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Sauga Musicians – submit your demo for your chance to WIN! 🎤

Mississauga Arts Council and Metalworks Studios, and SoundsUnite are jointly sponsoring the 2025 Sauga’s Song of the Year Contest.

Inspired by the success of Sauga’s 50th Anthem Contest, Mississauga Arts Council (MAC), Metalworks Studios and SoundsUnite are excited to launch Sauga’s Song of the Year Contest. This contest is in search of 2025’s best song reflecting the hopes and dreams for the year ahead and representing our city’s diverse community. 

Singer-songwriters of all backgrounds and genres are encouraged to submit their original song for a chance to have their song named “2025 Sauga’s Song of the Year” and a recording and mixing session at Metalworks Studios. 

The jury, composed of established jurors with ties to the Mississauga music community will determine the winning demo. The winner will be announced in March 2025.

Submissions

Please read the Rules & Guidelines before submitting your application.

READ THE RULES & GUIDELINES
Rules & Guidelines
  1. FREE for songwriters to apply who are 18 years of age or older as of the deadline date of December 16, 2024, by 5 PM EST. 
  2. The contest will open on October 8, 2024. 
  3. Deadline: December 16, 2024, by 5 PM EST. NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED. All submissions MUST be received before the deadline. We encourage those interested to submit early to ensure their submission is received before the deadline.
  4. All genres of music are eligible, with preference given to English.
  5. Song recording: The submitted song must be a demo version and not a finished recorded and mastered version.
  6. Jury: Top finalists up to 10, are selected by the competition committee, from all submission entries from this portal for final Jury selection by relevant Mississauga music industry Judges.
  7. The winner is to be contacted in late-January 2025. 
  8. The winner will receive public recognition via a joint Press Release and announcement on digital media channels operated by the sponsoring bodies. The announcement will take place in March 2025.
  9. Winner to be provided free recording, mixing time & support at Metalworks Studios starting late January until early March 2025. 
  10. The song must be completed by no later than March 10, 2025.
Entry Guidelines
  1. The 2025 Sauga’s Song of the Year competition is open to all songwriters who compose and perform original material and live in the city of Mississauga currently or can prove they have been Mississauga residents for at least 5 consecutive years. 
  2. Entrants may be either individuals or a group comprised of 2 or more individual members. 
  3. Entrants are limited to submit one entry per band/artist, via SoundsUnite [soundsunite.com] and Mississauga Arts Council’s webform [macarts.ca/songoftheyear]. Subsequent or multiple entries will be disqualified.
  4. The entrants can be unsigned artists, or signed by any record label, publishing company, or other relevant industry body. 
  5. The competition is not open to directors, employees or relatives of the sponsoring partners or competition judges. 
  6. All entrants must submit their:
    • Best original demo song in an mp3 format
    • Submit original lyrics of song for consideration
  7. The song entry may not exceed 4 minutes in length.
  8. The lyrics entered must not include or contain any material that would reasonably be considered obscene, offensive, defamatory, pornographic, threatening or abusive, content that is otherwise objectionable or would be deemed inappropriate, unsuitable or offensive, all as determined by Mississauga Arts Council in its sole discretion. Mississauga Arts Council reserves the right to disqualify any entries that contain the elements previously described. 
  9. Entrants and their collaborators will retain full rights to all work submitted for the contest. The entrant warrants and represents that the songs(s) submitted are the sole, exclusive and original works of the entrant(s).
  10. Winner(s) should be prepared to attend live in-studio recording sessions at Metalworks Studios (3611 Mavis Rd. Mississauga, ON) starting late January to early March 2025. Song completed no later than Monday, March 10, 2025. 
  11. All entrants have the option to include a short introduction video about themselves, their experiences and the creative process of this song. This is not required but it is encouraged.
  12. 2025 Sauga’s Song of the Year contest judging will be comprised of industry professionals. Entries will be judged on the following criteria:
    • Quality of Songwriting; Scored 1-10
    • Performance and Vocal Ability; Scored 1-10
    • Wide Audience Appeal (does the composition have the potential to appeal to a cross-cultural and all-ages audience?) Scored 1-10
    • Growth of awareness and appreciation of the arts in Mississauga (Does the proposed song contribute to the development of arts, culture and heritage in Mississauga?) Scored 1-10
  13. Entry constitutes permission to use winner’s names, likeness and voices for future publicity and advertising purposes without additional compensation. If there is more than one writer per submission, all co-writers must sign a letter of agreement for the song to be submitted, and must abide by all criteria to enter.
  14. There is no expense to the grand prize winner for the Multi-track Sound recording of song being used for the purpose of the competition, and grand prize winning artist will get to own and have full rights to exploit this recorded version of their song and to enter into any deals with labels or publishers or companies as they see fit. 
  15. This agreement entitles Mississauga Arts Council to use the referenced audio/video sound recording for promotional and brand advertising purposes on radio, television, Internet, or other accessible media for public use. There will be no royalties or other payments provided to the artists/composers by Mississauga Arts Council associated with the use of this Song for the term. Any broadcast royalties collected by SOCAN from any use or commercial airplay would still go directly to composers and publishers of the anthem.
  16. Entrants represent and warrant that their entry, including any material comprising their entry (e.g. name, user name, profile picture, etc, as applicable) and any material submitted with their entry (e.g. photograph, written submission, audio/MP3 files, video, or other form of submission, as applicable) (all such material, collectively, the “Entry Material”) is original to the entrant, and they have all necessary rights in and to the Entry Material to enter the Contest, including the consent of any third parties whose personal information is included in the Entry Material.
  17. Entrants can only win the Grand Prize as awarded.
  18. The competition is subject to all federal, provincial and municipal laws and regulations that may be applicable.
  19. All decisions made by Mississauga Arts Council, and music industry panel with respect to the acceptance of any entry and eligibility of entries shall be final and binding. There is no mechanism for managing submission feedback or entrant complaints. 
  20. 2025 Sauga’s Song of the Year contest committee reserves the right to extend the deadline of the competition and/or announcement of winners if needed.  
  21. Entrants hereby agree to indemnify and hold harmless the competition entities (including Mississauga Arts Council, all participating radio stations and all sponsors) from and against any and all third party claims arising out of or resulting from (1) the entrant’s participation in the competition; or (b) any breach or alleged breach of any of the warranties, representations, or agreements granted, made by or entered into by an entrant. The winners release sponsors from all liability regarding prizes won. All federal, provincial and local taxes, when applicable, are the sole responsibility of the winner.
  22. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THESE RULES MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION.
  23. Thank you!

