Any Songwriter who is the copyright owner of a song (words and music) may enter the song in this Online Music Festival. Songwriters may enter multiple songs, but a single song may be entered only once. There is no charge to enter a song in the Festival. You must reside in the United States, any of the 50 states and Washington D.C. Click on the "Enter a Song" blue navigation bar and follow the instructions.
Songs may be entered in the Festival beginning at 5:00 p.m. P.S.T. on opening day, July 2, 2012. The Festival showcases complete songs, (words and music). No Instrumentals. The words must be in English. A Song may be entered in only ONE of the FIVE GENRES - Rock, Pop, Country, Gospel and Urban/R&B. Pick the Genre that best fits the song. A Song must be entered in two forms - a recorded version in a MP3 file, and the lyrics entered in the box provided. You may paste-in text. The festival closes to new song entries at midnight Pacific time on Friday, August 31, 2012. Awards will be announced on Labor Day, September 3rd, 2012.
Every Songwriter entering a Song in the Music Festival must declare that he/she is the copyright owner of the song and agree to the following Official Rules:
OFFICIAL RULES
Starting July 2, 2012 through August 31, 2012, the Hilltop Records Online Music Festival for Songwriters will accept submissions of original songs that Songwriters (Entrants) will upload onto the Festival website at www.hilltopmusicfestival.com.
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. ENTRANTS MUST BE 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER.
- THE FESTIVAL:The Hilltop Records Online Music Festival for Songwriters ("Festival") is a song submission contest offering Entrants the opportunity to compete for various cash prizes and the opportunity to have one winning song recorded by professional musicians. By participating in the Festival, Entrants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and the Sponsors' decisions, which are final and binding on all matters relating to the Festival. The Festival begins at 5:00 p.m. P.S.T. on July 2, 2012, and ends at 11:59 p.m. P.S.T. on September 3, 2012. The Sponsor of this Festival is Hilltop Records, Inc., 1680 North Vine Street, Suite 321, Hollywood, CA 90028. The Festival will operate as follows:
- Submission Period (07/02/12 - 08/31/12): Songs are submitted according to the "How to Enter" description in Section 3 of the Official Rules.
- Judging Period (07/02/12 - 08/31/12): Songs submitted during the Submission Period will be posted on the Festival website at www.hilltopmusicfestival.com for judging and audience rating from July 2, 2012 - August 31, 2012. Entrants' Songs may be listened to and rated by other Entrants and Festival attendees and will be judged by a panel of music industry judges. Entries will be judged on the basis of originality, creativity and commerciality, as such terms are generally understood by the music industry. The winning Songs will be determined by the judges' overall rating, and the winner of the "People's Choice Award" will be determined by the number of "like" votes by Entrants and Festival attendees.
- Announcement of Winners: The determination of the winning Songs and the names of the Winners will be posted on the Festival website at www.hilltopmusicfestival.com on or about September 3, 2012, by 11:59 p.m. P.S.T. The decision of the judges and the determination of the People's Choice Award by the Sponsor will be final. Entries will not be returned and inquiries concerning entries will not be accepted.
- ELIGIBILITY: The Festival is open to entrants ("Entrants") who are legal residents of the 50 United States and Washington, D.C. and is void outside of the 50 United States, Washington, D.C., and where prohibited. Entrants must be at least 18 years of age. Employees, officers and directors of Sponsor and members of their immediate families, and those living in the same household, Sponsor's licensed promotional partners, prize providers, agencies and affiliates are ineligible. Each Entrant must be the rightful owner of the e-mail address registered with the Festival used to upload the Song Submission through the Festival website at www.hilltopmusicfestival.com (as described in Section 3, below). In the event of a dispute as to the identity of a winner, the winner will be the natural person in whose name the copyright in the Song has been registered or submitted for registration, and in the absence of a copyright registration or pending registration, the authorized account holder of the e-mail address registered with the Festival used to upload the Song Submission. The "authorized account holder" is defined as the person to whom the e-mail address is assigned by an Internet service provider, online service provider or other organization (e.g. business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the Entrant's e-mail address. Entry constitutes Entrant's certification that he/she meets the eligibility requirements set forth in these Official Rules. Sponsor reserves the right to verify eligibility of any potential winner.
- HOW TO ENTER: To enter, visit the Festival's website during the Submission Period by logging on to www.hilltopmusicfestival.com (the "Festival Homepage"), click the link to "Enter a Song," fill out the Entry Form, and follow the instructions for uploading your Song. Uploading the Song shall constitute your Song Submission. You must completely and accurately submit all required information to enter. Entrants must comply with all Song submission requirements as detailed below. Entry is not complete until Entrant has completely filled out the Entry Form and followed the online process to upload the digital file containing his/her Song Submission.
Each Song submission must be no more than 10 megabytes in file size, and must be submitted by no later than 11:59 pm P.S.T. on the last date of the Submission Period (08/31/12) in MP3 format.
