Danilo Perez, Billy Cobham, Lonnie Liston Smith, and Vijay Iyer are the Jazz judges for the 2017 International Songwriting Competition (ISC). Also participating on the panel is John Burke, president of the Concord Label Group.
The ISC, established in 2002, is the world’s largest songwriting competition, receiving up to 20,000 entries from all over the world. The competition, open to all songwriters (amateur or professional), received last year entries from 137 countries. A total of 71 winners in 23 categories shares in more than $150,000 in cash and prizes, including an overall Grand Prize consisting of $25,000 (US) cash and much more in merchandise and services.
Categories include: AAA (Adult Album Alternative), AC (Adult Contemporary), Americana, Blues, Children’s Music, Comedy/Novelty, Country, EDM (Electronic Dance Music), Folk/Singer-Songwriter, Christian, Instrumental, Jazz, Latin Music, Lyrics Only, Music video, Performance, Pop/Top 40, R&B/Hip-Hop, Rock, Teen, World Music, Unpublished, and Unsigned Only. Entrants may submit as many songs as they wish, in the same category or in multiple categories. Depending on the category, according to the ISC website, submissions are judged on creativity, originality, lyrics (excluding songs that have no lyrics), melody, arrangement, and overall likability.
“Our jazz category has consistently been one of the best in the competition, and ISC is happy to be an advocate for this vital form of music,” said Candace Avery, the founder and director of ISC, in an official press release. “We are very excited to offer the opportunity for our entrants to have their music heard by such an esteemed panel of legendary judges.”
Entry information is available at https://www.songwritingcompetition.com