Monthly Archives: March 2011

Voting

Press Photo for Glorious Savior of Swaff, Carson Ray, and JDW--Photo by Erik Dixon

Many of you have been asking about voting in the International Songwriting Competition and the Independent Music Awards (please see the earlier posts below).   It has really been an honor to be nominated as a finalist in both of these.  Both have judges who will choose the winners, as well as a separate process that is based on audience ratings and voting. If you want to check out the finalists and vote, here are the links:

This is the one where you can vote everyday through March 31:

http://www.sonicbids.com/voting/Default.aspx?p=372

This is the one that is a one-time-only vote through July 11:

http://www.independentmusicawards.com/imanominee/10th/Song/Contemporary-Christian .

Thank you for taking the time to do this! I’ll be posting updates soon!

International Songwriting Competition Finalist

We received another recognition from Leap!  Check out the press release below:

March 13, 2011:  The song Glorious Savior from the new album Leap by J. Douglas Wright of Carrollton, Georgia is a finalist in the annual International Songwriting Competition (ISC).  The album was produced by Brandon Swafford of Swaff Productions in Villa Rica, Georgia.  The song was written by Swafford, Wright, and Carson Ray.  This year, ISC received well over 15,000 entries from 115 countries throughout the world, representing all genres of contemporary music. The ISC listening committee narrowed these entries down to 323 finalists in 22 categories. These finalists hail from 33 countries from all corners of the world, from Uruguay to Armenia, from Moldova to Hungary, from Zaire to the Ukraine, and everywhere in between. Reflecting the international scope of the competition, over 58% of all finalists and semi-finalists come from outside the USA. Winners will be selected from the group of finalists by ISC judges Peter Gabriel, Tom Waits, Rihanna, Ben Harper, Kings of Leon, Jeff Beck, McCoy Tyner, and many more.

Winners will be announced in late April, 2011. Prizes include over $150,000 in cash, merchandise, and services – including a Grand Prize of $25,000 cash and $20,000 in additional prizes.

Go to http://www.songwritingcompetition.com/winners to see the complete list.

The ISC finalists’ songs are currently posted on the ISC website as part of the People’s Voice – an online voting contest that allows the public to listen to and vote for their favorite ISC finalist. The winner of the People’s Voice is selected solely by public vote and is in addition to, and completely separate from, the regular winners who will be selected by the prestigious ISC judging panel. To listen to the finalists’ songs and to cast your vote (you be the judge!), visit: http://www.sonicbids.com/voting/Default.aspx?p=372

ISC 2010 was the most competitive of any year in terms of quality of entries. ISC received so many wonderful songs that reflected creativity, diversity, and excellent songwriting craftsmanship, and as a result, it was the most difficult year to select the finalists. “Selecting both the finalists and the semi-finalists was a challenging and daunting task,” says Founder and Director Candace Avery. “The competition was so extreme this year, making the status of being selected a finalist or semi-finalist an honor that is elevated and even more prestigious than in past years.” Accordingly, there is a record number of finalists and semi-finalists. Congratulations to all these deserving songwriters!

The complete list of ISC judges includes:

Recording Artists: Peter Gabriel; Rihanna; Kings of Leon; Tom Waits; Ben Harper; Jeff Beck; Kelly Clarkson; Timbaland; Keane; McCoy Tyner; Ben Folds; Train; Robbie Williams; Joe Nichols; Michael W. Smith; John Scofield; Jerry Lee Lewis; Regina Spektor; Alejandro Sanz; Jeremy Camp; Terence Blanchard; Ray Wylie Hubbard; Montel Jordan; John Mayall; Craig Morgan; Jazmine Sullivan; DJ Tiësto; James Cotton; Sandra Bernhard; Robert Earl Keen; Baaba Maal; Wynonna; John Digweed; K’Naan; Adele; Black Francis (The Pixies); Robert Smith (The Cure); Chris Hillman (The Byrds); Darryl McDaniels (Run D.M.C.); Toots Hibbert (Toots & The Maytals); Matt Thiessen (Relient K); Chayanne; and Dan Zanes

Industry Executives: Monte Lipman (President, Universal Republic Records); Amanda Ghost (President, Epic Records); Rick Krim (Exec. VP, Talent & Music Programming, VH1); Brian Malouf (VP A&R, Walt Disney Records); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); Angel Carrasco (Sr. VP A&R, Latin America, Sony/BMG); Ric Arboit (President, Nettwerk Music Group); Daniel Glass (Founder/CEO, Glassnote Entertainment Group); Cory Robbins (Founder/President, Robbins Entertainment); Dr. Demento (Radio Host, The Dr. Demento Show); Steve Lillywhite (Producer); Dan Storper (President, Putamayo World Music Records and Putumayo Kids); Lisa Ramsey Perkins (Sr. Director, A&R Sony Nashville); Kim Buie (VP A&R, Lost Highway); Leib Ostrow (CEO, Music For Little People); and Tommy Morris (Talent Coordinator, The Comedy Store)

This is the second recognition for Leap in the last month (see the following press release).  Leap was released in January 2011 and is available on iTunes and at local Christian bookstores.

xxx