• FREE for songwriters who are 18 years of age or older as of the deadline date of December 8, 2025, by 5 PM EST. 
• The contest will open on October 8, 2025. 
• Deadline: December 8, 2025, by 5 PM EST. NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED. All submissions MUST be received before the deadline. We encourage those interested to submit their applications early to ensure they are received before the deadline.
• All musical genres are welcome; however, submissions in English will be given preference.
• Song recording: The submitted song must be a demo version and not a finished, recorded, and mastered version. A previously released song will NOT be accepted.
• 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.
• The winner will receive public recognition via a joint Press Release and announcement on digital media channels operated by the sponsoring bodies. The announcement is set to take place in Spring 2026.
• The Mississauga Arts Council will hire the winning artist to perform their song at a minimum of three public events (to be determined). 
• Winner to be provided free recording, mixing time & support at Metalworks Studios starting late January until early March 2025. 
• The song must be completed by no later than March 16, 2026, at 5 PM EST.

• The 2026 Sauga’s Song of the Year competition is open to all songwriters who compose and perform original material and currently live in the City of Mississauga.
• Entrants may be either individuals or a group comprised of 2 or more individual members. 
• Entrants are limited to submit one entry per band/artist, via SoundsUnite Canada [soundsunite.com] and Mississauga Arts Council’s webform [macarts.ca/songoftheyear]. Subsequent or multiple entries will be disqualified.
• The entrants can be unsigned artists or signed by any record label, publishing company, or other relevant industry body. 
• The competition is not open to directors, employees or relatives of the sponsoring partners or competition judges. 
• All entrants must submit their:
• Best original demo song in an MP3 format
• Submit the original lyrics of the song for consideration
• All entrants have the option to include a short introduction video about themselves, their experiences and the creative process of this song. This is not required, but it is encouraged.
• The song entry may not exceed 4 minutes in length.
• The lyrics entered must not include or contain any material that would reasonably be considered obscene, offensive, defamatory, pornographic, threatening or abusive, or 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. 
• Entrants and their collaborators will retain full rights to all work submitted for the contest. The entrant warrants and represents that the songs submitted are the sole, exclusive and original works of the entrant(s).
• The selected winner is required to provide an original photo or artwork to accompany their winning song for distribution on streaming platforms.
• Once the final track is ready for distribution, the winner will be required to upload the song to streaming platforms. A staff member from Metalworks Studios will be available to provide guidance and support throughout this process.
• Winner(s) should be prepared to attend live in-studio recording sessions at Metalworks Studios (3611 Mavis Rd. Mississauga, ON) starting late January to early March 2025. The Winning Song must be completed no later than March 16, 2025, at 5 PM EST.
• 2026 Sauga’s Song of the Year contest judging will be comprised of industry professionals. Entries will be judged on the following criteria:
• Quality of Songwriting: Scored 1-10
• Performance and Vocal Ability: Scored 1-10
• Wide Audience Appeal (Does the composition have the potential to appeal to a cross-cultural and all-ages audience?): Scored 1-10
• Growth of awareness and appreciation of the arts in Mississauga (Does the proposed song contribute to the development of arts, culture and heritage in Mississauga?): Scored 1-10
• Entry constitutes permission to use the winner’s names, likenesses 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 a letter of agreement for the song to be submitted, and must abide by all criteria to enter.
• There is no expense to the grand prize winner for the Multi-track Sound recording of the song being used for the competition, and the 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. 
• This agreement entitles Mississauga Arts Council to use the referenced audio/video sound recording for promotional and brand advertising purposes on radio, television, the 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.
• 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.
• Entrants can only win the Grand Prize as awarded.
• The competition is subject to all federal, provincial and municipal laws and regulations that may be applicable.
• 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. 
• 2026 Sauga’s Song of the Year contest committee reserves the right to extend the deadline of the competition and/or announcement of winners if needed.  
• 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 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.
• FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THESE RULES MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION.
• Thank you!

Please upload your anthem to SoundsUnite Canada (soundsunite.com) and complete the form (form.jotform.com/Mississauga_Arts/saugasong26) to submit all required information.

1. Uploading to SoundsUnite
   1. Create an account on SoundsUnite Canada
   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 Song of the Year Contest option, or else it won’t be added to the contest!
   7. Click Upload 

If you require assistance with SoundsUnite, please contact Brian Huston at brian@soundsunite.com. 

2. Complete the Mississauga Arts Council (MAC) webform at: https://form.jotform.com/Mississauga_Arts/saugasong26 

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 Canada
5. Information about the anthem: title, writing credits, production credits (if applicable), and rationale for the song.

If you require accessibility support for MAC’s web form, please contact Sherri Parliament at sherri@macarts.ca to discuss available options. 
Please note: To submit your entry to the contest, the demo must (1) be uploaded to SoundsUnite Canada and (2) the web form on the Mississauga Arts Council website must be completed. Submissions not entered to both SoundsUnite Canada and the webform on the Mississauga Arts Council’s website will NOT be considered.