1.1 Information on how to enter the Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition (Competition), any forms, the Prize and rules for redeeming the Prize form part of these terms and conditions. By submitting an entry in the Competition, that person agrees to be bound by these terms and conditions.
1.2 The Competition is a game of skill only. Chance plays no part in determining the winner.
1.3 All proceeds from the Competition will be donated by the Organiser to Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia Limited (ABN 66 078 602 089).
The Organiser of the Competition is Australasian Performing Right Association Ltd (ABN 42 000 016 099) of 16 Mountain Street, Ultimo, New South Wales, 2007, AUSTRALIA (Organiser).
3.1 Entry is open to individuals that are amateur or professional songwriters, regardless of nationality or country of residence, whether published or unpublished. Entry must be in the name of an individual (Entrant).
3.2 The Entrant must be the writer or a co-writer of each Song entered under his or her name.
3.3 Songs co-written by multiple writers are eligible for entry. However, an individual Song may be entered once only, under the name of a single Entrant. It is the responsibility of the Entrant to divide any Prize with co-writers as appropriate.
3.4 Entrants who are under the age of 18 years old on the date of entry (Minor Entrant) must have a parent or guardian’s approval to enter the Competition and the parent or guardian of the Minor Entrant must read and consent to these terms and conditions. Minor Entrants may be disqualified in the event that their parent or guardian refuses a reasonable request by the Organiser to enter into a further agreement as evidence of consent to the minor entering the Competition or sign further documentation in the event that the Minor Entrant is the winner of the Competition.
3.5 An Entrant may be disqualified in the event that they (or their parent or guardian in the case of a Minor Entrant) refuses a request by the Organiser to sign documentation as, and in the form, reasonably required by the Organiser and entities associated with the Competition in their absolute discretion, including but not limited to a legal release and indemnity form.
3.6 Employees of the Organiser (and their immediate families) are ineligible to enter.
4.1 Each entry will be of an original musical work and associated lyrics, where applicable (Song) in recorded form, which will be individually judged in accordance with Clause 9.
4.2 Entrants may enter as many Songs as they choose, with each Song being a discrete entry for which a separate entry fee is payable.
4.3 To enter validly online, Entrants must follow the directions on the Competition online entry form at vandayoung.apra.com.au and properly complete and submit an online entry form for each Song entered together with a recording of the Song in MP3 format and payment of a $50 AUD entry fee per Song entered. A currency equivalent entry fee may be provided.
4.4 Subject to Clause 12.4, all entry fees are non-refundable.
4.5 The Organiser may verify the validity of entries and may disqualify any Entrant for any reason at the Organiser’s sole discretion. An entry which does not comply with these terms and conditions is invalid. Incomplete, indecipherable or illegible entries will be deemed invalid
4.6 It is the Entrant’s responsibility to ensure that the recording submitted in respect of each entered Song is complete and playable. The Organiser is not responsible for late, lost, damaged, misdirected, postage due, stolen, or misappropriated entries.
4.7 Subject to clause 7, all entry materials submitted (including entry forms and Song recordings) become the physical property of the Organiser on receipt and will not be returned to the Entrant. Copies of entry materials may be retained by the Organiser for promotional purposes in accordance with these terms and conditions. Otherwise, all entry materials will be destroyed by the Organiser after the Winners are announced.
4.8 Entering the Competition does not guarantee that an Entrant will win a Prize or derive any other benefit. The Organiser is not responsible in any way for the decisions, actions or conduct of the Judging Committee.
5.1 The Competition commences on Monday 28 November, 2022 at 9am AEDT and closes on Friday 24 February 2023 at 5:00pm AEDT (Competition Period). The Organiser will not be liable for any changes to the Competition Period.
5.2 All entries must be received by the Organiser prior to the end of the Competition Period. Entries are deemed to be received at the time of receipt by the Organiser not the time of submission by the Entrant. The Organiser is not responsible for failure to receive any entry, whether for any cause beyond its control or otherwise.
