Encouragement Award expanded with addition of producer/A&R package!

For release: Monday, 22 September, 2014: APRA AMCOS, Alberts and Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia (NRMTA) are pleased to announce that the cut off time for entries for the 2014 Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition – the largest charity songwriting competition in the world – has been extended for a further four weeks and will now close on Friday, 24 October, 2014.

The Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition is one of the world’s most prestigious songwriting competitions, supporting talented songwriters whilst raising much needed funds for music therapy that has been proven to help people with developmental disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Rett Syndrome and Angelman Syndrome and disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Dyspraxia and Spina Bifida.

The competition is open to songwriters worldwide with each applicant paying an entry fee of AU$50.00 per submission with money raised going directly to supporting Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia. To date, the Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition has raised over AU$485,000 for NRMTA over the past three competitions.

With thanks to Alberts and APRA AMCOS, this year’s winning songwriter/s will take home a cash prize of AU$50,000 and join the illustrious company of past Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition winners – Megan Washington (2009), Kimbra (2011) and The Preatures (2013).

Four runners’ up, prizes are also on offer with second place receiving AU$10,000 thanks to AMPAL (Australasian Music Publishers Association) and third place taking home AU$5,000 courtesy of new sponsor, AEG Ogden.

An additional Encouragement Award has also been made available this year comprising a cash prize of AU$2,000 which has been graciously donated by last year’s winners, The Preatures. APRA AMCOS has also just announced the donation of a production and A&R feedback package with last year’s 2nd prizewinner, Robert Conley, is also to be included in the Encouragement Award.

Robert Conley said today “It’s an honour to get to be a part of this year’s Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition. Taking out 2nd place last year was an enormous shot in the arm, both financially and professionally, and I can’t wait to hear what this year has in store”

Each of the four winning songwriters will also receive a copy of the recently released Vanda and Young – The Official Songbook, an officially authorised folio containing just some of the highlights of the iconic songwriting team’s work, thanks to Music Sales.

The 2014 Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition will be judged by a panel of songwriters and industry professionals and this year we welcome a slew of new international industry expert judges including David Ryan Harris (Like it Like That, Battle Scars, Live Louder co-writer) who said “I believe absolutely, that music has the power to change the course of our existence. For me, the extension of that ideology is that the pen of a songwriter is amongst the mightiest of swords and to be a part of helping some lucky songwriter’s words and vision reach a larger audience is a special privilege.

I’m honoured to be a part of it. $50K to help advance an artist’s career could quite literally help to change the course of all of our lives through the power of song and I’m thrilled to have been asked to participate.”

Also joining the panel this year are some of Australia’s most well respected journalists and commentators including Kathy McCabe (The Daily Telegraph), Bernard Zuel (Sydney Morning Herald), Matt Coyte (Rolling Stone), Simon Collins (The West Australian), Lindsay McDougall (triple j), Amanda Lee (Southern Cross Austereo) and Andrew Mast (The Music) to name a few. See below for a full list of Judges.

Jeremy Fabinyi, AMPAL General Manager, added “The Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition makes a wonderful contribution in two very important ways – encouraging the song-writers of the future and supporting the great work of Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia.”

Entries close on Friday, 24 October 2014.

Please visit http://www.apraamcos.com.au/vandayoungsongcomp for more information and terms and conditions.

2014 Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition Judges

Industry and Media:
Amanda Lee – Southern Cross Austereo
Andrew Mast – The Music.com.au
Andrew P Street – Sydney Morning Herald
Bob Gordon – Xpress Magazine
Chris Martin – The Brag
Dan Zilber – FBi Radio
Danielle McGrane – AAP
Don Elford – AEG Ogden
Kathy McCabe – The Daily Telegraph / News Corp Australia
Larry Heath – the AU review
Lindsay McDougall – triple j
Bernard Zuel – Sydney Morning Herald / Fairfax Media
Martin Boulton – The Age / Fairfax Media
Iain Shedden – The Australian / News Corp Australia
Paul Cashmere – Noise 11
Poppy Reid – The Music Network
Robert Dunstan – Freelance Writer
Scott Fitzsimons – TheMusic.com.au

Record Companies:
Mark Holland – EMI Recorded Music Australia Michael Taylor (Universal Music Australia)
Peter Karpin (Mercury Records/Universal Music Australia)

International Judges:
Isabel Pappani – Undercover Tracks/Los Angeles APRA AMCOS Member Relations Rep (USA)
Mark Moffatt – Producer/Songwriter/Nashville APRA AMCOS Member Relations Rep (USA)
Mitch Allan – writer (USA)
Peter Coquillard – Bill Silva Publishing (USA)
Steve Lillywhite – producer (USA)
David Ryan Harris – singer/songwriter/producer (USA)

APRA AMCOS Ambassadors:
Eric McCusker
Jenny Morris
Jonathan Zwartz
Les Gock
Josh Pyke
Rai Thistlethwayte
Eric Chapus
Grant Windsor
Ilan Kidron (The Potbelleez)
Jonny Sonic (The Potbelleez)
Dave Goode (The Potbelleez)
Amanda Brown
John Schumann
Brendan Gallagher
Kevin Mitchell
James Blundell
Mark Atkins

Notes:

Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy
Composer Paul Nordoff and special educator Clive Robbins first developed the creative music therapy approach. This approach focuses on awakening an inborn musicality in every client in order to develop his or her full potential as a human being. Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia Ltd was founded in 1984 to promote and develop the understanding, training and practice of creative music therapy. Enid Rowe a Sydney based music teacher trained in music therapy in London and brought Nordoff-Robbins to Australia in 1978.
www.nordoff-robbins.com.au/

Alberts is an independent music company, which has been a longstanding supporter of Nordoff Robbins Australia in its mission to transform lives through the provision of music therapy. Named after the iconic songwriters Harry Vanda and George Young, the songwriting competition was launched in 2009 to support and raise the profile of the non-profit organisation and the work it does to change the lives of many.
http://albertmusic.com/

APRA AMCOS has 87,000+ members who are songwriters, composers and music publishers. We license organisations to play, perform, copy, record or make available our members’ music, and we distribute the royalties to our members.
www.apraamcos.com.au

AMPAL
The Australasian Music Publishers Association works on behalf of its members to promote a better understanding of the value of music, both culturally and economically. They have more than 50 publisher members in Australia and New Zealand who invest in songwriters across all genres of music. They nurture talent, promote the works of their writers and find avenues for their work to be heard. They are a vital part of an industry that contributes to the cultural and economic future of Australia and New Zealand. Our members represent over 90% of the economic value of the music publishing sector.
http://www.ampal.com.au/

AEG Ogden
AEG Ogden is an Australian controlled joint venture between Australian venue management interests and AEG Facilities of the United States. AEG Ogden manages venues throughout the Asia Pacific region, including the Brisbane Entertainment Centre and the adjacent Sports Centre, Sydney’s Allphones Arena, the Qantas Credit Union Arena (formerly the Sydney Entertainment Centre), the Newcastle Entertainment Centre and Perth Arena; Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane; convention centres in Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Kuala Lumpur, Hyderabad (currently in design), Oman (opening 2016), the ICC Sydney (opening December 2016) and the Sydney Exhibition Centre @ Glebe Island; and live theatres including Perth’s His Majesty’s Theatre, Perth Concert Hall, the WA State Theatre Centre, Albany Entertainment Centre, and Subiaco Arts Centre.
www.aegogden.com
Rina Ferris + Kristyn Brennan – Ferris Davies PRM