CONTEST RULES, TERMS & CONDITIONS
1. Each songwriter may enter up to three songs. Limit of three song entries per songwriter. A $50 fee includes up to three song submissions plus admission to the Singer/Songwriter Workshop on October 17th, 2015 in Provo, Utah. All entry-fees are non-refundable.
2. Eligibility: Songwriters under 18 may enter with their parent or legal guardian’s permission, however, entrants under the age of 18 are only eligible for the grand prize trip to Nashville if their parent/legal guardian agrees to pay their own expenses for the trip. Entrants under the age of 18 are eligible for all the other prizes. Contest is open to United States residents ONLY. The Grand Prize winner must travel to and from Nashville, Tennessee via commercial airlines from a major airport located in the continental United States. Employees of Big Door, Writer’s Den and their immediate families are ineligible to participate in this contest. Any such submission will be immediately invalidated. In addition, this contest is void where prohibited or restricted by any Federal, State or Local law. Contest is not open to songwriters with existing publishing deals. Songs entries or contestants that have current or pending contracts placed on them at the time of their submission cannot be entered.
3. Be sure your song or lyrics are complete upon submissions. No revisions or alterations to the entry will be accepted once the contestant has completed the submission process.
4. Only the grand prize winner will go to Nashville. All creators of any submission must be listed on each lyric sheet. Up to four creators may be listed and only a single entry fee is required. Any creator may complete the entry process and will be listed as the primary contact for the submission. Upon submitting the entry, all creators listed agree to the terms of the contest. Prizes such as airfare, video and hotel accommodations are fixed and do not multiply for multiple creators of a single song. The top ten finalists will be notified on or before October 1st, 2015. Judges can and may request additional songs if needed to determine the prize distribution.
5. The Skype song critique sessions with a Nashville publisher and/or creative director is limited to the songwriter who submitted and won that prize. Other co-writers cannot be added to the critique session.
6. Top Ten finalists will be notified by phone or email by October 1st, 2015. Top Ten Finalists will have the chance to perform live at the Singer/Songwriter Workshop on October 17th, 2015 at Big Door in Provo, UT.
7. The top three songwriters will be announced at the Singer/Songwriter Workshop on October 17th. The grand prize winner and distribution of other prizes will be announced at the seminar. Songwriters must be present to win. If a songwriter chooses to not attend the workshop, the next finalist will be chosen.
8. Songs uploaded through the online submission system must be in one of the following formats: MP3, WAV, MOV, or MP4. All lyrics must be uploaded in one of the following file types: PDF, DOC, RTF.
9. Entries must be submitted through our online submission process on or before 11:59 pm on September 15th, 2015.
10. The entry fee must be submitted as an online transaction during the entry process. We accept payment via credit card or PayPal.
11. Any and all submissions must be original compositions and the sole work of the creator(s) listed. All entries must not be in violation of any copyright laws, trademarks, intellectual property rights or basic ethical standards of amateur or professional songwriting. Any entry found to be in violation of the above or proven to be plagiarized in any way will be immediately disqualified. Furthermore, Big Door shall in no way be held liable for any such legal action that results from unlawful or restricted submissions.
12. The purpose of this contest is to judge entries solely on the quality of the song or lyrics. Do not submit with your entry any pitches, testimonials, singer recommendations, links or any other documentation wishing to support your entry. Such material received will be ignored.
13. All rights to submitted songs and lyrics are retained by their creator(s) and/or entrants. Big Door will not reproduce any submission for the purposes of sale and does not claim any ownership or rights to any entry whatsoever. You remain the owner of your work.
14. All contestants have the option of featuring their songs on the Winners page of the Big Door website which will be posted after winners are announced. This is entirely up to the entrant and can be removed from the website at any time at the request of the entrant or winner. This will be for marketing and promotional purposes only and no songs will ever be sold by Big Door.
15. It is acknowledged that similar beats, notes, sounds, lyrics or other elements may be embodied in more than one submission and any overlap of such reasonably shared elements do not entitle any entrant to any compensation or credit.
16. Big Door reserves the right to extend entry deadlines and/or change submission fees and make any necessary changes, postponements or cancellations in event scheduling. Individual entry fees are final upon registration and payment.
17. Big Door will directly notify finalists only by October 1st, 2015 via email or phone. Big Door is not responsible for any Federal, State or Local Taxes or international customs costs. Prizes will be issued to winners within 30 days of the Songwriters Seminar. The Nashville trip dates are fixed and will be in November 2015. The exact dates will be announced by May 1, 2015. The performance at a recognized Nashville venue is in November 2015, and that venue will be announced at the Songwriter Seminar (as requested by the venue). Winner must be available to go to Nashville in November 2015 or they will forfeit the prize, and it will be awarded to another songwriter chosen by the judges. The filming and/or recording time for the professional music video will be scheduled and completed within 90 days of the Songwriters’ Seminar.
