Month: November 2012

Midlands Simon Community announce details of its ‘A Song for Simon’ song contest which is now accepting entries for 2013. Submissions will be accepted until December 14th 2012. Boasting an impressive prize package, this is one song contest you cannot afford to miss! This is the perfect opportunity for both budding artists and seasoned professionals to get your original piece of music out there, any style, any genre, any age.

On offer to the overall winner is;

(1) One day recording in Grouse Lodge Studios, Moate, Co. Westmeath.

(2) Mastering of the winning song by RMC Recording Studios.

(3) CD duplication (100 jewel encrusted CDs) by MD Online.

(4) Full music video production by Big Idea Films.

(5) A photo-shoot by RUA Photography.

(6) Graphic design and artwork by SNAP Printing Athlone.

(7) Guaranteed promotion, airplay and interviews with Midlands 103.
Entries will be narrowed down to a final ten, who will perform live  at  ‘A Song For Simon live final’ in The Sheraton Athlone, on January 12th 2013. All of the finalists will also feature on A Song for Simon Album to be launched in 2013.

For an entry form and terms and conditions contact Tracey Fallon at t.fallon@nullmidlandssimon.com or 0879615766, and keep an eye on the song contest Facebook Page and Twitter account for updates. Entry is only €25 per song, and €20 for any subsequent song. There is no limit on the number of entries that can be submitted!

Tony O’Riordan, CEO of Midlands Simon Community said, “We are very excited to be launching ‘A Song for Simon’, and would like to extend a huge thank you to our sponsors, for making this contest possible. Without the support of those involved in ‘A Song for Simon’, and throughout our organisation, we simply couldn’t survive. We would also like to give a special thank you to Colin Fahy, whose expertise has been instrumental in bringing the song contest to fruition.”

www.facebook.com/asongforsimon
@ASongForSimon

Unsigned Only is music competition designed for solo artists, bands, and singers all over the world who are not signed to a major label record company or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, or imprints. The goal of Unsigned Only is to find an outstanding, talented performer: a band, singer, or solo artist…a newcomer or veteran…raw or polished – the “gem” that needs to be discovered. Unsigned Only is looking for the total package.

Conceived of and produced by the team who bring you the International Songwriting Competition (ISC), Unsigned Only is a fresh and novel approach to other music competitions. Yes, it offers great prizes, recognition, exposure, and the chance to be heard by a group of judges consisting of high-profile recording artists and industry professionals. But, Unsigned Only also takes it a step further and puts the Grand Prize winner in direct, personal contact with the influential record label executives who are the ultimate decision-makers. For the first time ever, a music competition offers the Grand Prize winner the unprecedented opportunity to be mentored by a group of record company presidents, A&R reps, and more.

Mentors include a group of high-profile record company executives including: Monte Lipman (President of Universal Republic); Pete Ganbarg (Executive VP/Head of A&R, Atlantic Records); Josh Bailey (Sr. VP of A&R, Word Label Group); Kim Stephens (President, Forward Entertainment and A&R/Capitol Music Group); Allison B. Jones (VP of A&R, Big Machine Label Group), and more to be announced.

The Grand Prize Winner will be awarded $10,000 in cash (plus additional prizes) and one-on-one mentoring by an elite group of record company executives. First Place and Second Place winners will also be selected in each category.

For full details on how to enter visit: http://www.unsignedonly.com/

It is sometimes easy to lose sight of the very people who are at the heart of the creative process and whose interests are profoundly affected by legislation on intellectual property rights. Composers, songwriters and performing artists need freedom to create and live from their work; this freedom is crucial to maintaining our rich European cultural heritage.

With this in mind IMRO and The International Confederation of Music Publishers (ICMP) hosted a networking event in the European Parliament in Brussels on 13th November. The event was attended by Miriam Harkin MEP, Mairead McGuinness MEP, Liam Aylward MEP, Jim Higgins MEP, Gay Mitchell MEP and Pat The Cope Gallagher MEP.

The gathering provided a platform for music creators and their representative bodies to connect directly with European legislators to enable them to highlight the many challenges currently facing the creative community. IMRO Chairman, Keith Donald highlighted the lack of respect that is widely felt by many creative people in music, film, newspapers, literature and software because their work can now be so easily copied and stolen. He emphasised the need for regulation and a worldwide strategy that allows for technical innovation while not diminishing creators’ rights. The event concluded with a world premiere of a new work, which Keith Donald composed especially for the occasion.

