WE ARE LISTENING Songwritting Contests & Competitions for Indie Music Acts

World of Music Awards
The World of Music Awards from We Are Listening is the first international and multi-lingual contest for World music artists and songwriters. Armed with an expert panel of judges and a prize package that includes an all-inclusive trip to WOMEX in Spain, We Are Listening delivers an unparalleled opportunity to be seen, heard and signed!

The Singer/Songwriter Awards
The Singer/Songwriter Awards from We Are Listening is about the hottest international songwriting contest in the world. It’s no surprise that participating artists have gone on to sign with top management, license their music for film and television, as well as collaborate with renowned producers and enjoy substantial uplifts in independent record sales.

Lyric Writer Awards
The Lyric Writer Awards from We Are Listening is the ultimate contest for writers seeking music publishing, co-writing and song placement opportunities. If you long to work with professional songwriters and dream of getting your songs cut by major label artists, this could really be the chance of a lifetime!

New Music Video Awards
Got a music video? The NMVA from We Are Listening is your chance to reach a whole new film-hungry audience and make money from online downloads. Winners receive a $500 advance as well as distribution to a number of major, global online portals. Let us put you, your music - and your music video - in front of millions of music fans.

Breaking the Band
Breaking the Band from We Are Listening is every song contest, licensing, press, booking, touring and festival showcasing opportunity rolled into one. We've created an enormous independent artist campaign with a major label budget. This may be the single, largest investment in your career by an independent music company.

Participate in these Contest and Competitions NOW at WeAreListening.org!

Musician Tutorials

A most excellent site for all things music!

Musician Tutorials
Band Websites
Build the ultimate website for your band
Career & Management
How to get gigs, your future as a musician and more
DJ, Mixing & Recording
Guides on recording your first demo, mixing, making beats and more
Drums & Percussion
Drumming tips and tricks. If you need a drum kit, check out this list and read customer reviews.
Equipment
Make your first guitar purchase the right one, hardware how-to's and more
Guitar
Playing techniques, complete lessons, tips and tricks and much more.
If you don't own one, read this stores guitar reviews (by customers) to find the right one for you.
Guitar Maintenance
How to replace strings, cleaning, storing and more
Inner & Outer Musician
How to deal with stage fright, injuries and more
Inspiration and Creativity
Helping you get your creative juices flowing
Keyboard & Piano
Keyboard and piano tutorials. Need a keyboard to play on? See this store.
Music Industry
Labels, the media and more
Music Software - Beginner
Guides on CD and DVD burning, CD and DVD ripping plus more
Music Software - Intermediate
Audio editing and more
Music Software - Pro
Laying down tracks, multitrack recording and more
Music Videos
Guides on shooting music videos
Promotion & Selling
Guides on marketing your music
Singing
Singing tutorials, making a living as a professional singer and more
Songwriting
Songwriting and notation lessons

GO TO Musician Tutorials NOW!

Future of Music Coalition

The Future of Music Coalition is a not-for-profit collaboration between members of the music, technology, public policy and intellectual property law communities. The FMC seeks to educate the media, policymakers, and the public about music / technology issues, while also bringing together diverse voices in an effort to come up with creative solutions to some of the challenges in this space. The FMC also aims to identify and promote innovative business models that will help musicians and citizens to benefit from new technologies.

Learn how to join the Future of Music Coalition at http://www.futureofmusic.org/

Plotbot: Collaborate and write a screenplay online!

Create the next great American screenplay with Plotblot! Drop your current masterpiece into Plotbot's software and type away at the nearest Internet cafe.

From Plotbot.com:

With Plotbot, you can create private screenplays to work alone or with invited friends, or you can create public screenplays to find new friends. All changes are tracked to each writer, and you can revert to prior versions at any time.
We handle all of the formatting—you just click the text to edit and write, easy as pie. All you have to think of are great ideas!

Use Plotbot.com.

MySpace gets further into Music Downloads

"MySpace Music announces downloads sans DRM, free streaming"
SOURCE: arstechnica.com

Downloads through MySpace Music will be DRM-free; video content and streaming music will be ad-supported. The company said that users will be able to choose from the full catalog as streaming options and will be able to share playlists with one another. MySpace also plans to offer a mobile storefront and allow users to buy ringtones, and new features will continue to be added to MySpace Music over time. MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe said that the venture will provide "new revenue models for both MySpace and the music companies," although he declined to offer further financial details.

Continue reading via arstechnica