2006 International Songwriting Competition Deadline Quickly Approaching

Nashville (TN), USA – The deadline for the International Songwriting Competition (ISC) is quickly approaching. Entries must be postmarked on or before October 16, 2006.

Entrants may submit their songs into any of the 18 categories: Pop/Top 40, AAA (Adult Album Alternative), Rock, Country, Americana, R&B/Hip-Hop, Blues, Folk/Singer-Songwriter, Jazz, Gospel/Christian, Latin Music, Instrumental, Dance/Electronica, World Music, Children’s Music, Lyrics Only, Teen (18 and younger), and Performance.

One of the largest and most prestigious songwriting competitions in the world, ISC gives away over $150,000 in cash and prizes to 56 winners. The Overall Grand Prize includes $25,000 (US) in cash – the largest cash Grand Prize of any songwriting competition in the world – and $20,000 in prizes.

If that’s not enough, ISC also gives away a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music’s Five-Week Summer Performance Program to the First Place winner of the Teen category. ISC is open to both amateur and professional songwriters of every level, and all musicians, artists, and songwriters are invited to submit their original songs.

ISC provides the perfect opportunity for artists, bands, and songwriters looking to gain recognition and have their songs heard by some of the most influential members of the music industry, including the top executives of 14 record labels and legendary artists such as Tom Waits, Brian Wilson (Beach Boys), Robert Smith (the Cure), Jerry Lee Lewis, and Rosanne Cash, just to name a few.

“We’ve always been impressed with the talented songwriters who participate in the ISC. This is a great A&R source to find new artists.” – Monte Lipman (President, Universal Records).

Pitchfork, one of the music industry’s leading tastemakers, adds, “If ambushing your favorite bands with UPS’d cassettes and CD-Rs tossed on stage hasn’t gotten your band noticed yet, the 2006 International Songwriting Competition should be right up your alley…Hell, the ISC is parked in your alley giving away free ice cream…Sheesh, talk about the chance of a lifetime.”

In addition to the cash and prizes, ISC winners also benefit greatly from the industry exposure and media attention of winning a competition as prestigious as ISC. Over 450 publishing companies, record labels, and film and TV companies requested a copy of the recently released ISC 2005 Compilation CD (which included songs by the Grand Prize and First Place winners).

Many ISC entrants’ careers have flourished since winning ISC: Patrice Pike (from CBS TV’s Rock Star: Supernova); Tara Slone (from CBS TV’s Rock Star: INXS); Carbon Leaf (signed to Vanguard Records); Amanda Palmer of Dresden Dolls (signed to Roadrunner Records); Tomi Swick (signed to Warner Music Canada); Andrew Bird (signed to Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records); Deb Talen and Steve Tannan of The Weepies (signed to Netwerk Records); Chris Sernel of Escape From Earth (Winner of the MTV/COKE “Make It Real” Contest); Michael Flynn (signed to J Records); Troy Verges, Blair Daily and Gordie Sampson (their song “Paris” is featured on Faith Hill’s latest album); Dave Berg (he co-wrote recent hit singles by Reba McEntire and Rodney Atkins); and more.

The complete list of ISC 2006 judges includes:

Recording Artists:
Brian Wilson; Tom Waits; Rosanne Cash; Sean Paul; Mark Chesnutt; Jerry Lee Lewis; Frank Black (Pixies); Robert Smith (The Cure); Cassandra Wilson; Isaac Brock (Modest Mouse); Medeski Martin & Wood; Craig Morgan; John Mayall; John Scofield; Amy Ray (Indigo Girls); Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC); MercyMe; Macy Gray; Charlie Musselwhite; Peter Hook (New Order); Blue Man Group; Tiësto; and Jeff Stinco (Simple Plan)

Music Industry Executives:
Charlie Walk (President, Epic Records); Monte Lipman (President, Universal Records); Mona Scott-Young (President, Violator Records); Cameron Strang (President, New West Records); Steve Lillywhite (Sr. VP A&R, Columbia Records and Producer – credits include U2, The Rolling Stones, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Peter Gabriel, and more); Alexandra Patsavas (Owner, The Chop Shop Music Supervision – credits include The OC, Grey’s Anatomy, Without A Trace, Carnivale, Rescue Me); Barbara Sedun (VP Creative, EMI Music Publishing Canada); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); Cory Robbins (Founder/President, Robbins Entertainment); Betty Pino (DJ, WAMR Miami, pioneer of Latin radio); Angel Carrasco (President, 605 Discos and Sr. VP A&R, Sony BMG Latin America); Thomas Brooman (Co-Founder/Artistic Director, WOMAD); Dan Storper (President, Putumayo World Music); Danny Epstein (Music Supervisor, Sesame Street/Sesame Workshop); Tara Griggs-Magee (Executive VP Gospel/Urban Music, Sony Records); Emily Wittmann (VP, Nick Records); Leib Ostrow (CEO, Music For Little People); Larry Willoughby (VP A&R, Capitol Records Nashville) and Manolo Gonzalez (Sr VP Regional Mexican A&R and National Promotion, Univision Records)

ISC 2006 sponsors include: ASCAP, Epiphone, Berklee College Of Music, Fishman, Sam Ash, Cakewalk, Shure, D’Addario, Hear Technologies, Disc Makers, Sonicbids, Musician’s Atlas, Sibelius, Karian Studios, Planetary Group, OnlineGigs, The Music Business Registry, Mediaguide, ArtistMonitor, Platinum Blue Music Intelligence, Alphabet Arm Design, George Stein, Esq., SongU, Sleepless Media, and Taxi

For an entry form or to enter online, go to http://www.songwritingcompetition.com or call +1 615 251-4441 for more information.