Please upload your anthem to SoundsUnite (soundsunite.com) and complete the form ([insert link]) to submit all required information.

Upload your anthem to SoundsUnite

  1. Create an account on SoundsUnite
  2. Build your profile! 
  3. Upload a track by selecting Create Post in the sidebar
  4. Click Upload A Song
  5. Add your audio, a cover image/headshot and title, along with any other information you want to share about your track.
  6. Make sure you select the Submit to Sauga’s Song of the Year 2025 Contest option. 
  7. Click Upload
VISIT SOUNDSUNITE

If you require assistance with SoundsUnite, please contact Brian Huston at brian@soundsunite.com

Completing the Mississauga Arts Council (MAC) webform.

The contest form requires the following information:

  1. Your contact information
  2. Website links and links to your social media
  3. Artist CV and/or biography and headshot (for promotional purposes)
  4. Link to your demo from SoundsUnite
  5. Information about the anthem: title, writing credits, production credits (if applicable), and rationale for the anthem.

COMPLETE THE WEB FORM

If you require assistance with MAC’s webform, please contact Sherri Parliament at sherri@macarts.ca. 

Please note: In order to submit your entry to the contest, the anthem must (1) be uploaded to SoundsUnite and (2) the web form on Mississauga Arts Council website must be completed. Submissions not entered to both SoundsUnite and the webform on Mississauga Arts Council’s website will not be considered. 

Deadline to submit: Monday, December 16th by 5 PM

If you have any questions, please contact:
Sherri Parliament
Communications Manager, Mississauga Arts Council
sherri@macarts.ca

Please allow up to two business days for a response.

Thank you to our Co-Sponsors & Media Partner

Metalworks Studios

Co-Sponsor
metalworksstudios.com

SoundsUnite

Co-Sponsor
soundsunite.com

Mississauga Music

Media Partner
mississaugamusic.com