Hello everyone and welcome to the 8th annual Art-Inspired Music Contest! This thread marks the official start of the contest, and you’ll find all the details on how to enter, the rules and more below!
Please note: this thread is for SUBMISSIONS ONLY. DO NOT post in this thread to ask questions or make comments. A separate discussions thread will be designated for any non-submission related posts.
Timeframe
Entries will be accepted from Friday April 16, 2021 (ie. when this thread was posted) up until Monday, June 21, 2021 at 11:59 pm PST.
Following this will be a period for our judges to evaluate the entries.
Prizes
TBA for the most part (updates will follow in this thread as they come). How they are distributed is as follows:
The judges will determine a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner, along with 17 runnerups for a total of 20 winners (21 including the fan favourite - see following section). The winners’ entries will be compiled into an AIM compilation album. See past AIM albums here!
Fan Favorite:
During the judging phase, people can vote for their favorite song submission. The winning song with the most votes will end up on the contest album (and get to pick out a game from the Prize Pool)! This voting will be done through an additional “Fan Favourite” thread which will be linked in this thread when it is posted.
This year, fan voting will be different - rather than voting for one entry, people will rank their top favourite entries. Exactly how many will depend on how many entries there are by the end of the submissions period, but I’m leaning towards 3-5 entries.
How the contest works:
1) You pick a single piece of artwork in the Art Portal from a Newgrounds artist you really appreciate (make sure to give them credit, message them when you're done).
2) Create a song inspired by that art and submit it by posting the link on this thread before the deadline, also post the link to the picture that inspired it as well, also give the name of the picture and artist!
Judges:
The judges this year are:
and me (@Random-storykeeper)
RULES:
Please read over the rules BEFORE you submit your submission(s), come back to read them again to make sure you're following all the rules here! Some people haven't in past years. Never hurts to double-check! :)
1) Make sure you're familiar with the Audio Portal rules in the FAQ. Read here: http://www.newgrounds.com/wiki/help-information/terms-of-use/audio-guidelines
2) ONLY post song submissions here (unless it's one of the judges with an update). Casual chatting and questions go in the Discussion Thread (to be posted below when it is made).
3) You must be at least 13 or over to enter.
4) Explicit content IS allowed music-wise, but the artwork that inspired you can't be A-rated (E, T, and M rated art is allowed).
5) No covers or remixes, only new original entries are accepted. No pre-recorded lyrics from vocal packs either.
6) Don't start writing your song until the beginning of the contest (day this was posted). Songs that were started or submitted before the start date will not be accepted. We do encourage you to PLEASE take your time and don't hurry your song, this is a challenge after all! :)
7) You can enter up to 2 songs.
8) Your song must be between 3-6 minutes (or at least close enough, we're reasonable).
9) In the front of the song title, write AIM (example: AIM - Strawberries), it helps speed up the judging process. Also, tag your song with AIM2021 in the tags!
10) Submit your song(s) on Newgrounds (uploaded to an NG account here only) by the official deadline: June 21, 2021 to this forum thread.
11) You can work with anyone, whether it be a singer, producer, etc. Bands are allowed, too! If they have an NG account, tag them in the project system, or if not, credit them in the description of your song(s)! Keep in mind, only one person gets the prize (unless it can be split equal ways).
12) You must be a scouted artist. This is for anti-fraud purposes.
13) If you're unsure of ANYTHING not listed (or have questions about what has been stated) in the rules, feel free to ask us questions in the discussion thread!
Lastly, this is not a rule, but more of a guideline. Music with a “melodic structure” is preferred. I realize this is quite open to interpretation, but you generally want to think about melodies, chords and structure/form. Soundscape pieces, while I won’t completely disallow them, tend to not be what this contest is for. You are free to incorporate soundscapes into a melodic work, but a soundscape piece alone is generally discouraged.
This year’s promo and cover art is done by @Troisnyx. Thank you, Troisnyx! :D
Good luck everyone, and can’t wait to hear your awesome tracks!
