Tom Waits, Nas, Martina McBride, McCoy Tyner, Jeff Beck, Bernie Taupin, Janelle Monae, Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks, And Many More Join ISC’s Judging Panel

The International Songwriting Competition (ISC) has again assembled a diverse panel of judges that consists of some of the most iconic artists in the world coupled with influential music executives from all walks of the industry. Known for its high caliber of judges, ISC gives away more than $150,000 in cash and prizes (shared among the 68 winners) including an overall Grand Prize consisting of $25,000 (US) cash and $30,000 in prizes.

Open to both amateur and professional songwriters, ISC offers 22 categories to enter, representing all genres of popular music, from Rock to Jazz to Blues to Hip-Hop, and more. Past winners have included Grammy winners, chart-topping artists, hobbyist songwriters, and everyone in between. Winners have included Gotye, Kimbra, The Band Perry, Andrew Bird, Kate Miller-Heidke, Gin Wigmore, Missy Higgins, Carbon Leaf, King Charles, and many more.

Getting an artist’s music into the hands (and ears) of the music industry’s heavy hitters is one of the most difficult goals to accomplish, yet ISC provides this opportunity to all its finalists. All entries are carefully evaluated by an internal listening committee and narrowed down to approximately 350 finalists. These finalists then get sent to the ISC judges who select the winners.

ISC judges include:

Recording Artists: Tom Waits; Nas; Jeff Beck; Martina McBride; Bernie Taupin; Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks; Keane; McCoy Tyner; Wynonna; Mark Foster (Foster The People); Francesca Battistelli; Janelle Monae; Billy Currington; Tegan and Sara; Simon Le Bon and Roger Taylor (Duran Duran); Avicii; Bruce Hornsby; Anthony Hamilton; Brian Setzer; Ketch Secor (Old Crow Medicine Show); Anoushka Shankar; Los Temerarios; Suzanne Vega; Gerald Casale (Devo); Michael W. Smith; Alejandro Sanz; Jeremy Camp; John Mayall; Craig Morgan; Basement Jaxx; James Cotton; Sandra Bernhard; Robert Earl Keen; Black Francis (The Pixies); Robert Smith (The Cure); Darryl McDaniels (Run D.M.C.); Toots Hibbert (Toots & The Maytals); Billy Currington; and Matt Thiessen (Relient K)

Industry Executives: Dan McCarroll (President, Capitol/Virgin Label Group); Monte Lipman (President, Universal Republic Records); Ed Vetri (President, Wind-Up Records); Richard Stumpf (President, Imagem Music US); Albert Schilcher (VP Music and Music Marketing, MTV International); Jonas Nachsin (President, Roadrunner Records); Allison Jones (VP of A&R, Big Machine Label Group); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); Angel Carrasco (Sr. VP A&R, Latin America, Sony/BMG); Anastasia Brown (Music Supervisor, FORMAT); Dr. Demento (Radio Host, The Dr. Demento Show); Steve Lillywhite (Producer); Dan Storper (President, Putamayo World Music Records and Putumayo Kids); Kim Buie (A&R and Artist Manager, Thirty Tigers); Douglas C. Cohn (Sr. VP, Music Marketing & Talent, Nickelodeon); Steve Smith (VP of A&R, Aware Records); Leib Ostrow (Founder/CEO, Music For Little People); Jack Vaughn (VP, Comedy Central Records); Jamie Masada (Owner, Laugh Factory) and Cory Robbins (Founder/President, Robbins Entertainment)

Please visit www.songwritingcompetition.com for an entry form or more details.

ISC Sponsors: Presonus, Lowden, Marshall Amplification, Berklee College Of Music, Airplay Direct, DiscMakers, Thayers, SongU.com, The Music Business Registry, Independent Mastering, Indie Venue Bible, George Stein, Esq., Sonicbids, and Taxi