International Songwriting Competition (ISC)

Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Fleet Foxes, Tom Waits, Cam, American Authors, Irma Thomas, Tanya Tucker, Camila, and many more high-profile recording artists have been slated to join the panel of judges for the 2019 International Songwriting Competition. Additionally, record label heavyweights from Republic, Capitol, Warner Records, Epic, Glassnote, Parlophone, Elektra, and more are also part of the judging panel that will be tasked with listening to and selecting the winners in the competition. In 2018, ISC received almost 19,000 entries from more than 140 countries worldwide.

ISC, established in 2002, is designed to nurture the musical talent of songwriters of all levels and promote excellence in the art of songwriting. It is open to both professional and amateur songwriters and artists in 23 genre categories. The competition gives away more than $150,000 in cash and merchandise split among 71 winners, with the Grand Prize comprised of $25,000 in cash plus additional prizes. Past winners have included Vance Joy, Illenium, R.LUM.R., Gotye, Bastille, The Band Perry, Kehlani, Kimbra, and Lindsey Stirling, among others.

"We are extremely honored and appreciative to have so many renowned artists and industry executives included as judges this year," said Candace Avery, the competition's Founder and Director. "The participation of these judges is what sets ISC apart from other music competitions and is what makes ISC so special."

The list of 2019 judges includes:
Recording Artists:
Coldplay; Dua Lipa; Tom Waits; Fleet Foxes; American Authors; The Script; Nancy Wilson (Heart); Tanya Tucker; Kevin Gates; Cam; Kristian Bush (Sugarland); Sara Evans; Bastille; Keane; Gloria Trevi; Walker Hayes; Jeremih; Sidewalk Prophets; Lukas Nelson; Danilo Perez; James McNally (Afro Celt Sound System); Krewella; Kari Jobe; Rakim (Eric B. & Rakim); Camila; Peter Erskine; Matthew West; Robert Randolph (Robert Randolph & The Family Band); DJ Shadow; Nervo; Easton Corbin; Mandolin Orange; Amadou & Miriam; Kaskade; John Mayall; Ted Nash; Joe Louis Walker; Gordon Goodwin; Nicholas Gunn; Ashwin Batish; Lonnie Liston Smith; Walter Trout; Micah Tyler; Aparna Nancheris; Jimmy Pardo; John Tibbs; and more to be announced.

Industry Executives:
Avery Lipman (Founder/President, Republic Records); Sylvia Rhone (Chairman/CEO, Epic Records); Daniel Glass (President, Glassnote Records); Jo Charrington (Co-President, Capitol Music Group UK); Nick Burgess (Co-President, Parlophone Records); Mark Mitchell (Co-President, Parlophone Records); Mike Easterlin (Co-President, Elektra Music Group); John Burk (President, Concord Label Group); Ed Vetri (President, Wind-Up Records); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); Kate Craig (VP of A&R, Warner Records); Nate Albert (EVP of A&R, Capitol Records); Jacob Edgar (Founder, Cumbancha); Josh Bailey (Senior VP of A&R, Word Entertainment); Gordon Kerr (CEO, Black River Entertainment); Richard Stumpf (CEO, Atlas Publishing); Kim Buie (VP of A&R, New West Records); AJ Tobey (Head of A&R, Rough Trade Publishing); Cory Robbins (Founder/President, Robbins Entertainment); Julie Kertes (Editor/Manager, Hot Diggity Media); Carletta Higginson (Global Head of Music Publishing, YouTube); Laura Margolin (Publishing, Glassnote Records); Leib Ostrow (Founder/CEO, Music For Little People); Katherine Dines (Co-President, The Children's Music Network); Claire S. Green (President, Parent's Choice Foundation); Benjamin Groff (Founder, The Brill Building); Golnar Khosrowshahi (President, Reservoir Media Management); Tamara Conniff (EVP, Roc Nation); Carl Caprioglio (Founder/CEO, Oglio Entertainment); and more to be announced.

ISC is sponsored by Celebrity Access, Eventric, Lurssen Mastering, Merch Cat, Musicians Institute, PreSonus, SongU, Sweetwater, and TuneCore. Copyright © 2019 International Songwriting Competition / Unsigned Only Music Co

Photo by Jason Rosewell on Unsplash