On 1st February the 2015 Song Academy Young Songwriter Competition is officially open for entries from across the UK and Ireland.
In its 4th year, this exciting platform for aspiring young songwriters gives young people 7-18 years old the opportunity to stand out from the crowd and have their songs heard by industry professionals. Winners will release their own professionally recorded single at SONY ATV’s recording studio in London plus receive other fabulous prizes. Entry is free.
This year’s star studded panel of judges includes: singer songwriter Tom Odell *see quote below, songwriter, record producer & musician Shahid Khan, aka Naughty Boy, grammy award winning songwriter/producer Eg White and Fraser T Smith, Nigel Wright (music producer and songwriter), Barry Mason (songwriter), Lyn Goddard (songwriter and producer), Jamie Theakston (TV and radio presenter), Nicky Cox (editor of First News), Lou Rhodes (singer songwriter), Lili Tarkow-Reinisch (written for Ellie Goulding) and Jamie Scott (written for One Direction).
Previous winners include Archie Faulks (aka Tenterhook) who shortly after winning was signed to a record label and Orla O’Neil who is now writing with Fraser T Smith. Please see our highlights video from the Young Songwriter 2014 live showcase at Westfield London: http://tinyurl.com/l5pezw7
2014 entries gave a fascinating insight into what 7-18 year olds are experiencing in their lives. Top song themes in the 7-12 year old category were 1. love, 2. life/growing up & 3. friendships. Half wrote about the struggles of love, whilst half wrote about the magic of first love. 90% wrote uplifting lyrics about life and how whatever your troubles are, don’t give up, believe in yourself and create your own future. The vast majority wrote about the importance of friendships.
In contrast, 13-18 year olds wrote vividly on society’s pressures or love. 2014’s top three song themes were: 1. society’s pressures, 2. love & 3. death of a close family member. Society’s pressures included frustrations from being different, not being noticed, knocked down, self harm, drinking & drugs, being confused, life going too fast, pressures to fit in, pressures to succeed and depression. When writing about love the majority wrote about the struggles of young love, including breaking up, rejection, fear of never finding someone, mixed emotions, making mistakes and not being confident to express their true feelings.
Entrants don’t need professional recordings as they will be judged on their originality, lyrics, melody, composition, and their potential to be a smash hit! Songs can be easily recorded/uploaded with the smart AudioBoom app via the Song Academy website. Competition is judged separately for the 7-12 and 13-18 age categories. Each entrant may enter up to 3 songs. The deadline to enter the competition is 6 April 2015
@songacademyUK contact@songacademy.co.uk www.songacademy.co.uk
and entry is free. To help with the development of young songwriters, entrants have the opportunity of receiving written feedback from a music industry professional.
For more information, please visit www.songacademy.co.uk/says2015
