how to enter | cost to enter | important dates | regions | rules & guidelines

Mountain Stage NewSong Contest Regional Round Finalists will be announced on Friday, August 1. General Round Deadline is Monday, September 1.

Congratulations to Maureen Andary and Robby Hecht for being selected as this year's Early Bird finalists. As finalists, they are the first of two of the twelve finalists selected to perform in the international contest finals, which will be held on Saturday, October 11 at the Cultural Center in Charleston, WV. The Mountain Stage NewSong Contest, presented by Folk Alliance, is one of the premier showcases of emerging musical talent in North America. The deadline for entering the general round is September 1. To learn more about this year's contest, and to submit, click here. To learn more about Maureen, click here. To learn more about Robby, click here.

Maureen Andary; Washington, DC Robby Hecht; Nashville, TN

---

 

2007 Mountain Stage NewSong Contest winner Rose Cousins performing on an internationally broadcast Mountain Stage Show. Rose was selected among the five co-winners to perform on the show.

Now in its seventh year, The Mountain Stage NewSong Contest presented by Folk Alliance is one of North America’s premier showcases of performing songwriters across ALL genres of music. We're interested in finding, promoting and working with the most talented songwriters who perform their own songs, regardless of style.

 

ABOUT MOUNTAIN STAGE

NewSong’s partner MOUNTAIN STAGE® is public television and radio’s venerable live performance music program, produced both on the road and at home and heard worldwide on more than 125 radio stations, XM Satellite Radio and the “Voice of America.” Now in its 25th year, the show has a long and storied tradition of featuring national and international acts in all styles of music and of launching emerging acts to stardom.

Mountain Stage presents acts ranging from traditional roots, blues and country, to avant-garde rock, world beat, jazz and more. The show's guest list is the most stylistically varied of any national radio or television performance program. It has showcased over two thousand artists since 1983. The short list of those who have made their national debut on the show include the Barenaked Ladies, Ryan Adams, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones and Alison Krauss.

FINALIST SELECTION

A total of 12 finalists will be selected to perform in the international contest finals, held this year on Saturday, October 11 in Charleston, West Viriginia's Cultural Center theater – the home venue of the internationally broadcast Mountain Stage radio and television show. All finalists will attend the Mountain Stage show on Sunday, October 12 in Charleston, where one of the contest's five co-winners will be a featured performer of the show.

The twelve finalists this year will be selected as follows:

• One from each of this year's six (6) regional rounds (see table below for info and eligibility)
• Six from the general round – open to anyone, anywhere on the planet. Two of these six spots are reserved for Early Bird finalists (Robby Hecht and Maureen Andary)

EARLY BIRD FINALISTS

Two of this year's six general round finalists will be selected from entries submitted before midnight on June 23 – the date of the Early Bird Deadline.

 

HOW TO ENTER

There are two ways to submit to the contest - both the general and the regional rounds:

• ONLINE - submit quickly and easily through sonicbids. Click here to enter online.
• MAIL-IN - mail your submissions. Click here for details.

Entrants can specify which round - the general and/or regional rounds - they'd like to enter during the online submission process or on the mail-in form.

COST TO ENTER

ONLINE	MAIL-IN
1st 2 songs: $30/entry Songs 3 & 4: $20/entry* Click here to enter online. *There is no limit to the number of online submissions, but you can only submit 4 songs per batch, with the above pricing.	$30/entry Click here for mail-in instructions & form

 

DISCOUNTS FOR MEMBERS OF NEWSONG PARTNERS

Members or referrals from NewSong partners receive $5 off the first and second entries. Discount codes are provided to eligible members/affiliates by the following partners.

Folk Alliance NSAI Washington Area Music Association (WAMA) Songwriter's Association of Washington (SAW) Baltimore Songwriters Association (BSA)

ASCAP BMI SESAC SOCAN Austin Songwriters Group NJ Songwriters in the Round Songwriter's Hall of Fame

# OF SUBMISSIONS

There is no limit to the number of submissions you can submit. However, you can submit no more than four songs at a time.

YOUTH CATEGORY

We're happy to announce that in our efforts to help develop and promote younger artists, we're introducing a new 'Youth' Category to artists 21 or younger. Regional live round finals of this new 'Youth' category are scheduled to take place as matinee shows on the day of each evening regional live round, followed by a workshop on songwriting, performance and the music business. To submit to the Youth Category, proceed to submit to either a regional or general round – you will have the opportunity to select the youth category on a follow-up page of the submission process.

PRIZES

There are cash prizes, and one of the five co-winners will be chosen to perform live on an internationally broadcast "Mountain Stage" Show, which has showcased over two thousand artists since 1983. The short list of those who have made their national debut on the show include the Barenaked Ladies, Ryan Adams, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones, Alison Krauss and NewSong Recordings artist and former contest standout Diana Jones.

