RULES  AND  REGULATIONS

I. ELIGIBILITY
a. The competition is open to songwriters who are residents of Canada ONLY.
b. The competition is open to songwriters who are 18 years of age or older on the date of song submission. Any entrant who is a minor in his or her province / territory of residence will be required to obtain and submit written permission from his or her parent or legal guardian to participate in the competition. Please see attached Waiver Form.
c. PIDC officers and immediate families of PIDC active members, panel of judges and sponsors are NOT eligible to participate.
d. All submitted songs must be original. Any entry might be disqualified if:
    i. Entry is found to have committed any violation of the applicable laws on plagiarism and protection of intellectual property.
    ii. Entry is found to contain four (4) or more consecutive bars of melodic content or lyrics exactly alike that of another published or released song either locally or abroad.
e. No musical composition that has been entered in any song competition or has been monetized, and commercially recorded or released and distributed locally or abroad may be submitted.
f. The competition is open to all genres.
g. No entry fee is required.

II. SUBMISSION POLICY
a. All entries are to be submitted with duly accomplished entry forms. In the case of collaboration, both the composer and songwriter shall affix their signature on the application form. All entries will be submitted first to PIDC authorized representative: pidcsongwritingcomp@gmail.com or through online submission: www.tinyurl.com/pidcsongwritingcomp2022 for validation, verification and confidentiality purposes.
b. Only a maximum of three (3) entries are allowed from each contest participant. However, only ONE (1) entry will be allowed per participant in the Grand Finals.
c. The song must be recorded and submitted through MP3 vocal rendition together with copies of the lyrics in English or Filipino or combination of both.
d. Entries should be submitted in the following file format: [[Song_title.MP3]]
e. The length of the song maybe less but must not exceed four minutes Any exceeding playtime might result to unfavorable point deductions from the judges.
f. Music sheets or lead sheets and chords are required for submission.
g. Entries arranged as acapella are allowed.
h. Materials submitted will not be returned. PIDC reserves the right to dispose of all submitted material in any manner.

III. ENTRY SUBMISSION
a. Entries should be sent by the composer/songwriter or their authorized representative to:
    i. Email Address: pidcsongwritingcomp@gmail.com
    ii. Entry Submission/Registration Link: www.tinyurl.com/pidcsongwritingcomp2022

IV. FINALIST AND WINNER SELECTION
a. All entries will be assigned code numbers/screenname for confidentiality.
b. There shall be a Screening Committee which shall screen and judge all the entries accordingly and determine up to 10 Grand Finalists.
c. The decision of the Screening Committee shall be final and binding to all parties concerned.
d. There shall be a Board of Judges which shall choose the winners from among the Grand Finalists during the final competition night.
e. The decision of the Board of Judges shall be final and binding to all parties concerned.
f. The final judging by the Board of Judges shall follow two phases:
i. Selection of Grand Finalists – September 15, 2022
ii. Finals – October 1, 2022.
g. Production and performance are not consideration for judging. The song will be judged solely on originality, melody and lyrics.
h. The general criteria are as follows:
i. 40%, Musical Content – refers to the appeal of the melody and its accompanying basic harmony.
ii. 40%, Lyrics – refers to the body of the verse used in the musical composition.
iii. 20%, Over-all Impact – refers to the general appeal of the song entry based on the concept, treatment of subject, structure and unity of musical elements
i. AFCA (Association of Filipino Canadian Accountants) is the official auditing partner for this Songwriting Competition.
I. FINAL NIGHT OF THE COMPETITION
a. There will be a live show on October 1, 2022, 6PM EST at the XinFlix Media Studios, 421 Bentley Street, Unit 8, Markham ON L3R 0H7, where the Grand Finalists will be presented.
b. The composer can perform their own composition or by an interpreter.
c. Winners will be announced during the final night of the competition.
d. PIDC shall have the right and discretion to choose or assign the interpreter and/or arranger of the composition and for the Grand Finals performance on October 1, 2022. This is applicable whether the finalist is in town or out of town.
II. PRIZES
a. Grand Champion $ 3,000.00 plus Trophy
b. First Runner-Up $ 1,000.00 plus Trophy
c. Second Runner-Up $ 500.00 plus Trophy
***If the winning composition is a collaboration, the division of prizes is the responsibility of the winners.
III. NOTIFICATIONS AND WAIVER
a. A composition may or may not have been copyrighted. However, Grand Finalists’ compositions will be copyrighted by PIDC under the name of the corresponding composer/songwriter.
b. Notwithstanding any provision of these rules, all musical compositions submitted to PIDC remain as intellectual properties of their respective composers/songwriters and lyricists.
c. By submitting any entries to this Competition (whether publicly or privately), the entrant hereby grants PIDC a limited, non-exclusive license to use, stream, transmit, store, publicly display, translate, reproduce and distribute such entry in any format, whether known or unknown, including the limited right to use the applicant’s likeness and persona and rights of publicity ONLY for purposes of this competition.
d. By entering this competition, the entrant expressly agrees to the Terms and Conditions listed on this Rules and Regulations.
e. The Rules and Regulations established by PIDC specifically for this songwriting competition shall form part of the Registration/Application Form as consented or signed by the applicant whether online, hardcopy or via e-mail.

IV. RIGHTS
a. PIDC reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to adjust any of the dates, timeframes, amounts of the prizes, terms and provisions and/or other Competition mechanics stipulated in these Rules and Regulations, to the extent necessary at any time without further notice.
b. PIDC reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to withdraw, amend or suspend this Competition (or to amend these Rules and Regulations) in any way, at any time without further notice.
c. By entering the PIDC Songwriting Competition, the applicant represents and warrant that his/her entry is an original work and that the content does not violate the copyrights, trademarks, contract rights, privacy rights, publicity rights, or any other rights or any person or business
d. The composer/songwriter shall hold PIDC, its affiliates, and all its officers and members, and all Competition Committees, including the members thereof, free and harmless from any suit, demand, debt, obligation, expense or liability arising from any misrepresentation or fraud in connection with his entry submitted to the competition.

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