Another great songwriting association is West Coast Songwriters (WCS), which was founded in 1979 and has grown into one of the most active music association in the USA. Artists entering the West Coast Songwriters International Song Contest 2011 have the chance to win an impressive grand prize package and a smaller prize pack for winners in each category. Prizes include:
- The grand prize Winner will receive an Ovation guitar valued at $700 plus a WCS t-shirt, and official Winner certificate. They will also be given a Conference Pass for the 31st annual WCS Music Conference taking place September 9-11, 2011 (including lodging at a nearby hotel). If the winner is a performing songwriter they will also be invited to perform their winning song at the Sunset Concert at the Conference in front of all the music industry guests.
- Individual category winners will receive an ADK Audiophile Series A-51 microphone worth $270 plus WCS t-shirt, and official Winner certificates.
We had a chance to speak with the grand prize winner of WCS from last year, Michael Jade. Here’s what he had to say about his experience with WCS:
What song did you submit? What category/categories did you submit to?
I submitted "Invisible", "What Was I Thinking", and "Down Here at the Bay", to the uniquely named Pop/Rock category.
Why did you choose that song?
I chose "Invisible" because it sounded like candy at the time, and candy is frequently people's guilty pleasure. I also thought I'd try my hand at submitting something self-produced. Who would have thought, huh?
What was your experience like submitting to the contest and then finding out you were the winner?
I woke up in a stranger’s bathroom in Nashville when I heard the news. Let me explain. I was living with a friend of a friend (who I didn't know), and I woke up that morning and went to the bathroom (not fully waking up until I entered the bathroom), and got the call that I had won the competition.
It was especially cool to get the news in an English accent. Everything sounds more accomplished and creative in an English accent. I was thrilled to hear that I had won. They sent over this gorgeous angelic guitar that played even better than it looked. Ian and Joanie were so welcoming with their invitation to the conference; there was no way I was not going to come. As a songwriter, life gets really repetitive as you jump from song to song. Winning a competition like this couldn't be a more loud way to say, "Keep doing what you're doing".
What did this win do for your career?
Since winning and attending the conference, I was very fortunate to get to mingle with a lot of music industry folks ranging from writers, to publishers, to producers. Any friend is valuable. There is something to learn from EVERYONE, and there is something everyone can learn from you. Coming to the conference as a guest, and having won the competition, I guess there was a bit of a rep to my name already, which was really cool. Throughout the weekend, I received extremely warm regards, and that eased me into conversation (as I'm not naturally the most skilled conversation starter).
By the end of the night, being drunk on a mixture of both the time and the poison, I had made a friendship with almost every single guest and many conference attendees, some of which I even remained in contact when I was out in Nashville.
What advice can you give to artists thinking of submitting their songs to songwriting contests?
Be brutally honest with your work, and don't be a coward to your honesty. Listen to your favorite songwriter, and don't stop until you have written a song that is better than that. Only learn, learn, learn. If you're going to worry about something, let it be about the next song, not the one you just wrote. If that is where your head is at all times, you will elegantly lay the bricks to your yellow-brick road, along which many competitions will come. Every day should be a songwriting competition. Compete against the "most played" songs on your iTunes playlist, and be your own judge, (your critique will be better than you think). If your songwriting is touching you more than the songs you are hearing from your heroes, expect good results at competitions.
Get writing and submit your songs today here. The deadline to submit is January 31, 2011.
