The Mountain Stage NewSong Contest
important dates | regions | rules & guidelines
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 those who submit before the Early Bird Deadline of midnight, June 21.
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.
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.
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# 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 18 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 CD Manufacturing. $500.00 off any complete retail ready project of 1,000 CDs or more for all five contest co-winners, and the Best Song category winner; $250.00 off complete retail ready projects of 1,000 CDs or more OR $100 off complete retail ready projects of 500 CDs or more to ALL non-winning finalists (7).
- From Musician's Atlas. Each of the 5 co-winners will receive an annual, all access subscription to the AtlasOnline interactive system. 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.)
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 | August 15 or 16 |
| NORTHEAST | Connecticut, DC, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont | Joe's Pub; New York, NY |
TBA** |
| SOUTHEAST | Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia | Eddie's Attic; Decatur, IL |
Sunday, August 24 |
| MIDWEST | Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin | Old Town School of Music; Chicago, IL |
TBA |
| 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 | Venue TBD; Los Angeles, CA |
TBA |
* 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.
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| JUNE 4 | CONTEST OPENS FOR ENTRIES (All Regional & General Rounds) |
| JUNE 21 | 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.
MOUNTAIN STAGE NEWSONG CONTEST
CREATIVE & CAREER CONSULTATIONS
