Rules and Regulations

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Acoustic Nights Montreal
Teen Songwriting Competition 2011
Sat Jun 25, 2011, 2-4pm

ANMTSC: Acoustic Nights Montreal Teen Songwriting Competition and all of its affiliates

General

• Participant must be within the ages of 13 to 17 on the competition date, Sat Jun 25th, 2011. If his/her 18th legal birthday falls on that day, he/she may still participate. If the participant is under 18, he/she must have a parent or guardian check the appropriate box on the application form.
• NO personal information except the participant's first and last name and age will be disclosed to the pre-selection jury, not even the participant's picture, in order to ensure the fairest assessment for the Top 10. The pre-selection jury will watch the submitted YouTube video from beginning to end along with having access to all the musical information provided by the participant, in order to make their assessment. The pre-selection jury will not be the same people as the workshop instructors, nor the competition judges, in order to ensure the fairest treatment.
• The picture uploaded of the participant should be 300 dpi resolution ( MAX 150KB jpeg format ONLY), and preferably in colour, not black and white. Official school photos are accepted, as well as informal pictures, but the only face visible must be the participant's. If there are other faces in the photo, please have it cropped to the appropriate size to the see the participant's face clearly. The face must be facing forward with the eyes visible, similar to a passport photo. Smiles are encouraged!
• The participant, or their parent/guardian if the participant is under 18, must sign a release form the date of the workshop, and/or the competition, and/or the gala event, stating that any photos, videos or other recordings of the participant may be used for future promotional materials by ANMTSC. This form will also state that ANMTSC is not responsible for any lost, stolen, or damaged items belonging to people entering the premises, or any sickness or damage to any person, physical or other, caused on the premises or by any member or volunteer of the ANMTSC staff.
• At the workshop, and/or the competition, and/or the gala event, anyone stepping on the premises may be asked to provide valid ID confirming their name and age.
• Participants can only send in one application form. Multiple applications or duplicates will be ignored. For all properly sent applications applicants will receive a response email confirming that the application has been received. If you do not receive this within 24h, please contact ANMTSC.
• Only fully completed applications will be considered. ANMTSC is not responsible for faulty entries or corrupted files while uploading. ANMTSC may contact the participant by email or phone if any part of the application is not clear or missing. If the participant does not respond in due time before the pre-selection jury reviews the applications, that participant may be disqualified.
• All participants and any other persons that enter the premises must conduct themselves in an orderly and respectable fashion, compliant with the laws of the current city, province and country.
• The application deadline is Fri Jun 10th, 2011, at 11:59pm. After this, a pre-selection jury will decide on the Top 10 based on the participants' YouTube entries. The Top 10 will be notified by email by Jun 12th, 2011. If the participant is chosen to be in the Top 10, but he/she does not reply to the acceptance email within 3 calendar days, ANMTSC reserves the right to call the participant by phone, or to take the next participant in line to replace that one.
• The Top 10 will have their picture, biography, name and age published on the ANMTSC website, for promotion and also for viewers to vote on the People's Choice Award. From Jun 13th, 2011, to Jun 24th, 2011, voting will be open to the public on the ANMTSC website. The participant with the most votes wins the People's Choice Award, which will be announced at the competition.

Submission

Deadline: June 10th , 2011, 11:59pm

• The participant must submit one original song to the competition. The participant must provide a YouTube link to a video in which he/she performs the song live. The entire video must not exceed 6 minutes in length. There may be more than one performer in this video, but the participant must be clearly visible and audible.
• The quality of the YouTube video will not be considered in the selection of the Top 10. The video is only a small tool in helping the pre-selection jury decide on the ability of the applicant's songwriting and performance skills. Videos filmed in the participant's home are acceptable, as well as videos filmed at a performance. The audio portion of the video must clearly be from the video performance. No over-dubbing is allowed. The audio must NOT be recorded separately from the video. The video may have an intro and/or an outro of dead space, but the song must be the focus of it.
• The song submitted must have lyrics, and must be sung/spoken by the participant. The lyrics to the song must be attached to the application form in a Word .doc, .pdf or.txt document. The song must be written in English or French only, in order for the judges to understand them. The song may have multiple co-writers, but please designate one name only on the application.
• The song may be in any musical genre, but it must be playable with just one singer and one accompanying instrument.
• The pre-selection jury will write a short critique of each applicant's submitted song, which will be emailed to the participants within one week after the Sat Jun 25th, 2011 competition.

Payment

• Paypal payment: The participant may pay the application fee him/her self if they own a Paypal account or have a credit card that can be used for a Paypal payment. The participant's parent or guardian may also pay the application fee, if preferred.
• The application fee is non-refundable. ANMTSC is not responsible for late, lost, damaged, misdirected, postage due, stolen, or misappropriated entries. ANMTSC is not responsible for faulty file uploads accompanying online entries.
• Receipts can be given to participants or their parents/guardians, if requested, at the workshop on Sat Jun 11th, or at the competition on Sat Jun 25th.

