislative issues that affect both writers and publishers," echoes Pat Higdon, Senior VP/ GM at Universal Music Publishing.
"By offering the top six winning songs single-song contracts with a major publisher we create an opportunity for the aspiring songwriter to build relationships with top-notch songwriters, publishers and music industry executives that would normally take years to establish," says Bart Herbison, executive director of NSAI.
The popular CMT Listeners’ Choice Award is also back for a second year. Beginning March 1, 2007, the Top 15 Finalists in the 7th Annual CMT/NSAI Song Contest will be posted at www.nsai.cmt.com. Music fans can go to the site through April 23, 2007, listen to the Finalists’ demos and vote for their favorite song. The song with the most audience votes will be the CMT Listeners’ Choice Award Winner. In its first year, the contest received over 106,000 votes.
Prizes are awarded to One (1) Grand Prize Winner, One (1) CMT Listeners’ Choice Winner, Four (4) Finalists, Ten (10) Runners-Up and Forty (40) Honorable Mentions.
The entry fee is $45 for one song and $60 for two songs. Current NSAI Members receive $5 off the cost of entry! Songwriters may enter as many songs as they like! All songs entered receive a judging report. Music industry executives, professional songwriters, and NSAI Board members judge songs based on lyrics, melody and composition. Performance and production will not be evaluated.
Every entrant will be automatically registered to receive an exclusive celebrity prize pack from Backstage Creations, The Premier Celebrity Product Placement Company. The prize pack contains items from Coby Electronics, Sonic Impact Technologies, Fendi Sunglasses, Tres Vivant, Latino Royalty, Avlon Haircare and more!
All entries must be postmarked by the FINAL CONTEST DEADLINE: Nov. 30, 2006. Although the contest is sponsored by CMT, ALL GENRES OF MUSIC ARE ACCEPTED.
The 7th Annual CMT/NSAI Song Contest is presented by CMT and sponsored by the following organizations: Americana Rhythm magazine, Gibson Guitar, DiscMakers, BMI, ASCAP, SESAC, Elixir Strings, Masterwriter, Nashville Scene, American Songwriter, Music Connection Magazine, Bluebird Café, Sam Ash Music, Graffiti Indoor Advertising, Sonicbids, SHURE Microphones, Songramp.com, SongU.com, 95.5 The Wolf, Lightning 100, Americana Music Association, FRETS magazine and the 12th Annual Inspirational Country Week with support from Sunset Grill, Kiehl’s, Parlor Studio, Krista Lee Photography, Backstage Creations, Celebrity Limousines, Gordon & Co., John Rich, Raybaw Records, Universal Music, Cal IV Entertainment, Curb Music, Hearts Bluff Music, Warner/Chappell Music and Famous Music Publishing.
All proceeds from the 7th Annual CMT/NSAI Song Contest will benefit NSAI's legislative efforts to protect the rights of songwriters. NSAI is the world's largest not-for-profit songwriters trade organization.
For more information on the Nashville Songwriters Association International and info on the 7th Annual CMT/NSAI Song Contest, visit www.nashvillesongwriters.com. Visit www.nsai.cmt.com or call 1-800-321-6008 for complete 7th Annual CMT/NSAI Song Contest rules and prizes and an entry form.
To submit online, visit www.sonicbids.com/cmtnsaisongcontest.
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