THE MID-ATLANTIC SONG CONTEST

presented by the Songwriters' Association of Washington

ABOUT THE MASC

The Songwriters’ Association of Washington (SAW) presents the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest (MASC) to help songwriters receive recognition for their work and to further excellence in songwriting through education. Entrants compete for monetary awards, other prizes such as recording credits, and MASC Awards Show and other performance opportunities. Gold, Silver, Finalist and Honorable Mention awards are presented in each category, and overall awards include a Director’s Award, Young Artist Awards, three Overall Grand Prizes, and other special awards. Now in its 37th year, the MASC has added three new categories for 2020: Video, Covid-19 songs, and Freedom songs.

General INFO

The categories for this year's contest are: Adult Contemporary, Americana , Children's , Country/Bluegrass, Folk Acoustic, Gospel/Inspirational/Christian, Instrumental, Open, Pop, R&B/Hip Hop/Urban, Rock/Alternative, Vocal Jazz/Blues, Lyrics Only, Covid-19 (NEW), Freedom (NEW), Video (NEW).

You may enter as many songs as you wish in each category. You may want to listen to past winning songs to help determine which category to enter. You may enter the same song in more than one category. Entry fees are calculated based on one category per song, however, so entering a song in two or more categories means that additional entry fees will apply. Discounts for entering multiple songs apply when the songs are entered in the same submission form submission, and SAW members are eligible to enter at a discounted rate (see rates below).

Each entry MUST have lyrics, except for the Instrumental category. Instrumental category entries MUST include a three-sentence explanation of the artistic intent of the composition. Submissions in the Video category are entered as YouTube or Vimeo links. Videos are not eligible for the MASC Grand Prize.

All entries must be submitted online by 11:59 pm on September 30th 2020.

The judges are music industry leaders and musicians, including Grammy winners, previous winners of MASC and other song contests, plus some SAW leaders. SAW is the sole judge of entry validity, interpretation of voting, and who has won the contest. The decisions of the judges are accepted as final. The SAW judges will decide all questions and ties.

ELIGIBILITY

You must not have made more than $5,000 in publishing royalties in 2019 and you cannot be employed as a staff writer for a publishing company nor have been paid for such services by a publishing company.

Each entry must be wholly original (co-writers allowed) and shall not infringe on any copyrights or any other rights of any third party. The artist need not be the performer. Each entrant shall hold SAW harmless from and against claims inconsistent with these requirements.

No composition or lyric may be entered that has been: (1) placed under contract for commercial sale with any record label in which the underlying contract prohibits the distribution of the artist’s recording on the MASC website or other channels; or (2) selected in previous years’ MASC contests as Gold, Silver, or Finalist. You may resubmit songs which have won Honorable Mention in past contests.

DISCLAIMER: Current SAW Board members and contractors are not eligible to enter the MASC.

 Important 2020 Dates

Contest Opens: July 3
Final Entry Deadline: September 30
Category Winners Announced: on or before December 31
Overall and Special Awards: announced January 2021

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Songwriters retain all rights to their songs.

The YOUNG ARTIST AWARD is a separate award for songwriters 21 or younger (as of September 30, 2020). Candidates for the Young Artist Award are automatically selected from all of the songs submitted in all categories based on the date of birth of the songwriter and any co-writers. Songwriters eligible for the Young Artist Award remain eligible for category and Overall awards. All songwriters and co-writers must be age 21 or younger at the end of the contest deadline, which is September 30 this year.

AFTER THE JUDGING: The Young Artist Award winners and Gold, Silver, Finalists, and Honorable Mention winners will be announced on or before December 31, 2020 and notified by email.

37th MASC AWARDS SHOW AND CONCERT: We hope to able to present the MASC Awards in the Washington, DC metro area in January 2021, at which time all prizes will be awarded to the winners. Gold and Silver winners may be asked to perform their song live, but are not required to do so.

PROMOTIONAL AGREEMENTS: Gold and Silver category winners agree to authorize their winning songs for airplay during the MASC Awards Show and Concert. Winners also agree that SAW may post clips of their songs and video performance on the SAW and StreamCatcher websites and social media.

CERTIFICATE DISTRIBUTION: Each songwriter and co-writer listed on the entry form of a winning song, including Finalists and Honorable Mentions, will receive a personalized Certificate of Merit at the MASC Awards Show or by mail. The winning songwriter is asked to distribute the Certificates to any co-writer(s).

ENTRY FEES

SAW Member Rates:

1 - 5 Songs: $22 per song
6 - 10 Songs: $20 per song
11 - 15 Songs: $18 per song

Non-Member Rates:

1 - 5 Songs:  $26 per song
6 - 10 Songs:  $24 per song
11 - 15 Songs:  $20 per song

ENTER

Not sure if you're a current SAW member? Check the Member Directory on the SAW membership page. If you don’t find your name, you will need to log in and renew in order to enter at the discounted rate.