Entrants may not contact the judges directly. Any attempt by an Entrant or by anyone acting on behalf of an Entrant to e-mail, telephone, write or by any means contact a judge will result in disqualification and their Song(s) will be removed from the Festival.
Entrants may enter their song in ONLY ONE Genre. (They are advised to pick the Genre that best fits their song.) An Entrant may enter as many songs as he/she wants in the Festival, but a song may be entered ONLY ONCE and in ONLY ONE GENRE. Songs must include music and lyrics; no instrumental versions. Lyrics must be only, or predominantly, in the English language. - PRIZES: Prizes will be awarded in the following categories:
FIVE OR MORE BEST OF GENRE AWARDS: The Best Rock, Pop, Country, Gospel and Urban/R&B Song as determined by the judges will each receive a Best of Genre Award of $250. Hilltop Records reserves the right to add additional genres and Runner's Up Awards at any time during the Festival.
TWO PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS: The Song that receives the most "Like" votes by other Entrants and Festival attendees in July will receive a People's Choice Award of $250. The Song that receives the most "Like" votes by other Entrants and Festival attendees during the course of the entire Festival will receive a People's Choice Award of $500.
ONE GRAND PRIZE: One Grand Prize winner will receive $1,000 and the Festival Blue Ribbon will be presented for Best Song in the Music Festival as chosen by the judges.
ONE HILLTOP AWARD: One Hilltop Award winner will have his/her song recorded by professional musicians. All arranging and recording will be done in California and the winner will receive a professionally produced CD (approximate value $2,400).
Odds of winning will depend on the number of eligible entries received. In no event will more than one (1) Hilltop Award, one (1) Grand Prize, two (2) People's Choice Awards, one (1) Best of Genre Award and one (1) Runner Up Award for each designated genre be awarded.
Winners must be 18 years of age or older. Winners will be solely responsible for any and all federal, state and/or local taxes and all fees and expenses resulting from acceptance of any and all prizes associated with this Festival. No prize substitution or changes are allowed except at the discretion of Sponsor. If a Prize or any portion of a prize cannot be awarded due to circumstances beyond the control of Sponsor, a substitute prize of equal or greater retail value may be awarded; provided, however, that if a Prize is awarded but unclaimed/forfeited by recipient, such Prize may not be re-awarded in Sponsor's sole discretion. Other restrictions may apply. Each Winner will be issued an IRS Form 1099 for the appropriate retail value of his or her Prize. Prizes are provided "as is" without warranty. Winners are responsible for any loss of Prize or portion of Prize after it has been delivered. Sponsor will not replace lost or stolen Prizes. Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to remove any Song from the Festival for any reason, which may include but is not limited to contents containing offensive language, viruses or malware, or material that infringes on the copyright, right of publicity, trademark or other rights of any person, the Sponsor's inability to verify the Entrants' contact information or identity, or the Sponsor's reasonable determination that the Entrant is ineligible to enter the Festival. Sponsor reserves the right to change, remove or add to, at any time, (including during the Submission Period), any of the Festival judges. Sponsor reserves the right not to select any Song as the "Best in Genre" for any particular genre if, according to the judges' criteria, no Song that has been submitted is suitable for such genre. - RELEASES AND GENERAL CONDITIONS: By entering the Festival, Entrants acknowledge that:
- They irrevocably authorize Sponsor and its designees in perpetuity to use, copy, sublicense, transmit, distribute, publicly perform, publish, and display the Song and all of the elements contained therein, or any portion thereof, in any media now known or hereafter devised, including but not limited to all forms of television and all forms of Internet and wireless protocol, and to make derivative works from such materials in connection with the Festival and for purposes of promotion of Sponsor and its affiliated entities, without compensation. By granting such authorization, Entrants do not transfer any ownership interest in the copyrights in the Songs, all rights to which are expressly reserved by Entrants.
- Entrants are bound by the Official Rules.
- All decisions of the Sponsor as to eligibility and the winning entries shall be final and binding.
- The Sponsor, its parent and affiliate companies, their advertising or promotional partners, and their respective officers, directors, attorneys, agents, and employees are not responsible for and shall not be liable for (1) any design, printing, typographical, or other errors, omissions, deletions, or defects, in any material associated with the Prizes; (2) incomplete, damaged, misdirected, late, lost, undelivered, or unprocessed entries and all other matters associated with on-line entries.
- WINNER'S RELEASE FORMS: The Winner must execute and return within 10 days of notification of winning an Affidavit of Eligibility/Release of Liability/Prize Acceptance Form (including a publicity release where legally permitted), and any other documentation that Sponsor requires. Noncompliance within this time period may result in disqualification and an alternate may be selected. Return of any notification as undeliverable will result in disqualification and an alternate may be selected. Except where prohibited by law, Winner's acceptance of Prize constitutes permission for Sponsor to use Winner's name, photo, likeness, biographical information, statements, voice, and address (city and state only) for advertising/publicity purposes worldwide and in all media now known or hereafter devised, without further compensation.
