Songwritting Opportunity For Christian/Gospel Artists

Just got an email on this ISC Competition & wanted to make sure I put y'all on this...

"With less than six weeks left to enter the 2008 International Songwriting Competition (ISC), I wanted to give you an update (if you weren't already aware) on this year's prestigious judging panel, specifically pertaining to our Gospel/Christian category.

Each year ISC is privileged to assemble an outstanding judging panel, and the 2008 competition is no exception. Michael W. Smith, Jeremy Camp, Natalie Grant, and Matt Thiessen (Relient K), among others, have all signed on as ISC judges; the panel consists of highly respected recording artists and some of the most influential executives in the music industry. See below for a complete list of judges.

In addition to the Gospel/Christian category, ISC also offers 19 other categories of music to enter. New this year is a Music Video category, and ISC has included the following prestigious industry executives as judges: Amy Doyle (Sr. VP of Music and Talent at MTV) and Rick Krim (Executive VP of Talent and Programming for VH1).

The opportunity to have these judges hear your songs is only part of the reason to enter ISC. Recognition, exposure, kudos, and prizes (more than $150,000 in cash and prizes will be shared among the 62 winners - including an overall Grand Prize of $25,000 (US) cash and $20,000 in prizes) are other equally enticing reasons for entering ISC.

ISC accepts original songs from musicians, artists, groups, and songwriters at every level from amateur to professional. ISC's Gospel/Christian category includes all genres of traditional and contemporary Gospel and Christian music. Songwriters entering this category may also enter any other categories.

Go to http://www.songwritingcompetition.com to enter songs via mail or online.

The complete list of 2008 ISC judges include:

Recording Artists

Michael W. Smith; Jeremy Camp; Matt Thiessen (Relient K); Natalie Grant; Rob Thomas (Matchbox 20); Chaka Khan; Tom Waits; KT Tunstall; Robert Smith (The Cure); Ricky Martin; Loretta Lynn; Neil Finn (Crowded House); Buckcherry; T-Pain; James Cotton; Jerry Lee Lewis; Craig Morgan; Ray Davies (The Kinks); McCoy Tyner; Darryl McDaniels (Run DMC); Chris Hillman (The Byrds); John Scofield; Mario; Black Francis (The Pixies); Youssou N'Dour; John Mayall; DJ Tiësto; Angelique Kidjo; Paul Van Dyk; Jon Secada; Pittbull; Sandra Bernhard; "Weird Al" Yankovic; and David Brenner

Music Industry Executives

Monte Lipman (President, Universal Records); Nick Burgess (Head of A&R, Virgin Records UK); Angel Carrasco (Sr. VP of A&R, Latin America Sony BMG and President, Discos 605); Cameron Strang (President, New West Records); Amy Doyle (Sr. VP of Music and Talent, MTV); Kim Buie (VP of A&R, Lost Highway); Jon Pikus (Director of A&R, MySpace Records); Mitchell Cohen (VP of A&R, Verve Music Group); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); Dan Storper (President, Putumayo World Music); Peter Strickland (Senior VP, Jack Records/Warner Bros.); Steve Lillywhite (Producer - credits include U2, The Rolling Stones, Morrissey, Peter Gabriel, and more); Douglas C. Cohn (Sr. VP, Music Marketing & Talent, Nickelodeon); Cory Robbins (Founder/President, Robbins Entertainment); Betty Pino (DJ, WAMR Miami); Paul Majors (CEO/Founder Majors Music); Leib Ostrow (CEO, Music for Little People); Dr. Demento (Radio Host of The Dr. Demento Show); Rene Bell (Executive VP A&R, Song BMG Nashville); John Echevarria (President, Universal Music Latino); and Rick Krim (Executive VP Talent and Programming, VH1)

In addition to the Gospel/Christian category, ISC offers 19 other categories, including: Pop/Top 40, AAA (Adult Album Alternative), Rock, Country, Americana, R&B/Hip-Hop, Blues, Folk/Singer-Songwriter, Jazz, Latin Music, Instrumental, Dance/Electronica, Comedy/Novelty, World Music, Children's Music, Lyrics Only, Teen, Performance, and Music Video."