Workshop (Sat June 11th, 2011, 2-4pm)

• At the workshop, participants must be accompanied by their parent/guardian, who will sign a release form before the workshop starts. Please arrive 15min early.
• For participants who play guitar: participants may bring their own guitar or they may have access to one provided by ANMTSC. If it is an acoustic guitar, please bring a pickup. For an electric, please bring a 1/4" cable. For participants who play piano: ANMTSC will provide a full size keyboard with a grand piano sound and weighted keys (88-key Korg Triton LE). For other sound effects, please ask ANMTSC in advance. Other instruments: please notify ANMTSC in advance. Participants may bring their own microphones if preferred.
• Accompanists are not required at the workshop. Only the applicants who applied can partake.
• Parents/guardians are allowed to supervise the workshop, provided there is space on the premises, but they must not disturb the workshop.
• The workshop is intended to make the participant more comfortable in front of a crowd and to help hone their songwriting skills. Participation by all applicants is highly encouraged.
• The workshop instructors will not be the same people as the pre-selection jury, nor the competition judges, in order to ensure the fairest assessment.
• In the event that the applicant cannot attend the workshop, this does not diminish their chances of being selected for the Top 10.
• The participants may or may not be asked to perform some part of their prepared songs. This is left up to the workshop instructors' discretion. Participants are not forced to take part, and should notify the staff if they feel uncomfortable with any task asked by the instructor.

Competition (Sat June 25th, 2011, 2-4pm)

• At the competition, the Top 10 must be accompanied by their parent/guardian, who will sign a release form before the competition starts. Please arrive 25min early.
• For participants who play guitar: participants may bring their own guitar or they may have access to one provided by ANMTSC. If it is an acoustic guitar, please bring a pickup. For an electric, please bring a 1/4" cable. For participants who play piano: ANMTSC will provide a full size keyboard with a grand piano sound and weighted keys (88-key Korg Triton LE). For other sound effects, please ask ANMTSC in advance. Other instruments: please notify ANMTSC in advance. Participants may bring their own microphones if preferred.
• All applicants, regardless of whether they have been chosen for the Top 10, can watch the competition for free. One parent for each of the Top 10 can watch the competition for free. General entry is $5.
• The Top 10 do not have to perform the same song as submitted on their application. If they are performing a different song, they must provide 4 copies of their lyrics to give to the judges.
• Each competitor has 5min to perform their song. It must be performed either alone, with voice and an accompanying instrument, or as a duo, with their own accompanist. If an accompanist is brought in, only the participating applicant is allowed to sing, and the applicant will be judged accordingly.
• The rules for the prizes awarded at the competition for the winners are as defined by the sponsors who donated them.
• In the event that the applicant chosen for the Top 10 cannot attend the competition, then the next applicant in line will be notified and will have the chance to replace the former.
• All the Top 10 will be judged anew, by a new panel of 4 impartial judges, who will not be the same people as the pre-selection jury, nor the workshop instructors. The judges will have access to the participant's full application, except for the YouTube video. They will give scores on 10 for each of the following criteria: song structure, lyrics, performance and stage presence. The winner and the runners-up will be determined by the highest average score among the 4 judges. In the event of a tie, a 5th judge will make a choice. After each participant's performance, the judges may give comments and advice to the participant, in front of the audience. The judges will also write a critique of the performance. The score cards and critiques will be emailed to each of the Top 10 within one week of the competition.
• The grand prize for the 1st place winner will be the chance to perform on a Montreal stage, (see details below) on July 23rd, 2011, backed by a full band of professional musicians provided by ANMTSC. These musicians and the winner will have the chance to rehearse 2-3 times during the weeks after the competition, at an agreeable rehearsal space, in order to arrange and prepare their songs for the gala event. In the event that the 1st place winner cannot attend the rehearsals and/or the gala event, the 2nd place winner will be replace them, and so on.
• Prizes will be awarded also to the runners-up, and to the People's Choice Award (the Top 10 participant with the largest number of votes).

Acoustic Nights Montreal Summer Gala 2011 (Sat July 23rd, 2011, 8:30pm)

• The grand prize for the 1st place winner will be the chance to perform at the Acoustic Nights Montreal Summer Gala 2011, at La Sala Rossa on July 23rd, backed by a full band of professional musicians provided by ANMTSC. These musicians and the winner will have the chance to rehearse 2-3 times during the weeks after the competition, at an agreeable rehearsal space, in order to arrange and prepare their songs for the gala event. In the event that the 1st place winner cannot attend the rehearsals and/or the gala event, the 2nd place winner will replace them, and so on.
• The winner's set for the gala event must be at least 2 songs, and at most 5, for a maximum time limit of 30min. They must be all originals, or there may be at most 1 cover (i. e. song written by someone else).
• There will be several other musicians/bands performing at the gala as well. The order of the performances is to be determined.
• The Top 10 will be able to watch the gala event for free. General entry is $15. All other applicants who didn't make the Top 10 will be able to watch the gala event at half-price, $7. 50.
• The selected venue (La Sala Rossa) will be open to an all-ages crowd for this special event. All persons must provide valid ID at the door, and people under 18 are strictly not allowed to order or consume alcoholic drinks.