Solidarity Songs is a national young songwriter competition jointly organised by Kerry One World Centre Tralee with KDYS and Clubheadbangbang. Now in its second year, the goal of the competition is to encourage young songwriting talent and to raise awareness of global issues. The theme is to write a song based on the 8 UN Millennium Development Goals.

Last year’s winner JAMES PETERS from Limerick has just returned with his band from playing a series of gigs in Jersey. He is now getting ready to record his Solidarity Songs winning track in the KDYS studios in Tralee.

John Buggy, Band Coordinator for the KDYS stated “This competition is a great opportunity for any young songwriter for getting their music heard; there are not many platforms for original music out there anymore as the music business has changed so much over recent years. The response we got from last year’s competition was great and we are looking to improve on that in this year”. Entries received by the Dec 31 deadline will be assessed by an expert panel in subsequent weeks and the winner will be announced in May, 2013.

Entry criteria
– one song in any genre, based on any one of the MDGs, or the MDGs in general
– to be submitted on CD or by email
– entrants must be aged 21 or younger
– entrants must be resident in Ireland
– melody and lyric must be entrant’s original work
– entrants may have another person perform the work

Recording your work
Audacity is a free audio-recording computer application which can be downloaded from www.kade.ie.

Submitting your song: Email or CD
Send your song, on CD, to: John Buggy, KDYS, Denny St., Tralee, Co. Kerry. You can email your entry in MP3 format (max. size 5MB) to solidarity@nullkade.ie.

Closing date for entries is December 31, 2012!

Other Voices season gets into full swing in the coming weeks, as further details of the TV music event of the year are unveiled. The world renowned music recordings will take place in front of a live audience in St. James’ Church, Dingle, Co. Kerry on Saturday December 1st, Sunday December 2nd and Monday December 3rd, with the IMRO Other Room closed recording session taking place on Friday November 30th. While the day-to-day line-up has yet to be revealed, almost all of the artists performing at St. James’ Church over the three day music extravaganza have been confirmed: Aaron Dessner (The National), Kodaline, Local Natives, Luluc, Owen Pallet, Palma Violets, Paul Buchanan, SOAK, The Staves, The Strypes, The Unthanks, This Is The Kit and Villagers. The IMRO Other Room artists, as well as the Other Voices Viewer’s Choice nominees, will be announced shortly.

A new dimension to this year’s event is the much welcomed announcement that RTÉ Two will broadcast live from St. James’ Church on Sunday December 2nd. The broadcast will bring a selection of performances to a huge Irish TV audience, who will be able to watch Other Voices live for the first time in its eleven year history. The broadcast will run from 7pm to 9pm on RTÉ Two on Sunday December 2nd and two artists confirmed for broadcast already are Villagers and Paul Buchanan, with more to be announced. Irish viewers will also be able to tune in and watch the performances live from Dingle on Sunday December 2nd and Monday December 3rd at www.RTE.ie

With the capacity of St. James’ Church limited to posterior space for just 80 musical fetishists, the Other Voices team work hard each year to create an exhilarating festival atmosphere on the streets and in the hostelries of Dingle, throughout the weekend. Thousands of music fans set up camp in the many fine hotels, guesthouses and B&B’s scattered across Dingle and while some manage to nab Church tickets the majority spend the weekend enjoying the Intune Network live streaming of the Church performances in many of Dingle’s favourite pubs including Benners, Foxy John’s and McCarthy’s. Other Voices fans will also enjoy the Music Trail, a series of free music events which take place in the fine establishments of Dingle on Saturday and Sunday. This year’s Other Voices Music Trail will feature artists performing at the Church and the IMRO Other Room, as well as many Irish acts including Daithi O’Dronai, Toy Soldier, Neon Wolf, Mick Heslin and In The Willows. A number of very special guest performances in and around Dingle over the weekend are on the cards!

Following the Dingle recordings, Other Voices will head north in February 2013 for a three day residency at Glassworks in Derry-Londonderry on February 8th, 9th and 10th, celebrating the city’s eminent status as UK Capital of Culture 2013. Already announced for the Derry-Londonderry leg of the three part musical journey are Marina and The Diamonds, Django Django, Neil Hannon and Jesca Hoop. In April, the TV music event will journey eastwards bringing Other Voices to the heart of East London for the first time, produced in association with the Barbican. The London venue is yet to be confirmed and artists taking part in the Derry-Londonderry and London outings will be announced soon..