New York, NY - Three new Celebrity Judges have signed on to choose the finalists for the inaugural Songwriters Hall of Fame Song Competition. The lineup includes esteemed SHOF inductees Mac Davis ("A Little Less Conversation," "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me," "In the Ghetto"), Charles Fox ("Killing Me Softly With His Song," "Ready To Take A Chance Again," "Happy Days") and Lamont Dozier ("Baby Love," "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)," "Heat Wave").
The Competition, “by songwriters, for songwriters,” was conceived by the accomplished songwriters and leadership of the SHOF and music publishing executives at UMPG as a way to provide aspiring songwriters with an opportunity to share their music, develop their songwriting skills and take the first steps toward a successful career in the music industry.
The overall Grand Prize winner will be given the opportunity to enter into an exclusive Universal Music Publishing Group contract, will receive an Epiphone Masterbilt DR-500MCE guitar, two tickets to the 2015 Songwriters Hall of Fame Annual Induction and Awards Gala, and recognition from the stage.
Four second place winners will receive a one-hour creative and career mentoring session with a legendary songwriter who has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, two spectator tickets to the 2015 Annual Induction and Awards Gala and an Epiphone guitar. Song Competition Mentors will include SHOF Chairman Jimmy Webb (“Wichita Lineman,” “MacArthur Park,” “By The Time I Get To Phoenix”), and such legendary songwriters as Desmond Child (“Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” “‘Angel”), Don Schlitz (“The Gambler,” “Forever And Ever, Amen,” “On The Other Hand”) and Paul Williams (“Evergreen,” “The Rainbow Connection,” “We’ve Only Just Begun”).
All prize winners will be featured in an article in the 2015 Gala Dinner Journal, circulated to the music industry’s creative and business elite, and have their music and bio profiled on a page of the songhall.org website, visited by thousands of industry professionals each month.
Entries will be screened by a listening committee who will select the semi-finalists. Songwriters will be evaluated by a Blue Ribbon Panel of industry professionals including well-known songwriters, producers and publishers. Finalists will then be chosen by the three legendary Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees who have been announced here. All songs will be judged based on melody, composition, originality and lyrics.
Submissions and other information are available on the Sonicbids website: www.sonicbids.com/songhall
About The Songwriters Hall of Fame:
The Songwriters Hall of Fame celebrates songwriters, educates the public with regard to their achievements, and produces a spectrum of professional programs devoted to the development of new songwriting talent through workshops, showcases and scholarships. Out of the tens of thousands of songwriters of our era, there are approximately 400 inductees who make up the impressive roster enshrined in the Hall of Fame. The list includes Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier & Brian Holland, Smokey Robinson, Albert Hammond, Desmond Child, Paul Williams, Hal David & Burt Bacharach, John Fogerty, Bob Dylan, Isaac Hayes & David Porter, Richard & Robert Sherman, Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Jon Bon Jovi & Richie Sambora, Sir Elton John & Bernie Taupin, Brian Wilson, James Taylor, Don Schlitz, Bruce Springsteen, Phil Collins, Alan & Marilyn Bergman, Loretta Lynn, Jimmy Webb, Van Morrison, Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Diane Warren, Paul Anka, Stevie Wonder, Bob Seger, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry and Leonard Cohen among many others.
Full biographies and a complete list of inductees are available at the Songwriters Hall of Fame's Virtual Museum at http://songwritershalloffame.org. Joining online is quick and easy: http://songhall.org/join