All details of the Entrant will be held in accordance with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 and the Organiser’s privacy policy which can be viewed at https://www.apraamcos.com.au/about/governance-policy/policies-procedures/privacy-policy. Any personal information of the Entrant will only be used for the purpose of the Competition. The Organiser will not, without the Entrant’s consent, disclose or permit access to the Entrant’s personal information other than for the purpose of this Competition.
7.1 The Entrant, and all other relevant copyright owners, will retain any copyright they hold at the time of submission, and all other rights controlled by the Entrant or other rights holders in any Song entered in the Competition. For the avoidance of doubt, no copyright in any Song or any recording of the Song entered will be assigned to the Organiser by virtue of entering this Competition.
7.2 The Entrant, herein, grants the Organiser all rights necessary for the Organiser to use the Song and the recording of the Song for the purposes of the Competition.
8 Licences, Warranties and Indemnities
8.1 By entering the Competition, the Entrant warrants to the Organiser in respect of each Song submitted in this Competition that:
(a) The Entrant is the author or co-author of the Song.
(b) The Entrant owns the copyright in the Song and is entitled to submit the musical work as a part of and for the purposes of this Competition.
(c) The Song does not infringe the rights of any third party, including copyright, and all efforts have been taken to avoid any such infringement.
(d) The Entrant has obtained written permission from any co-writer or publisher controlling any rights in the entered Song.
(e) The Song is not offensive, inappropriate, defamatory, or is otherwise not against the law.
8.2 By entering the Competition, the Entrant shall indemnify and hold the Organiser harmless from and against any claims inconsistent with the foregoing.
8.3 By entering the Competition, The Entrant agrees:
(a) That all Songs entered may be distributed to the Judging Committee who will be determining the Winners.
(b) That the Organiser may, in its sole discretion, take down any Song from any platform, or disqualify an Entrant for a Song that the Organiser deems to be offensive, inappropriate, defamatory, infringes the rights of any third party including copyright or is otherwise against the law.
(c) That should an Entrant’s Song be selected as a Winner, the Organiser shall have permission to use that Song and the recording of that Song, as well as the Entrant’s name, country, likeness, and voice, solely for any and all advertising and publicity purposes in connection with the Competition, as well as on the Organiser’s website and through its social media channels without additional compensation.
8.4 The Organiser (and any party associated with the Competition) will not be liable for:
(a) any loss, damage, payment or expense of any kind (including but not limited to indirect or consequential loss or damage caused by the Organiser’s or other party’s negligence), or personal injury or other damage suffered or sustained as a result of entering, judging, running, cancellation or acceptance, enjoyment or use of the Competition or the Prize (or part thereof), except for any liability that cannot be excluded by law. The Entrant indemnifies the Organiser against all liabilities, losses, damages, costs and expenses (including all legal costs, whether incurred or awarded) suffered or incurred by the Organiser in relation to any breach by the Entrant of its obligations under these terms and conditions.
(b) the loss or destruction of any entry materials. Entrants should retain a copy of all materials submitted, including a copy of the recording of the Song.
(c) any loss or damage of any kind (including but not limited to indirect or consequential loss or loss or damage caused by the Organiser’s or other party’s negligence) arising out of, or in connection with, the postponement or variation of the Competition or the Prize (or part thereof), subject to Clause 12.4.
8.5 Entrants agree to release, indemnify, and hold the Organiser and Judging Committee harmless for any liability, damages, or claims for injury or loss to any person or property relating to, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, participation in the Competition.
9.1 The Organiser will appoint an external judging committee comprised of a selection of high-profile music industry professionals (Judging Committee).
9.2 Each valid entry will initially be reviewed by the Organiser and judged on its merits to determine a shortlist of Songs for consideration by the Judging Committee (Shortlist).
9.3 Each Song comprised in the Shortlist will be reviewed by the Judging Committee and judged on its merits to determine a discrete First Place Winner, Second Place Winner, Third Place Winner, International Prize Winner and Unpublished Prize Winner (together, Winners).
9.4 For the purposes of Clauses 9.2 and 9.3:
(a) Entries will be rendered anonymous and numbered prior to judging.
(b) Entries will be judged equally on melody, composition, originality, and lyrics, when applicable. Lyrics may be in any language. Production value and quality of performance will not be considered.
