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Judges & Judging ... and $10,000 in Prizes
There's more to the Great American Song Contest than great prizes and prestigious awards — that's only the beginning!Many songwriters enter the Great American Song Contest primarily to get their songs reviewed and evaluated by knowledgeable music-industry professionals.
That's because the Great American Song Contest offers this unique guarantee: ALL PARTICIPATING SONGWRITERS receive written evaluations of their songs from experienced music-industry pros!
The philosophy of the Great American Song Contest is distinctively different from lottery-style competitions that receive 20,000 to 30,000 entries each year.
Unlike highly competitive "big cash prize" contests that reward only a few winners, the Great American Song Contest offers a clear benefit to everyone who enters — all entrants receive a detailed evaluation from the contest judges. (See List of JUDGES below.)
How Songs Are Judged
Judges base their evaluations on the universal hallmarks of songwriting excellence: Creative and emotionally engaging lyrics, effective and memorable melodies, and the overall success of songwriting technique.
Note: Judges will focus on the quality of the song NOT the performance or quality of the recording.
* Lyric Only entries are judged using the same lyrical criteria as described above. In addition, judges will consider how successfully a lyric might be adapted to music. Lyrics Only info
Three Rounds of Judging
Level One — All entries in all categories are judged by helpful and knowledgeable music-industry professionals, each selected for his or her expertise in specific style categories (Pop, Country, Folk, etc...)Level Two — Judges advance 90 songs (top 10 songs in each songwriting category) to Level Two. Five songs are selected from each category to receive Outstanding Achievement In Songwriting awards. The top song in each category wins a First Place Award and advances to compete for the Grand Prize.
Level Three — Grand Prize Winner of the Great American Song Contest is selected from the First Place category winners!
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Here are just a few of this year's scheduled
Great American Song Contest
Judges!
Pat Pattison is a professor at Berklee College of Music and one of the world's leading experts on songwriting. His seminars and "songposiums" are popular throughout the U.S. Several of his students have won Grammys, including John Mayer and Gillian Welch. Pat is author of three best-selling books on songwriting and his songs have been recorded by many artists, including Kathy Mattea, Emmy Lou Harris, Alison Krauss and Trisha Yearwood.
Pete Anderson is a Grammy award-winning producer, record company executive and songwriter. He has worked with artists as diverse as Dwight Yoakam, k.d. Lang, Sheryl Crow, Sara Evans, Lucinda Williams, Michelle Shocked, Roy Orbison, Buck Owens and the Meat Puppets. “Whiskey Town,” the song produced by Anderson, was featured in the Academy award-winning film “Crash.”
Pamela Phillips-Oland — One of the music industry's most successful lyricists, Pamela's songs have been recorded by Reba McEntire, Brian Adams, Whitney Houston, Selena and featured on the HBO series "The Sopranos." She's also author of the great book "You Can Write Great Lyrics."
Dennis R. Sinnott — As a London-based director of EMI Music Publishing, this music-industry legend helped negotiate recording deals for Elton John, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Queen, Bob Dylan, and the Rolling Stones. His new book "Masters Of Songwriting" is essential reading for aspiring songwriters.
Robin Frederick — Former Director of A&R for Rhino Records, Robin is a producer and recording artist who's written over 500 songs for albums and television. She's a past-president of Los Angeles Women In Music and co-founder of the Indie Nation Music Conference.
Michael Anderson — This contemporary Christian songwriter and recording artist was nominated for a Dove Award (for "Emmanuel" with Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith). He also wrote "Maybe It Was Memphis," a #1 hit for Pam Tillis.
Tim Coons — Original producer of the multi-platinum pop group The Backstreet Boys, Tim is president of Atlantic Hill Music and creator of Sony Recording Artist group 3rd Faze, who toured with Britney Spears. He's also worked with NSYNC, Rob Thomas of Match Box 20, Jefferson Starship, Take 5 and artists with CBS, Sony, Universal, Dream Works, Warner Music Group, BMG, RCA and Disney.
Rand Bishop — Rand is a Grammy-nominated, BMI affiliated songwriter with over 200 cuts to his credit — by such artists as Toby Keith, Tim McGraw, David Ball, Heart, Indigo Girls, Cheap Trick, the Beach Boys and Richie Havens. He is also a music publisher, producer and author of Makin' Stuff Up, a fascinating book about his long and successful career as a songwriter.
Brett Perkins — Brett knows the music business. He's led the National Academy of Songwriters and founded the Listening Room International Songwriter Retreats and Copenhagen Songwriters Festival. As an artist, he's toured 33 countries, produced multiple albums, commercial cuts, and music for film & TV. He currently lives in Denmark, where he records and produces music.
John Braheny — John is one of the most recognized and respected names in American's community of professional songwriters. He is author of The Craft and Business of Songwriting and teaches songwriting seminars as a consultant in the music business. He has worked with such talented recording artists as Diane Warren, Warren Zevon, Karla Bonoff and Stevie Nicks.
