04/04/2024
Hello – lots to tell you😊
Firstly, thank you to all who entered the 2023 Australian Songwriting Contest, which closed in early January. We have your entries being safely looked after.
HOWEVER – there was some confusion due to us running the 2023 Contest across the end of the year. It meant that the 2023 Awards would have to be held in 2024. We did this for the 2022 Contest – ran it late in the year then had the Awards in 2023, and noticed back then that people started thinking those Awards were for the 2023 Contest rather than the 2022 Contest. Although we attempted to do a catch up, it wasn’t possible because the whole process takes a lot of time.
SO - we have just had an ASA Board meeting, and agreed that we really need to get back to running the Contest AND its Awards in the same year, as they always used to be. It was Covid-related dramas and delays got things out of whack. And although as I said, we did try, we haven’t been able to claw back time enough to get the Contests and Awards happening in the same year. This is because we have a two-tiered process of judging, which although it ensures everyone’s work is heard by multiple ears in the most fair and unbiased way, it also takes a LONG time! Then the size and complexity of the Awards themselves, also make their preparation take a LONG time.
Hence, it’s been decided that we need to run 2 contests into one, so we can resume the old timing of Entries in late March – May, then the Awards in October or November.
THE RESULT is that we are RIGHT NOW launching the 2024 Australian Songwriting Contest, with entries open between now and May. So here goes!!! To upload any additional work, please get straight onto it and use the following link to the Entry Platform:
www.asa.songcentral.net.au
You will see towards the end of the year, that we will be talking about the National Songwriting Awards being for the 2023-24 Australian Songwriting Contest. Next year the 2025 Contest will open in March, and the 2025 National Songwriting Awards will follow in the same year.
Please be assured, your current entries are safe and will be judged along with the rest according to our new time schedule…ie, in the middle of this year. So sorry for the wait that this creates, but in the end it’s going to make everything work better.
You are welcome to go ahead and enter any other or new songs, and they’ll be carefully added to those entries of yours that we already have…or you don’t need to add any more…up to you entirely.
Hope this makes sense, and thank you in anticipation of your tolerance and understanding.
The other news is great!
Firstly, we now have the photos from the 2022 up for free downloading from our website. Here’s the direct link: 2022 Photos | Australian Songwriters Association (asai.org.au). They are high resolution - and at my age I wish they weren’t (haha) - but you may find them useful, or at least, interesting. Just click on any you want, to get the high res version.
Secondly, after a long-term commitment by Alan Gilmour, his wonderful e-newletter is now in the hands of a new Editor…namely Monte Pemberton. It’s hard to thank Alan enough for his contribution of time and effort to this point (and he’s still our Vice Chairman and Treasurer), but we’re all excited and looking forward to Monte’s first edition, due out April/May.
Looking forward to hearing your 2024 entries, and combining them with the 2023 entries for a mind-blowing judging period mid-year!!
Warm regards
Clare Burgess
CEO
Australian Songwriters Association (ASA)
