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Submit your take on an anthem for Mississauga in honour of the City’s 50th Anniversary!

Mississauga Arts Council and Metalworks Studios, and SoundsUnite are jointly sponsoring the Sauga’s 50th Anniversary Anthem Contest.

In 1974, the year of City of Mississauga’s incorporation, the great Country singer-songwriter and Mississauga resident Tommy Hunter wrote and recorded “Mississauga”, a song to celebrate and uplift the newly formed city. 50 years later, the time has come to create an iconic anthem for a new era to celebrate community pride.

On the occasion of Mississauga’s 50th anniversary Mississauga Arts Council, Metalworks Studios, and SoundsUnite are producing a contest to find the best anthem incorporating the word Mississauga and reflecting the spirit and diversity of our dynamic city and its promising future. 

Mississauga-based musicians and songwriters are encouraged to submit their original song for a chance to have their song named “Mississauga’s 50th Anniversary Anthem” and a recording and mixing session at Metalworks Studios.

The jury, composed of established jurors with ties to the Mississauga music community, will determine the winning anthem. The winner will be announced in January 2024, and may be invited to perform the song at an official public celebration of Mississauga’s 50th Anniversary.

Thank you to everyone who submitted! The winner will be announced in January 2024!

Submissions

Please read the Rules & Guidelines before submitting your application.

READ THE RULES & GUIDELINES
Rules & Guidelines
  1. FREE for songwriters to apply who are 18 years of age or older.
  2. EXTENDED – Entry Deadline: November 13, 2023, at 11 AM EST. NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED. All submissions MUST be received before the deadline. We encourage those interested to submit early to ensure their submission is received in advance of the deadline.
  3. All genres of music are eligible, with preference given to English.
  4. Jury: Top finalists up to 10, are selected by the competition committee, from all submission entries from this portal for final Jury selection by relevant Mississauga music industry Judges.
  5. Winner to be contacted no later than November 22, 2023.
  6. Winner will receive public recognition via joint Press Release and announcement on digital media channels operated by the sponsoring bodies. Date of announcement to be determined.  
  7. Winner to be provided free recording, mixing time & support at Metalworks Studios schedule during the first three weeks of December, 2023. 
  8. Song must be completed no later than December 22, 2023. 
  9. Winner may be invited to perform the song at a public celebration for Mississauga’s 50th Anniversary.
Entry Guidelines
  1. The Mississauga 50th Anthem competition is open to all songwriters who compose and perform original material and live in the city of Mississauga currently or can prove they have been Mississauga residents for at least 5 consecutive years. 
  2. Entrants may be either individuals or a group comprised of 2 or more individual members. 
  3. Entrants are limited to submit one entry per band/artist, via SoundsUnite [soundsunite.com] and Mississauga Arts Council’s webform [form.jotform.com/Mississauga_Arts/50th-anthem]
    Subsequent or multiple entries will be disqualified.
  4. The entrants can be unsigned artists, or signed by any record label, publishing company, or other relevant industry body. 
  5. The competition is not open to directors or employees or relatives of the sponsoring partners or competition judges. 
  6. All entrants must submit their:
    • Best original song in an mp3 format
    • Submit original lyrics of song for consideration
  7. The song entry may not exceed 4 minutes in length.
  8. The song must include the word “Mississauga”. 
  9. The lyrics entered must not include or contain any material that would reasonably be considered obscene, offensive, defamatory, pornographic, threatening or abusive, content that is otherwise objectionable or would be deemed inappropriate, unsuitable or offensive, all as determined by Mississauga Arts Council in its sole discretion. Mississauga Arts Council reserves the right to disqualify any entries that contain the elements previously described. 
  10. Entrants and their collaborators will retain full rights to all work submitted for the contest. The entrant warrants and represents that the songs(s) submitted are the sole, exclusive and original works of the entrant(s).
  11. Winner(s) should be prepared to attend live in-studio recording sessions at Metalworks Studios (3611 Mavis Rd. Mississauga, ON.) the first three weeks of December 2023. Song completed no later than Friday, December 22, 2023.
  12. All entrants have the option to include a short introduction video about themselves and their experiences and memories of their residency in Mississauga. This is not required but it is encouraged.
  13. Mississauga 50th Anniversary Anthem contest judging will be comprised of industry professionals. Entries will be judged on the following criteria:
    • Quality of Songwriting; Scored 1-10 
    • Thematic Resonance (do the lyrics and feeling of the song reflect the lived experience of a Mississauga resident, history of the city, or future hopes and dreams) Scored 1-10
    • Wide Audience Appeal (does the composition have potential to appeal to a cross-cultural and all-ages audience?) Scored 1-10
  14. Entry constitutes permission to use winner’s names, likeness and voices for future publicity and advertising purposes without additional compensation. If there is more than one writer per submission, all co-writers must sign letter of agreement for the song to be submitted, and must abide by all criteria to enter.
  15. There is no expense to the grand prize winner for the Multi-track Sound recording of song being used for the purpose of the competition, and grand prize winning artist will get to own and have full rights to exploit this recorded version of their song and to enter into any deals with labels or publishers or companies as they see fit. 
  16. This agreement entitles Mississauga Arts Council to use the referenced audio/video sound recording for promotional and brand advertising purposes on radio, television, Internet, or other accessible media for public use. There will be no royalties or other payments provided to the artists/composers by Mississauga Arts Council associated with the use of this Song for the term. Any broadcast royalties collected by SOCAN from any use or commercial airplay would still go directly to composers and publishers of the anthem.
  17. Entrants represent and warrant that their entry, including any material comprising their entry (e.g. name, user name, profile picture, etc, as applicable) and any material submitted with their entry (e.g. photograph, written submission, audio/MP3 files, video, or other form of submission, as applicable) (all such material, collectively, the “Entry Material”) is original to the entrant, and they have all necessary rights in and to the Entry Material to enter the Contest, including the consent of any third parties whose personal information is included in the Entry Material.
  18. Entrants can only win the Grand Prize as awarded.
  19. The competition is subject to all federal, provincial and municipal laws and regulations that may be applicable.
  20. All decisions made by Mississauga Arts Council, and music industry panel with respect to the acceptance of any entry and eligibility of entries shall be final and binding. There is no mechanism for managing submission feedback or entrant complaints. 
  21. Mississauga 50th Anthem contest committee reserves the right to extend the deadline of the competition and/or announcement of winners if needed.  
  22. Entrants hereby agree to indemnify and hold harmless the competition entities (including Mississauga Arts Council, all participating radio stations and all sponsors) from and against any and all third party claims arising out of or resulting from (1) the entrant’s participation in the competition; or (b) any breach or alleged breach of any of the warranties, representations, or agreements granted, made by or entered into by an entrant. The winners release sponsors from all liability regarding prizes won. All federal, provincial and local taxes, when applicable, are the sole responsibility of the winner.
  23. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THESE RULES MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION.
  24. Thank you!