David Sieff — Formerly with A&M Records and Irving/Almo Music publishing, this veteran producer and publisher has produced and written over 70 themes for film and TV, including Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, which charted in the Top 10 on MTV.
Steve Seskin — An award-winning songwriter and recording artist, Steve has written songs for Tim McGraw, Mark Wills, John Michael Montgomery, Kenny Chesney, Collin Raye, Waylon Jennings, Alabama and Neal McCoy. His titles include "Don't Laugh At Me" (CMA "Song of the Year" finalist) "I Think About You" and "Life's A Dance." Steve also teaches educational courses for songwriting-related organizations, including the Kerrville Folk Festival.
Harriet Schock — Harriet is a gold and platinum songwriter, recording artist, author and songwriting consultant. She is a Grammy-nominated songwriter with songs recorded by Lee Greenwood, Smokey Robinsonand Johnny Mathis. Her film credits include "The Little Mermaid" and "Secret Garden."
Chris Keaton — This publishing executive has worked with songwriters Rodney Crowell, Lyle Lovett & Rosanne Cash. Trisha Yearwood, George Strait, Reba McEntire, Brooks & Dunn, George Jones and Cliff Richard have all cut songs represented by Keaton Music Group.
Pat & Pete Luboff — Legendary songwriters and authors of two superb books on the craft of songwriting: "88 Song Wrongs and How To Right Them" and "12 Steps To Building Better Songs." Songs recorded by Snoop Dogg, Bobby Womack, Patti LaBelle and featured in Hollywood movies.
H.R. Cook — As director of Weaver Of Words Music (an affiliate of Bug Music Publishing) H.R. Cook has worked with Grammy-nominated artists and songwriters, including bluegrass music legend Del McCoury and Cherryholmes, winners in the International Bluegrass Music Awards.
Rob Wright — Radio host, talent scout and HipHopPalace.com co-owner, Rob (aka Mr. Raw) made his mark at Sony Music's A&R Department and is now a manager at Sony's International Distribution.
Steve Cahill — Founder of Songwriters Resource Network, Steve has published interviews with many of America's foremost songwriters, including Randy Newman, Tom Waits, Billy Joel and John Prine. He's also written and produced music features for CBS News.
Carla Starrett — From London to Paris to New York, Ms. Starrett has written and published arts-related features on poetry, songwriting, music, film and literature. She is currently Executive Director of SongLyricist.com, an excellent online resource for lyricists and song poets.
Kevin Wicker — Nashville producer Kevin Wicker has worked with many great recording artists, including Shelby Lynne, Gary S. Paxton and Billy Ray Cyrus. Kevin operates his recording studio on Music Row and enjoys working with songwriters to record demos and secure publishing.
Tim O'Neill — Tim & Ryan O'Neill are nationally known recording artists who have independently sold over 700,000 CDs on their Shamrock-n-Roll label. Their music has been featured on NBC, ESPN and HBO's popular "Sex & the City."
Vincent Tognetti — Award-winning ASCAP songwriter and recording artist, Vincent has produced a wide variety of great music for radio, television and for corporate music libraries. He has also recorded and produced his own very impressive indie CD, "Rise Above It".
Bronson Herrmuth is a music publisher, producer and songwriter. He is president of Iowa HomeGrown Music, author of the book "100 Miles To A Record Deal" and a former RCA Records recording artist who has performed his music in 18 countries.
Brian Konzelman — His industry experience spans decades of writing, recording, and producing music that's touched the lives of millions. He's worked with Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Wayne Newton and Grammy-winner George Beverly Shea, and owns Back At the Ranch Recording, central Texas' oldest and largest recording studio.
Jon Ims — BMI Song-of-the-Year songwriter for "She's In Love With the Boy," a #1 hit for Trisha Yearwood. As a staff writer for Little Big Town Publishing, Jon also wrote "Falling In Love," a hit for Reba McIntyre, and songs for the Dixie Chicks and Confederate Railroad.
John Pisciotta — As a publisher and producer, John has worked with some of the music-industry's top recording artists, including Vince Gill, Steven Curtis Chapman, Pink, Peter Cetera and Amy Grant. His company Paradiso Music Productions has published songs for MTV, Dawsons Creek, Warner Brothers, ESPN, Sony Tree, Virgin and EMI.
Herb McCullough — Publisher, songwriter and recording artist, Herb has written dozens of great songs for such artists as Mark Chesnutt, Hal Ketchum, John Anderson, Diamond Rio, Wade Hayes, Marie Osmond and Cyndi Lauper.
MilkDaddy — A leader in the worldwide Hip Hop movement, MilkDaddy is a producer, songwriter and music journalist. His articles on HipHop and Rap music are syndicated extensively in the US and Africa. He is also founder of AfricasGateway.com
Mark Northam — Accomplished film composer who has scored projects for HBO and FOX, along with various films. In addition to his work as a film and television composer, Northam founded the Film Music Network in Los Angeles and publishes Film Music magazine.
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For more on the Great American Song Contest, please visit:
Contest FAQ and Why This Contest Is BestSee RULES & ENTRY above for details
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