- PRIVACY: Sponsor will be collecting personal data about Festival Entrants through Entry Forms, in accordance with the Festival's Privacy Policy.
- WINNER'S LIST: The list of Winners will be posted on the Festival website at www.hilltopmusicfestival.com within 10 days following the selection of the Winner. To obtain a list of Winners, Entrants may send a self-addressed, stamped envelope, to The Hilltop Records Online Music Festival, c/o Hilltop Records, Inc., 1680 North Vine Street, Suite 321, Hollywood, CA 90028. All requests must be received by December 31, 2012.
- REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES: By signing the Entry Form you warrant and represent that you have the legal right to participate in this contest and comply with the terms hereof. You further represent that you own or control all rights to the Song and all of the elements contained therein, and/or that you have acquired the lawful right to exploit the same for the purpose of this Festival.
You warrant that the use and exploitation of the Song does not and will not violate or infringe upon any copyright, right of publicity, trademark, or other legal, contractual or intellectual property rights claimed or owned by any other person, firm or entity.
You warrant that you have the lawful right to authorize the Sponsor to post the Song on the Festival's website, and allow others to listen to and rate it.
You warrant that you have obtained all necessary rights, clearances and permissions, including any and all copyrights, trademarks and service marks, and the rights to use the names, likenesses, images, and other content of all of the elements incorporated in or used in connection with the Song.
You agree to hold harmless and indemnify the Sponsor (Hilltop Records, Inc.), its advertising and promotional partners, and any agents involved in the development, production, handling and/or implementation of the Festival (including Prize suppliers), and their respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, service providers, officers, employees and any other person/entity associated with the Festival (collectively, the "Festival Entities") with respect to any claims, actions, suits, or the like, arising out of or connected with, any claim by any third party which is inconsistent with the representations and warranties made by you in connection with this agreement. Such indemnity and hold harmless shall include any and all losses and damages incurred by Sponsor, its advertising and promotional partners, and any agents involved in the development, production, handling and/or implementation of the Festival (including Prize suppliers), and their respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, service providers, officers, employees and any other person/entity associated with the Festival, including reasonable costs and attorney's fees in defending any legal action whether threatened or filed. - LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: By entering the Festival, each Entrant releases the Sponsor, its advertising and promotional partners, and any agents involved in the development, production, handling and/or implementation of the Festival (including Prize suppliers), and their respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, service providers, officers, employees and any other person/entity associated with the Festival (collectively, the "Festival Entities") from any and all liability for losses/injuries/expenses of any kind (including, without limitation, property damage, personal injury and/or death) resulting from participation in the Festival including, without limitation, acceptance and/or use/misuse of any Prize, or any typographical or other error in the printing, offering or announcement of the Festival or any Prize. Entrants agree that none of the Festival Entities has made or is responsible for any representation or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law, relative to the prizes.
If for any reason the Festival cannot run as planned, Sponsor reserves the right to cancel/modify/suspend the Festival and conduct the Festival from all salvageable entries received, if any. If the Festival is so canceled, only Prizes to which any and/or all announced winners are entitled as of the date of cancellation will be awarded. Correspondence relating to entry in the Festival may not be answered or acknowledged. Festival Entities are not responsible/liable for any printing or typographical error in any material associated with the Festival, or for entries that are late (including delayed data transmissions), corrupted, incomplete, lost, misdirected, or otherwise not received correctly or not in compliance with Official Rules (and all such entries will be disqualified). Festival Entities are not responsible or liable for any technical malfunctions or traffic congestion of the telephone network, computer online system, computer dating mechanism, computer equipment and/or software, or computer errors, viruses or malware, compromise of data by third parties, or any combination thereof, or any damage to an Entrant's or third person's computer and/or its contents. - DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND APPLICABLE LAW: Any dispute under these Official Rules will be resolved by final and binding arbitration under rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) in effect as of the date of submission of such dispute ("AAA Rules"). Each party waives any right to adjudicate any dispute in any other court or forum. The arbitration will be held in Los Angeles, California and under the internal laws and judicial decisions of the State of California applicable to contracts wholly performed therein. The parties will abide by any decision in the arbitration and any court having jurisdiction may enforce it. The parties submit to the jurisdiction of the courts in California, with respect to interim relief, to compel arbitration or to confirm an arbitration award. The Parties agree to accept service of process in accordance with the AAA Rules and agree that service in accordance with the AAA Rules satisfies all requirements to establish personal jurisdiction over the parties. The prevailing party in any action related to this Agreement shall be entitled to recover any and all reasonable attorney's fees and any other costs reasonably incurred in connection therewith.