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For all songwriters, songwriting competitions are a great way to receive exposure for your songs. It can lead to much better opportunities and provide rewards that can help sustain you in your continuing efforts. However, there are some potential problems associated with songwriting competitions that may surprise you.

Indeed, a songwriting competition can provide exposure to your song and help to launch your career as a songwriter. Perhaps the most important aspect of winning a songwriting competition is having your name published which has the potential to drive more people to find out more about you.

I believe that it pays to be realistic and informed about the publicity aspect of a songwriting competition. But, it is necessary to provide further perspective on the subject of publicity.

First of all, the focus is almost always on the individual song. Many songwriting competitions require you to sign away at least some portion of your rights to the song. You typically retain ownership of the song, but there is a difference in owning a song and having rights to a song which is beyond the scope of this article. I will only say that if you don’t know the difference, you should devote a little time to find out on your own time.

Beyond raw talent, publicity is perhaps the most important aspect of success while it is also sometimes the most overlooked and misunderstood. Try to think of publicity as flying a kite. Your kite may be well designed, but you must have a good wind and plenty of string as well as the knowledge to get the kite into the air. That is, there are many variables at play that are outside of your ability to control.

Stated differently, when the wind is right, you must have your well designed kite ready to go. In this analogy, the wind is the publicity that you receive from winning a songwriting competition. But, is your kite ready? Your kite is analogous to your musical collateral and your web presence.

The bottom line is, winning the competition can launch your career if you have spent some time in preparation for the exposure you will receive. You must have a way to capture the attention of potential business partners once you have the brief moment of exposure from a songwriting competition.

Today, more than ever, attention spans are very short. You have sometimes a moment to capture the attention of the right people and a moment to hold on to their attention with a “story” that is progressively more compelling each step along the way.

Signing away the rights to your song is not necessarily a bad thing, if you are ready to move to the next level. So, why is signing away the rights to a song not necessarily a bad thing? You should have written many songs. The first song may get you the attention, but you should never build your songwriting career on the success of one song.

Your success not only depends on your ability to write good songs, you must also find an audience for them. You should have enough music collateral to demonstrate your value to others as a songwriter when the wind starts to blow in your favor. For example, say you have won a songwriting competition and it looks like your song will be released with your performance or performed by a big name entertainer.

What is the next step?

You need to have something to show people in the music business to prove that you can produce more than one great song. For a singer songwriter, the expectation is actually much higher. You must not only write great songs, but you must perform them consistently well in front of people.

Think of it this way, if you are a singer songwriter and expect to attract an audience outside of those who know you and will support you no matter what, shouldn’t you have enough solidly good material to entertain them for a few hours? The same principle applies to making the most of winning songwriting competitions.

You need to have more to show than a singular song and you need to have it ready to present when people take a few seconds of time to Google your name.

When is signing away the rights of a song not a good thing? It is not a good thing if you already have an exclusive arrangement with someone for the promotion of a song. It will be eventually discovered and it could get you disqualified, which is a waste of time and money for everyone. However, it is ok to enter a song if you have an agreement which allows it and the songwriting competition allows it.

The song must be generally available for exploitation and available from all involved parties, including co-writers, representatives, etc.

I was actually surprised to learn that most songwriting competitions are open to amateurs and professionals. You are competing with people who may have already written a great song or who may be known in the industry.

I recently discovered that Jordan Zevon won the 2008 USA Songwriting competition. Jordan is, of course, the son of the late, great Warren Zevon. Most people immediately regard this as unfair, but is it really? I want to know, who is running the show? The answer to this question is the overall answer, I think. The songwriting competition creators and administrators are running the show. It is their competition so they can create whatever rules they wish.

Please, don’t give up because you are in competition with pros and with famous people. If you are a great songwriter, then your songs must compete on the national level. Write great songs and get in there with the pros! When you win, it will be a wonderful victory.

While on the subject of competition, I believe that it makes sense to give your song the benefit of everything you have at your disposal. Yes, it may be a great song, but it needs to SOUND great. Don’t think that presentation does not matter, it does. If you believe in your song, then show it with a great presentation.

Of course, this means creating a demo that sounds professional. You would be surprised at what can be done with today’s technology. Either take the time to learn the technology, or find someone who can help you. There is no substitute for a great singer. If you cannot sing, then don’t. Find someone who can help to give your career the boost that it deserves.

I know that I cannot sing. Unfortunately, there are some who don’t know their own limitations. Even if you can stay in key, it is not always enough. Then again, some people have the great fortune to possess great songwriting skills and a great singing voice. These folks have a tremendous advantage over those of us who only sound good in the car and in the shower.

There are also songwriting competitions that are very clearly profit making ventures. This is also not such a bad thing. Profit is what fuels a capital society and harboring resentment toward people that want to make money can actually cause trouble for someone who wishes to enter the business of music. It is a hard fact, people work for money. Music may be built on altruism, but the success of music is not built on altruism. Yes, people love music, but other people are not willing to work for free.

It is simple, but it is a common mistake for artists of all types to develop an attitude toward the business end of music. Try to think of it this way, having songwriting competitions creates opportunities for you as a songwriter. The more competitions there are, the more opportunities that will exist for you. I would encourage everyone to make the most of the current system rather than fight it purely on the basis of high principles.

Rather than fret about people who presumably have no musical talent making money at your expense, you would be much better to find a way to work within any system, including independent music.

In closing, I would encourage anyone to ride the wave of opportunity and to go fly a kite!

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