The Artists Forum International Music Competition

The International Music Competition is a songwriting competition hosted by The Artists Forum. Song submissions will be judged on elements of melody, composition, creativity, originality, performance, adherence to the theme, production and lyrics (when applicable). A minimum of eight Sonicbids artists will be selected as winners./n/nNow in its 12th year, The Artists Forum is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating independent, under-served artists and fostering unbridled creativity in the artistic community. As an extension of the Artists Forum, the International Music Competition offers you the chance to be heard by some of the most respected and influential producers, publishers, and composers in the industry. Past winners have been featured as the Artists Forum artist of the month and artist of the year, chosen as a runner-up for a Grammy nomination and, most recently, former finalist Fans of Jimmy Century had their work played on NBC's prime time TV show "Community".

Song submissions will be judged on elements of melody, composition, creativity, originality, performance, adherence to the theme, production, and lyrics (when applicable). A minimum of eight Sonicbids artists will be selected as winners. Selected artists will receive the following prize packages:



1st Prize Winner

• One to one mentoring session/portfolio review with Producer & Label Executive Alex Moulton
  
• Autographed copy of "The Billboard Guide to writing and producing songs that sell" by Eric Beall
  
• Propellerhead Record/Reason Duo Software, Reason t-shirt
  
• Logic 8 Production Software
  
• Noisy Planet Premium Artist Service Package
  
• One-year Sonicbids.com Supersonic membership
  
• One-year membership, profile on The Artists Forum website, interview on The Artists Forum TV and/or The Artists Forum Podcast
  

2nd Prize Winner

• One to one mentoring session/portfolio review with Producer & Label Executive Alex Moulton
  
• Propellerheads Reason Software, Reason t-shirt
  
• Noisy Planet Premium Artist Service Package
  
• One-year Sonicbids.com Supersonic membership
  
• One-year membership, profile on AF website, interview on AF TV and/or AF Podcast
  

3rd Prize Winner

• Noisy Planet Premium Artist Service Package
  
• One-year Sonicbids.com Supersonic membership
  
• One-year membership, profile on AF website, interview on AF TV and/or AF Podcast
  

Five Honorable Mentions

• One-year Sonicbids.com Supersonic membership
  
• One-year membership, profile on AF website
  

2010 AF-IPOE Theme: "Captivate"



This year’s task is to challenge artists to show interpretations for the word "captivate". The word "captivate" (and its derivatives) can be illustrated as a verb, noun, adverb, adjective, or phrase - be it physically, mentally, socially, politically, sexually. For example, as a verb: to enthrall, charm, enchant, bewitch, fascinate, beguile, entrance, enrapture, delight, attract, allure; engross, mesmerize, spellbind, hypnotize. As a transitive verb: attract and hold the interest and attention of; charm: he was captivated by her beauty. As an adjective: "a captivating smile". Additional Derivatives include: captivatingly (adverb), captivation (noun).



Winning entries will be promoted to music industry personnel and the public at-large via CD distribution and an array of media venues. Winning artists will also be eligible to receive private mentoring sessions from industry leaders. Judges for the competition include:

Eric Beall


Entrepreneur Eric Beall wears many hats including music publisher, author, songwriter, producer, lecturer and music educator. As A&R Director at Shapiro Bernstein, Eric works with a legendary catalogue that also includes a variety of recent chart-topping hits like “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae, “Too Little Too Late” for Jojo, “Girl Next Door” and “Supergirl” by Saving Jane, and “Love Is Gone” by David Guetta and Chris Willis.



Previously with SonyATV, Eric worked with top writers and producers like Stargate, Billy Mann, Jessie Harris, Andrea Martin, Steve Robson and Shep Solomon, and artists like the Jonas Bros., Richard Julian, and Acceptance. At Zomba, Eric was part of the pop madness with Jive Records superstars Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and Aaron Carter, as well as many other notables.
Check out his book “Making Music Make Money (An Insiders Guide To Becoming Your Own Music Publisher)”—available on Amazon.com or at your local bookstore.



Harold Stephán


Harold Stephan is a songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist. Currently writing and producing for 2010 American Idol finalist Big Mike, Harold began his career at one of NYC’s busiest recording studios, UNIQUE, where he learned the art of pop record production working side-by-side with guys like LL Cool J (Bigger and Deffer), Maurice Starr (New Kids On The Block), Keith Diamond (Donna Summer), and Phil Spector (John Lennon). After meeting songwriting partner and future wife Amelia Gewirtz, the two founded Amelia’s Dream. Releasing three albums with a fourth in the works under the band name Parents With Angst, their carefully crafted brand of alternative pop-rock has found it’s way into various MTV reality shows, Disney movies and feature films.



As an experienced entrepreneur, Harold has kept in tune with the music industry’s ever evolving landscape. Sharing his music expertise with major brands, Harold has worked with Chevy, Sears, Burger King, Bulova, The I.R.S and Ocean Spray to expand their reach in the marketplace. He created Habitat Music for commercial scoring and The Artist Development Group as a launching pad to develop and market great artists and bands. Habitat is also the creator of 20dot20, a popular NYC Music, Media and Advertising monthly networking event. An honors graduate of New York University, Harold has written feature articles for Electronic Musician and Keyboard Magazines. Harold is a voting member of N.A.R.A.S. (grammy.com) and lives in NYC with his wife Amelia and their son Adam.





Andy Marvel


With over 70 million records sold containing his memorable pop songs, Andy Marvel’s credits include works with Jessica Simpson, Celine Dion, Diana King, Maxi Priest, Jon Secada, Dream, Patti Austin and Ben Jelen. A graduate of Oberlin College and the Berklee School of Music, Marvel has played everywhere from punk sets at CBGB’s, a concert with B. B. King at Radio City, and sessions as a keyboard player for with Madonna, Chaka Khan, and other hitmakers.



Alex Moulton


As the founder and guiding creative force behind Expansion Team, one of the world's foremost audio branding and advertising music houses, Alex is responsible for crafting the current sound of many TV networks including CNN International, PBS, Discovery, Comedy Central, Vh1, and respected brands like jetBlue, Universal, Bank of America, Target and American Express.



A critically-acclaimed recording artist and globetrotting DJ by night, it was Alex's day job as a commercial and music video director that led him to launch Expansion Team. Seeing a growing need for authentic music production for the ad world, he gathered celebrated recording artists, Grammy-winning songwriters and seminal DJs to score original music for TV. Nearly a decade later, the company has grown into a multi-facted audio branding agency and record label.

Past winners have been featured as artist of the month and artist of the year. At least one selected artist was chosen as a runner-up f