Please upload your anthem to SoundsUnite (soundsunite.com) and complete the form (form.jotform.com/Mississauga_Arts/50th-anthem) to submit all required information.

Upload your anthem to SoundsUnite

  1. Create an account on SoundsUnite
  2. Build your profile! 
  3. Upload a track by selecting Create Post in the sidebar
  4. Click Upload A Song
  5. Add your audio, a cover image/headshot and title, along with any other information you want to share about your track.
  6. Make sure you select the Submit to Sauga’s 50th Anniversary Anthem Contest option. 
  7. Click Upload
VISIT SOUNDSUNITE

If you require assistance with SoundsUnite, please contact Brian Huston at brian@audioworks.tech.

Completing the Mississauga Arts Council (MAC) webform.

The contest form requires the following information:

  1. Your contact information
  2. Website links and links to your social media
  3. Artist CV and/or biography and headshot (for promotional purposes)
  4. Link to your demo from SoundsUnite
  5. Information about the anthem: title, writing credits, production credits (if applicable), and rationale for the anthem.

COMPLETE THE WEB FORM

If you require assistance with MAC’s webform, please contact Sherri Murray at sherri@macarts.ca. 

Please note: In order to submit your entry to the contest, the anthem must (1) be uploaded to SoundsUnite and (2) the web form on Mississauga Arts Council website must be completed. Submissions not entered to both SoundsUnite and the webform on Mississauga Arts Council’s website will not be considered. 

EXTENDED – Deadline to submit: Monday, November 13 by 11 AM.

If you have any questions, please contact:
Sherri Murray
Communications Manager, Mississauga Arts Council
sherri@macarts.ca

Please allow up to two business days for a response.

Thank you to our Co-Sponsors

Metalworks Studios

Co-Sponsor
metalworksstudios.com

SoundsUnite

Co-Sponsor
soundsunite.com