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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.

Meet the Jurors

Chris Crerar

20 years experience in the music industry. Manager of a 17x award winning recording studio.

Worked with artists including Prince, Dolores O’Riordan, Burton Cummings and Tom Cochrane to name a few. Now an Instructor at Metalworks Institute, Studio Manager and Senior Mastering Engineer at Metalworks Studios.

Suzie McNeil

Juno Award winner Suzie McNeil was born into a musical family. She was practically raised singing with her mother and sister, learning to collaborate from a very early age. Suzie is a musical Jack-of-all-trades. These have ranged from live shows beside some of North America’s top artists, to becoming a multi-instrumentalist in her own Nashville based country / rock band, to consummate professionalism in the studio, to Broadway level musical theatre, to commercial jingles, to performing in front of crowds of up to 200,000 people.

Bree Taylor

Bree Taylor is a rising star in the country music scene, known for her distinctive blend of country and rock. With influences ranging from country legends like Carrie Underwood to rock icons like Joan Jett, Bree’s music transcends traditional boundaries. Her songs carry the rebel spirit of country music, infused with the raw power of rock ‘n’ roll. With her powerful voice, fearless attitude, and undeniable talent, Bree is leading the charge in a musical revolution that’s here to stay. 

More to be announced!

Submissions

Thank you to all who submitted! The winner will be contacted in late January 2025.

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!

Thank you to everyone who entered! The winner will be contacted late January 2025.

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