18. Entrant acknowledges that all songs entered may be distributed to judges who will be selecting the winners, and Entrant agrees to release, indemnify, and hold Big Door, its sponsors, and judges harmless for all 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 Big Door.
19. By entering the Big Door Songwriter Search Contest, entrant and/or their parents or legal guardian (if such entrant is a minor) agree to accept and be bound by the decisions of Big Door and its judges, which are final and binding in all matters. Entrant agrees to be bound by all terms of these official Rules and Regulations.
This is an agreement between Big Door, LLC (“Big Door”, “we” or “us”) and you, on behalf of yourself and all others who have any ownership interest whatsoever in and to the “Content” (as defined below) (collectively, “You”, “Your” or “you”) concerning your uploading of sound recordings and/or musical compositions to the Big Door Web site (“the Web Site”) for the use by Big Door in a “song contest” whereby a panel of music industry professionals (“Judges”) reviews songs and selects a winner (“Contest”). By clicking “I agree” in the box provided below, You are entering into a binding contract with Big Door and agree to be bound by all the terms of which are set forth below in this Music Upload and Licensing Agreement (the “Agreement”).
1. Music Content. Big Door provides an opportunity for you to upload your original music (that is, sound recordings of songs You have written and/or have the legal right and/or authority to license, perform, stream and make copies of (the “Content”)) to the Big Door Web Site to use in the Contest. Big Door will make the Content available to the Judges via the Contest and pursuant to the rules of the Contest provided on the Big Door Website.
2. Representations and Warranties. You represent and warrant that:
a. You are at least 18 years old, or if you are a minor, you hereby warrant that you have permission from a parent or legal guardian who has the legal right and/or authority to execute this Agreement on behalf of such minor and have obtained any and all necessary consents and guarantees for such person’s performance pursuant to the terms of this Agreement;
b. You have full right and power to enter into and perform this Agreement and have secured any and all third party consents necessary to enter into this Agreement and to submit the Content as provided herein, including, but not limited to any other third parties who may claim ownership in and to the Content. You are the creator or co-creator of each and every song (that is, (i) You wrote and/or own the copyright in the songs and, (ii) You warrant that You have the full legal right and/or authority to license and upload the song for the Contest. You currently have and/or control all copyright rights in and to the songs and have not transferred the copyright or given an exclusive license to the song to another entity;
c. The Content is Your own original work and it contains no sampled material or material created by someone other than you except as specifically identified herein;
d. The Content does not and will not violate any local, state, federal or international law;
e. The Content is not and will not be defamatory, libelous, abusive, pornographic or obscene, or infringe upon the rights of any third party, including but not limited to any third party’s copyright, trademark or other intellectual property or other proprietary right, or rights of privacy and publicity. The Content does not contain any obscene or pornographic content, or any content that is racially or ethnically offensive;
f. The Content will not contain or transmit files, data or other materials containing a computer virus, corrupted data, worms, “Trojan horses” or other instructions or designs that would erase data or programming or cause the Web Site or any equipment or system to become inoperable or incapable of being used in the full manner for which it was designed; and,
g. You have not falsified Your identity or provided forged e-mail addresses or mail addresses, or otherwise attempted to mislead others as to Your identity in this submission and will not do so in the future in connection with this submission.
3. Big Door’s Rights to The Music. You hereby grant to Big Door a non-exclusive license to make the Content available to the Judges via the Contest pursuant to the Contest rules provided on the Website. You agree that Big Door can exhibit, display, publicly perform and/or stream your Content to the Judges for the Contest in any manner at Big Door’s sole discretion. You agree that Big Door can make as many copies of your Content as it needs for the Contest at Big Door’s sole discretion. You agree that in marketing your Content for the Contest and on the Big Door Web Site, Big Door may use your name and likeness, the name and likeness of you and your band, if applicable. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, by clicking “I agree” below, you hereby grant Big Door the world-wide non-exclusive right and license, in perpetuity, unless terminated by you or Big Door to use, copy, translate, publicly perform, digitally perform, publicly display and distribute the Content (including, for clarification, any and all of your sound recordings and songs), song lyrics, your name, photograph, band information data (if any), text, information, and/or any other content specifically submitted by you to us for the Contest on the Web Site.