9.5 Judgement of entries is at the absolute discretion of the Organiser and Judging Committee. The decisions of the Organiser and Judging Committee with respect to the Competition are final and no correspondence will be entered into. For the avoidance of doubt, the Judging Committee will not provide Entrants with feedback or a critique with respect to entered Songs.
10.1 The Organiser will use its best endeavours to announce the Winners by Friday 30th June, 2023, but will not be held liable for any unforeseen delays in the judging process.
10.2 The Winners will be notified by email or telephone. The Winners will also be posted on the website www.apraamcos.com.au/vandayoungsongcomp.
10.3 The Winners will be required to make a statutory declaration confirming their winning Song is original, does not infringe any copyright or any other rights of any third parties, and that all necessary permissions to enter the Song have been obtained. Provision by an Entrant of false information or the failure to sign, return or otherwise validly make that statutory declaration within the time period specified by the Organiser may result in that Entrant’s disqualification, revocation of any Prize awarded to that Entrant and an alternate Winner being selected in lieu of that Entrant.
10.4 If a winning Entrant is a Minor Entrant, the Prize, or part of the Prize, will be awarded to the Minor Entrant’s parent or guardian on their behalf at the discretion of the Organiser.
10.5 Winners may be disqualified in the event that they (or their parent or guardian in the case of a Minor Entrant) refuse a request by the Organiser to sign a waiver of liability and indemnity in favour of the Organiser in respect of the Prize, in a form reasonably determined by the Organiser.
11.1 Subject to Clause 12, the prize awarded to the Winners comprises the following (Prize):
(a) The Entrant determined as the First Place Winner will receive AUD $50,000 cash.
(b) The Entrant determined as the Second Place Winner will receive AUD $10,000 cash.
(c) The Entrant determined as the Third Place Winner will receive AUD $5,000 cash.
(d) The Entrant determined as the AMPAL Emerging Songwriter Prize Winner will receive AUD $5,000 cash.
(e) The Entrant determined as the American Songwriter Spotlight Award Prize Winner will receive AUD $1,500 cash.
11.2 The total Prize is estimated to be valued up to AUD $71,500. The Prize values are correct at the time of printing, but no responsibility is accepted by the Organiser for any variation in the value of the Prize or part of the Prize. If, for any reason, the Prize, or part of the Prize, is not available or otherwise cannot be granted by the Organiser and has a value, the Organiser reserves the right to substitute the Prize, or part of the Prize, for a prize of similar value.
12.1 The applicable Prize will be awarded in full to the individual Entrant who submitted the song for which a Prize was awarded. The subsequent division of that Prize among co-writers (if any) is the responsibility of that Entrant.
12.2 The Prize is not transferable or exchangeable. The Organiser is not liable in any way if the Winners cannot receive, accept or use any element of the Prize for any reason. The Prize (or any part thereof) may be cancelled at the Organiser's discretion if Winners attempt to transfer it.
12.3 The Organiser will not cover any associated costs in connection with the Winners' enjoyment of the Prize other than those expressly stipulated above or on the Competition entry form. Without limiting anything else in these terms and conditions, the Winners are not entitled to any reimbursement of any kind as a result of entering the Competition or enjoying or participating in the Prize or part of the Prize. Any taxes payable in relation to the Prize are the sole responsibility of the Winners.
12.4 The Organiser reserves the right, in its absolute discretion, at any time during the Competition period, to vary, withdraw, postpone or cancel the Competition or Prize including without limitation, in circumstances where it cannot conduct the Competition or grant any part of the Prize for any reason beyond its control. In the event the Competition is withdrawn or cancelled in its entirety, Entrants will be refunded their entry fee in full.
12.5 The Organiser has the right to refuse to allow any Winner to take part in all or part of the Prize, if the Organiser deems, at its discretion, that it is not appropriate for that Winner to take part in all or part of the Prize for any reason.
Failure by the Organiser to enforce any of its rights at any stage does not constitute a waiver of those rights.
The Competition including these terms and conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of New South Wales, Australia and all Entrants irrevocably and unconditionally agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales, Australia