Co-winners and other standouts will be invited to participate in future NewSong productions in various locations throughout the country, and will be candidates for film and television placement opportunities, as well as for future releases on the NewSong Recordings label. Non-winning contestants will also be considered for future Mountain Stage appearances.

All 5 co-winners for the general round as well as the "Best Song" category winner will receive a $300 cash prize. Additionally, The five 2008 Co-Winners will be featured in a 'Feature Showcase' at the 2009 Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis, TN.

Additional contest prizes include:

• From Oasis Disc Manufacturing:

Founded by musician Micah Solomon, Oasis offers CD and DVD manufacturing for musicians. Absolutely free with your CD purchase: radio promotion on our OasisSampler CD targeted to the genre of your choice, Brick & Mortar distribution, download and online sales, free web hosting, and much more. (888)296-2747 • info@oasisCD.com

• $25 discounts for EACH entrant, good for replication services
• $100 coupons to EACH regional finalist in all six regional rounds
• $250 coupons to all international finalists
• $500 coupons to all 5 co-winners

 

• From Musician's Atlas:

The new Musician's AtlasOnline is the networking database and music biz management tool that adds real muscle to your career.

The AtlasOnline is packed with thousands of vital industry contacts plus interactive tools that musicians and other industry pros rely on to market and sell their music more successfully.

As a NewSong Contest entrant, you'll receive:

• ALL 2008 NewSong Contest entrants will be entitled to subscribe to the AtlasOnline for just $9.95. This is a $30 savings. (Typically, the cost to subscribe is $39.95 for the first month, and then $9.95 for each additional month you choose to maintain their account. You can unsubscribe at any time.)
• Each of the 5 co-winners will receive an annual, all access subscription to the AtlasOnline interactive system.

2008 REGIONAL ROUNDS, ELIGIBILITY AND DATES

• Six (6) regional finalists will be identified for each of the following live round competitions listed below. The winner of each round will advance to the international finals, held on October 11 at the Cultural Center in Charleston, WV – the home theater of the internationally broadcast Mountain Stage show.
• Regional eligibility is determined artist's residency. To see if you are eligible for the regional Mountain Stage NewSong Contest rounds, please see the table immediately below.
• Regional entrants may also submit to the general round of the contest.

REGION	ELIGIBLE STATES/TERRITORIES*	VENUE & LOCATION	DATE
CANADA	ALL TERRITORIES & PROVINCES	Ottawa Folk Festival	Saturday, August 16
NORTHEAST	Connecticut, DC, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont	Joe's Pub; New York, NY	Sunday, August 17
SOUTHEAST	Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia	Eddie's Attic; Decatur, GA	Sunday, August 24
MIDWEST	Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin	The Ark; Ann Arbor, MI	Monday, August 11
SOUTHWEST	Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah	Cactus Café; Austin, TX	Thursday, August 28
WEST	Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming	The Mint; Los Angeles, CA	Tuesday, September 2

* Your principal residence must be in one of the listed states in order to be eligible to submit to the associated regional round.
** All regional rounds are scheduled to take place in late August and Early September, 2008.

IMPORTANT DATES

IMPORTANT DATES
JUNE 4	CONTEST OPENS FOR ENTRIES (All Regional & General Rounds)
JUNE 23	EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTED DEADLINE*
JULY 1	EARLY BIRD GENERAL ROUND FINALISTS ANNOUNCED (2)
JULY 21	REGIONAL ROUND DEADLINE
AUGUST 1	REGIONAL ROUND FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
SEPTEMBER 1	GENERAL ROUND DEADLINE
SEPTEMBER 12	GENERAL ROUND FINALISTS ANNOUNCED (4)
SAT, OCTOBER 11	INTERNATIONAL MOUNTAIN STAGE NEWSONG CONTEST FINALS (CULTURAL CENTER THEATER; CHARLESTON, WV)
SUN, OCTOBER 12	ONE OF FIVE CO-WINNERS FEATURED ON AN INTERNATIONALLY BROADCAST MOUNTAIN STAGE SHOW (RECORDED LIVE IN CHARLESTON, WV)

* All deadlines are at 11:59 PM on date listed above.

Contestants should designate the style of song they consider their entry to fit when entering tunes. The categories are: Rock & Blues, Americana, Folk, World, Christian, Country, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Pop/Alternative, Children's, Humor and Other/Open.

Please stay up-to-date with all things NewSong by subscribing to the NewSong newsletter on the website (where you can also read up on contest rules). E-mail any further questions to contest@newsong-music.com.

THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO ENTER THE CONTEST: ONLINE - submit quickly and easily through sonicbids. Click here to enter online. MAIL-IN - mail your submissions. Click here for details.