4. Big Door’s Right to Reject and Remove the Music. Big Door may reject your Content or remove the Content from the Big Door Contest and/or Web Site because of your violation of any of the representations you made in this Agreement in Big Door’s sole discretion for any reason or for no reason whatsoever. You acknowledge that you and Big Door will comply with the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). Should Big Door take your Content off of the Web Site because it has received a notice of infringement from an alleged copyright holder, Big Door will notify you of that allegation and the removal of the Content. You will retain what is known as a counter-notice right under the DMCA so that you can allege that you do have the proper rights to perform and license the Content that you have uploaded to the Big Door Web Site for the Contest. You agree that Big Door shall not be liable to you for any damages that you allegedly incur if Big Door removes your Content from the Contest and/or Web Site. You further agree that even if Big Door removes the Content from the Contest and/or Web Site, your warranties, representations and obligations under this Agreement, including the indemnification provisions herein will remain in full force and effect after such removal.
5. No Obligation to Use. Except as specifically provided in the Contest rules on the Web Site, Big Door shall have no express or implied obligation to use or permit the Content to appear or remain on the Web Site or on any Big Door service or to promote, perform, display or distribute the Content at all, or in any particular manner or in any minimum quantities. Big Door retains the right to provide (or not to provide) the Big Door services and advertising or promotional support for the Contest and to the Big Door services and the Content as it may choose, it being understood that all decisions in this regard shall be made by Big Door in its sole discretion. Big Door shall further have the right to remove the Content from the Web Site and from all other Big Door services without any liability or obligation to you.
6. Your Music Rights. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Big Door acknowledges that You shall retain full ownership of the copyrights in and to your Content. This Agreement is non-exclusive in nature, meaning that You can also exploit and/or sell the Content on your own website as well as through other websites. You can also sell physical copies in stores or anywhere else; however, You cannot link your own personal website to any web page on the Big Door Web Site. You agree that you will not sue and you will indemnify and hold Big Door and/or its affiliates, employees, representatives and/or agents harmless for copyright infringement for any reason concerning the Content you upload to the Web Site for the Contest. You agree that an action for breach of contract is your only remedy for any claim by you that Big Door used your copyrighted material in an unforseen manner not contemplated nor allowed by this Agreement.
7. Indemnification. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, You hereby agree to indemnify and hold Big Door harmless from any and all losses, costs, liability, damages and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of or related to your breach of the representations and warranties made in this Agreement or any claims arising from the Content you upload to the Web Site for the Contest and/or submit, post, transmit or make available through the Web Site or your use of the Web Site. You agree to promptly acknowledge, execute and deliver to us any documents that we may request to confirm our rights under this Agreement. You hereby acknowledge that our Web Site, the Contest and other Big Door services may from time to time encounter technical problems and may not necessarily continue uninterrupted without technical or other errors, and we shall not be responsible to you for any such interruptions or an outright discontinuation of our service.
8. Your Ability to Pull Music from the Big Door Web Site. Should You decide that You no longer want to participate in the Contest and/or exploit the Content through the Big Door Web Site, You may do so; however, you shall not be entitled to a refund of any fees paid by you to Big Door associated with the upload of any Content for the Contest. Upon written notification (or through an official notification method that Big Door may set up in the future on its Web Site) by You of your intention to delete the Content from the Contest and/or Web Site, Big Door will use its reasonable best efforts to remove the Content from the Contest and/or Web Site or disable the Judges’ ability to review, listen to or stream the Content from the Big Door Web Site within seven (7) days from receiving your written notification. You agree that there is no monetary damages that You can recoup if Big Door does not meet this seven (7) day requirement. You also acknowledge and agree that neither Your request to delete the Content nor Big Door’ removal of the Content from the Contest and/or Web Site terminates any of Your obligations under this Agreement. By way of example, if a claim is made by a third-party against Big Door concerning the Content after the Content is no longer visible on the Big Door Contest and/or Web Site, Your obligations to indemnify Big Door under Paragraph 7 above shall still be in full force and effect.
9. General Terms. This Agreement is the entire contract between You and Big Door No oral statements by You or Big Door its employees, affiliates, representatives and/or agents will have any effect on the terms of this Agreement (whether made before or after your acceptance of this Agreement), and no other prior agreement between You and Big Door concerning the upload, streaming, and/or use of the Content will be effective. Any court reviewing this Agreement shall construe it under the laws of the State of Utah. You agree that any lawsuit against Big Door will be brought in the state or federal courts in the State of Utah. A waiver of any of the terms of this Agreement will not be considered a waiver of any other term of this Agreement. Should any particular term of this Agreement be held unenforceable, void, or voidable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining terms will not be affected and shall be enforced as if the unenforceable terms had never been included in the Agreement.
10. Reservation of Rights. Any rights not expressly granted by this Agreement are specifically reserved to Big Door.
Any other questions? Email info@bigdoornetwork.com