International Songwriting Competition Launches with Artist Judge Panel

By John Ma

Peter Furler of Newsboys has been invited to join a panel of prestigious artists and industry experts to judge the International Songwriting Competition (ISC). Some of the judges include Sean "P.Diddy" Combs, Run DMC, Five for Fighting, Staind, Godsmack, Macy Gray, and more.

More than $100,000 in cash and prizes will be shared by 50 winners in 16 categories. All musicians, bands, artists, and songwriters are invited to enter their songs.

Since its inception in 2002, ISC especially takes pride in its judges and this year is no exception. ISC 2004 offers both aspiring and established songwriters the opportunity to have their songs heard by a prestigious panel of judges that so far includes:

Sean "P.Diddy" Combs (Grammy Award-winning artist, producer/songwriter)

Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC)

Aaron Lewis (Staind)

Sully Erna (Godsmack)

John Ondrasik (Five for Fighting)

Macy Gray (Grammy Award-winning artist)

Scott Kirkland (The Crystal Method)

Monte Lipman (President, Universal Records)

Stacey Earle (Americana Artist)

Clint Black (Grammy Award-winning country music artist)

Tracy Gershon (Sr. Dir. A&R/Artist Rel., Sony Records Nashville/Producer, Nashville Star)

Alan Meltzer (CEO, Wind-Up Records)

Kim Stephens (VP of A&R, Lava Records)

Peter Furler (lead singer/songwriter, The Newsboys)

Chris Parr (VP of Music Programming & Talent Relations, CMT)

Michael McDonald (President, ATO Records)

Paul Asher (Co-President, Sanctuary Artist Management)

Many more judges will be added soon.

ISC's mission is to provide songwriters and musicians exposure in the international arena. Aside from the cash and prizes, ISC winners will also benefit from a promotional campaign that includes an annual compilation CD distributed to A&R executives, artist showcases at various conferences, air-play on ISC Radio, and more.

Categories for 2004:

AAA/Roots/Americana

Dance/Electronica

Jazz

R&B/Hip-Hop

Blues

Folk/Singer-Songwriter

Lyrics Only

Rock

*Children's Music

Gospel/Christian

*Performance

Teen

Country

*Instrumental

Pop/Top 40

World

(* = New for 2004)

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