money flows to the creator
- November 3rd, 2015
- Posted in Uncategorized
- Write comment
I’ve had a couple of people trying to get me to enter music/songwriting contests that have entry fees. Maybe it’s just my fiction and nonfiction writing background that’s saying “these are always bullshit” – and that’s because in writing, they are always bullshit – but that’s the reaction I’m having.
Still, this is music, where everything is worse for the creator than in writing. And so what do I know, anyway?
The two contests that people are trying to get me to enter are The Akademia Music Awards and International Songwriting Competition 2015. The Akademia people want $10 for a song entry or $20 for an album entry, and the ISC people want like $35. I’d never heard of either of these before people started trying to get me to enter both of them.
Like I said, in writing? Entry fees stink of scam and bullshit. But it’s music and songwriting, so I don’t even know. I have a number of musician followers – anybody out there have a more informed opinion?
Looking for the Grammy Awards Long List nominee post? Thank you for listening, and for your consideration.
2 comments on ello.
Josh: That’s definitely the vibe I was getting from Akademia, even though I didn’t check the wayback history. (Note to self: file that for later legitimacy checks.) ISC looked more real at first glance, but even that… yeah.
I mean, I’ve been leaning against the whole time – see the original post – but I want to make sure I’m not missing something, you know?
I suspect that for a particular set of musicians/composers, there is value in winning a competition like this. (Aside from the prize packages, which turn out to be pretty decent, but nothing you couldn’t also win in one of Sweetwater’s or CDBaby’s regular giveaways, without having to submit a song or entry fee.) Much like there is in shows such as “The Voice” and “America’s Got Talent” — if that particular machine is one you’ve been trying to get caught in the gears of, shows and contests like that might be a way in. It’s no weirder than bribing a personal assistant to get your demo in front of a label rep, I guess. Seems less likely to produce results, though.
I’d wonder what connection with music the contest had. I know a number of music festivals have songwriting contests, especially (but not entirely) ones in the folk vein. for a good example check out the Tumbleweed Music Festival. it’s over in the tri-cities. first prize is $300 and there’s no entry fee.