NSAI 21st Annual Song Contest Opens Sept. 1

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The Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) along with presenting sponsors Martin Guitars and Strings and CMT, have announced details for the 21st Annual Song Contest. Beginning Sept. 1 at 12 p.m. CT, songwriters around the world are invited to submit their songs and/or lyrics for a chance to win up to $5,000 cash, a mentor session with songwriter-artist and the Academy of Country Music’s (ACM) 2020 New Female Artist of the Year Tenille Townes and hit songwriters Ross Golan and Joe London of And the Writer Is… (Grand Prize category winner) or Grammy-winning songwriter Brett James (Lyric-Only category winner), 1 of 12 Martin Guitar prize packages (each including a Martin guitar and Martin Authentic Acoustic Strings), a one-year single-song contract with Anthem Entertainment, a CMT prize package and more.

Each year the contest provides an opportunity for songwriters of all genres to have their song(s) and lyrics evaluated and judged by industry professionals through several phases of judging, with every entry receiving a scorecard with their judging evaluation. Up to 22 entries will place in the contest, and the live final judging phase for the Song Category will feature the Top 10 Finalists’ entries vying for the Grand Prize.

During the first round of judging, all eligible submissions received by NSAI will be judged in their respective categories by music industry professionals and scored to determine whether they move on to a second round of judging during which the top ten finalists and up to ten honorable mentions will be determined for the Song Category, the Lyric-Only winner and runner-up. In February of 2021, the top ten finalists for the Song Category will be scored during a live-streamed event where a music industry-based celebrity panel of elite music industry professionals will score each submission, with the highest total score receiving the Grand Prize.

Beginning Sept. 1 at 12:00 p.m. Central, entries can be submitted online at nsai.cmt.com or they can be mailed to the NSAI office (NSAI–ATTN: Song Contest, 1710 Roy Acuff Place, Nashville, TN 37203). All entries mailed in must include the submission form, entry fee, printed lyric sheet, and one audio CD (unless a Lyric-Only entry). Entry fees are $35 per song for current NSAI members and $45 per song for non-NSAI members. There is no limit to the number of songs that songwriters can submit, and all submissions must be submitted or postmarked by Nov. 3 at 4 p.m. CT.

Jessica Nicholson
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