My first record producer once said of songwriting competitions – “The only competition I’m interested in is – can it get played on the radio.” His wise words came back to me in a week when I was reminded twice of my peripatetic career as a songwriter. One reminder was a quarterly royalty payment from APRA, derived from having five songs played on the radio in the quarter under review. The money rarely gets above three figures, but it is easy to see how the multiplier effect kicks in if you have a song that is being played on a lot of radio stations all over the world. I usually spend mine on music! Last time I bought a set of harmonicas.
Also, I received an email from the International Songwriting Competition (ISC) which informed me (a) that I was not among the 2018 semi-finalists and (b) 18,999 other songwriters had taken up the challenge. The ISC judges’ panel, which includes luminaries like Tom Waits, Kayne Brown, Adam Lambert and Jeremih, whittled this down to 1,900 semi-finalists in 23 categories.
Last week I received a second email, the names of the finalists – it’s still a packed field. The ISC Grand Prize is worth winning – a cheque for $US25, 000 and a host of sponsor-driven extras including a six-song recording package at Nashville’s The Tracking Room (plus a fully mastered album) an Art & Lutherie Roadhouse Acoustic Guitar, recording gear and free online marketing campaigns.
The competition is high-level, as the ISC is open to songwriters already signed to labels and many entrants have, ahem, a track record. This year’s finalists, for example, include (from Australia), Missy Higgins, Sahara Beck, Pete Denahy, Fiona Boyes and Georgi Kay.
ISC spokesman Jim Morgan told me that Australians have always done well in this competition, since Kate Miller-Heidke became the first Australian winner back in 2008 with Caught in the Crowd. Other Aussies who have taken the main prize include Kasey Chambers and Vance Joy with Gotye winning the Folk category.
“Out of nearly 19,000 entries for ISC 2018, 199 Australian songwriters made it through to the Semi-finals and 30 from New Zealand.”
Kate Miller-Heidke’s husband and musician partner Keir Nuttall said of their 2008 win: “I think the great stuff we got out of it was that it gave us a bit of credibility overseas and it looks great on the bio.
Keir reflected on his days entering songwriting competitions as an emerging songwriter/guitarist.
“It reminds me of when my band didn’t make it into one of the early incarnations of Triple J unearthed. In Queensland alone there were literally thousands of bands.”
Established in 1995, Triple J Unearthed has exposed 99,000 music tracks from previously unheard of bands. Each year the ABC FM station plays its Top 100 unearthed artists. If your band makes it into Unearthed, you automatically get played on national radio – then your fans take over.
One of the early winners was a band called The Rubens (also named in this year’s ISC finals). Other artists who got their start on Unearthed include Flume, The Jezabels, Northeast Party House, Tired Lion and Courtney Barnett.
fRETfEST founder Alan Buchan, who recorded my first album Little Deeds in 1998, has since been persuaded of the merit in songwriting competitions. Tamworth-based Buchan started the Regional Songwriting Competition, now in its fifth year, which gives writers in rural areas a chance to display their craft.
Nambour-based songwriter Karen Law won this year’s Illawarra Folk Festival songwriting competition with 9am on Polling Day and has received honourable mentions in the Australian Songwriters’ Association (ASA) contests over the years.
“My first songwriting competition got me into being a perform iner. In the UK while I was at Uni, I won a folk songwriting competition run by BBC Radio Shropshire Folk Show. Part of the prize was appearing in a live broadcast concert – I was terrified but I did it and it set me on the road to becoming a performer”. Continue reading “Songwriting Competitions And Radio Play”