CMT Grand Prize Award includes $5,000 Cash, Mentoring Session
with Columbia Nashville Recording Artist Maren Morris, Single Song Contract with ole and More!
Nashville, Tennessee – Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) and CMT are proud to announce the 18th Annual NSAI Song Contest Presented by CMT, taking place September 1 – October 31, 2017. With two categories, Song and Lyric-Only, the contest provides an opportunity for songwriters of all genres to have their song(s) judged by an all-star music industry panel for a chance at winning one of the twenty-three prizes available.
The CMT Grand Prize Winner will receive $5,000 CASH, a mentoring session with Columbia Nashville recording artist MAREN MORRIS, a one-year SINGLE SONG CONTRACT WITH ole, and additional prizes including: two (2) tickets to the 2018 CMT Music Awards show, a three (3) day trip to Nashville, a live performance opportunity at the 2018 Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival as well as a performance slot at The Bluebird Cafe in 2018, a NSAI residency package including a membership (one year), access to one (1) NSAI premium event, winning song inclusion in one (1) of the quarterly Pitch to Publisher meetings, and more! The Lyric-Only winner will win a mentoring session with GRAMMY nominated songwriter, busbee, access to one (1) NSAI premium event, a pass to the 2018 Music Biz Conference in Nashville, TN, along with additional prizes. All entrants will receive a personalized score sheet.
To determine the winner for the CMT Grand Prize, all eligible submissions received by NSAI will be judged by music industry professionals and NSAI staff, who in Round three (3) judging, will select the top eleven (11) finalists and ten (10) honorable mentions. In February of 2018, the finalist submissions will be voted on during a live-streamed event where a music industry-based celebrity panel of five (5) or more elite music industry professionals will score each submission, with the highest score receiving the CMT Grand Prize, and the other ten (10) finalist submissions will receive Runners-Up awards. The Lyric-Only judging will follow the same process until Round three (3) judging where two (2) submissions will be selected, one as the Lyric-Only award recipient and the other as the Lyric-Only Runner-Up.
Beginning September 1, 2017 at 12:00am CDST, entries can be submitted online at nsai.cmt.com or they can be mailed to the NSAI office (NSAI–ATTN: Song Contest, 1710 Roy Acuff Place, Nashville, TN 37203). All entries mailed in must include the submission form, entry fee, printed lyric sheet, and one (1) audio CD (unless a Lyric-Only entry). Entry fees are $35 per song for current NSAI members and $45 per song for non-NSAI members. There is no limit to the number of songs that songwriters can submit, and all submissions must be post-marked by October 31, 2017.
For further details, including additional information on submitting songs, an official list of prizes, the Terms and Conditions and contest updates, visit nsai.cmt.com. Updates will also be posted periodically onnashvillesongwriters.com and NSAI’s Official Facebook and Twitter pages (@NSAIOfficial).
Sponsors: Special thanks to ASCAP, BMI, CMT, D’Addario, ole, SESAC, Southwest Airlines®, and We Make Tapes & Discs.