Best Song Contest?

[Pat Spriggs]

I am quite sure that this topic has been discussed many times here on the forum, but I would like to know if any has heard of the site "We Are Listening"? and have actually entered their contest.

 

Does anyone here enter contests regularly? If so, which are the best? Rather, the most trusted...

 

Thank you all! I love this place and YOU

[justsoulin]

No idea Pat - would be interested to know Not saying this is one, but a lot have a 'catch' !!

[Pat Spriggs]

Yup!!

 

I kinda knew the confirmation I was going to hear. Really, at this point in my "career", I'm thinking that by-passing the contest thing is the way to go. I am going to spend the next few months researching songwriting communities and networking. Getting to know people is the best advice I have been given about getting my stuff heard by "the right people" 

[DonnaMarilyn]

Pat, yes, I discovered the site a couple of months ago, and was impressed by the long list of well-qualified panelists, which includes Pat Pattison and Sara Light, both of whom I trust implicitly. I've had dealings with both (Pat via his songwriting course, and Sara over the past few years via SongU's excellent classes and workshops). Sara is herself a top-notch teacher, and very attentive and exacting.

 

For the heck of it, I submitted a few pieces to the Lyricwriting section. The cost per lyric is low (and even lower when I convert dollars to euros), so the overall cost was about equal to an evening out to see a movie and have dinner in a nice restaurant. I can live with that.  Mainly I'll be interested to see how my lyrics will fare in comparision with the eventual winning lyrics.

 

Donna

Edited April 13, 2014 by DonnaMarilyn

[Pat Spriggs]

Thanks, Donna! That is really helpful. I appreciate you. I am leaning towards sending them a song or two soon. Heck, I'm gonna send a song or two to your Uncle Charlie if he will listen hahaha...that's how much work I'm gonna put in this year. I'm just gonna take risks!

[justsoulin]

That's really good to know those things Donna - thx

[DonnaMarilyn]

You're more than welcome, Pat and justsoulin.  

 

While it's true there are a few contests that should be avoided, I see no harm in taking a chance with an occasional one that has low fees and reputable panelists. Another one is SongDoor. The entry fee is only $10 (for me, the equivalent of $7.20), and just submitting makes you eligible for a couple of nice 'bonuses'. The bottom line is that you get to see what kinds of lyrics/songs are being selected by the pros. This can be useful.

 

Donna

[DonnaMarilyn]

Tom, I'm absolutely with you regarding clarity.

 

As indicated above, I submitted lyrics to the Lyricwriting section of WeAreListening.

http://www.wearelistening.org

 

To SongDoor, I submitted songs. They also have a section for Instrumentals.

http://www.songdoor.com

 

At both places, the fee  (WAL@ $20; SD@ $10) is the same whether for songs or lyrics (or instrumentals). 

Also, both sites emphasise that production is not a focus.

 

Note: At SongDoor, production is only taken into account for instrumentals. This is because during the process of assessing the submissions, the judging panel screens the pieces for possible submission to current film/tvopportunities, and the production must be top-notch.

 

Donna

Edited April 17, 2014 by DonnaMarilyn