ISC Winners Get Signed

Do you have a record deal? ISC grand prize winners do
Winning ISC has been a career changer for many entrants...including ISC Grand Prize winners Gin Wigmore (New Zealand), Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall (Australia), and King Charles (UK). Since winning ISC, they have all been signed to major label record deals (Island, Univeral Motown, Epic, and Universal Republic) and have gone on to achieve greater success in every facet of their career. ISC is proud of their accomplishments and gratified to be a catalyst in helping them move their careers forward.
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Gin Wigmore - 2004 Grand Prize Winner Gin Wigmore
2004 Grand Prize Winner Gin Wigmore is the Grand Prize Winner ISC most takes credit for. When Gin entered ISC back in 2004, she was only 16 years old and had only done a handful of open mics in her hometown in New Zealand. Her ISC winning song, "Hallelujah," was written when she was only 15 years old and is a beautiful and poignant song about her father who died of cancer. When the competition results were announced, Gin was the Grand Prize winner, and from then on, her life truly changed. Gin went from a complete unknown to a sought-after artist and songwriter - with the direct help of ISC.

Industry exec Michael Taylor explains, "I first heard of Gin Wigmore from her song "Hallelujah," on the ISC compilation CD of winners. I was A&R Senior Director at Epic Records in New York at the time. She won first place - and was an unsigned artist at the time. When I took the job running Island Records Australia, Gin and I met again, and it was evident she was ready to make an album and be an artist full time. Gin's unique style of songwriting has always been the standout element of her artistry to me. The ISC has shown itself to be a very important badge of honour for winners on a worldwide scale."

Michael signed her to Island Records Australia. Since then, she has toured extensively, recorded a debut album Holy Smoke, (with The Cardinals of Ryan Adams & The Cardinals fame), charted in Australia and the US, and become a critic's darling. Her most recent achievement is scooping the NZ Music Awards, winning four awards (including Album Of The Year), and going 4x platinum in NZ. Holy Smoke has now been released in the US on Universal Motown.

Kate Miller-Heidke - 2008 Grand Prize Winner Kate Miller-Heidke
2008 Grand Prize Winner Classically trained Aussie artist Kate Miller-Heidke has followed a career in alternative pop music. Kate and Keir Nuttall (her guitarist and co-writer) are the ISC 2008 Grand Prize winners.

Their winning song, "Caught In The Crowd," is a pull-at-the-heartstrings pop song that addresses the issue of childhood bullying. With this song, Kate and Keir made history as the first Australians to win the Grand Prize in ISC. Prior to winning ISC, Kate had enjoyed a lot of success in Australia, winning multiple ARIA and APRA awards and charting on the radio with her Sony albums Little Eve and Curiouser.

Since winning ISC, her career has now been launched in the US. Bill Cullin, her manager, explains, "Since winning the grand prize in the ISC, Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall's careers have come a long way internationally. Soon after the win, Ben Folds invited them to open on two tours in the US, they have played five Lilith Fair dates, and performed at Coachella. Epic Records signed Kate in the middle of 2010 and are in the process of relaunching her previously independently released album Curiouser. The ISC win has proved to be the perfect launchpad."
King Charles - 2009 Grand Prize Winner King Charles
2009 Grand Prize Winner ISC's newest Grand Prize winner is King Charles of London, England. Gloriously unique and flamboyantly poetic, King Charles began making music seriously in 2005. Earlier as a boy, he learned the cello, sang in the school choir, and took up guitar, listening to Dylan who he says "made the world bigger for me." After a year at university, he returned to London, without a degree, but with a new moniker, King Charles. He formed a band and soon was on the road touring. The ISC winning song, "Love Lust," demonstrates his keenly original artistry. Since winning ISC in 2009, he has been signed to Universal Republic.

The record deal was done in partnership with King Charles' current label, UK indie Mi7 Records. Managing Director James Barnett stated, "We've been overwhelmed with major label and publishing interest since the win and we're very much looking forward to working with Universal Republic in the US and Island in the UK." Commenting on the deal, Universal Republic CEO (and ISC judge) Monte Lipman said: "With extraordinary acts like Florence And The Machine and Mumford & Sons now breaking in America, there is no doubt that King Charles will only drive the British invasion into pop culture even further." King Charles' debut album is due for release next year, and he is currently supporting Mumford & Sons on their US tour. Onstage at a recent show, King Charles proclaimed that "winning ISC gave my career a major kick-in-the-butt boost."
In addition to these artists, many other Grand Prize winners and category winners have gone on to greater success and many accomplishments.

Catie Curtis, ISC's 2005 Grand Prize winner now signed to Compass, has established herself as one of the very finest singer/songwriters on the scene. She has created a dedicated following that has grown steadily over the course of her 15-year career. She has produced 10 albums, the most recent being Hello Stranger released last year.

Edward Glumov, ISC's 2008 Grand Prize winner, hails from Kazakhstan. The winning song, "I'm Not Your Friend," was co-written with lyricist Z. Mulls. After winning ISC, Edward came to the US for the first time and spent a month in Nashville, making a record. During his stay, he procured a publishing deal with PeerMusic for his winning song. Edward said, "winning the ISC Grand Prize helped me to open the doors."

ISC wishes the Grand Prize winners all the best with their careers and is proud to be a part of their success.
ISC Still Accepting Entries For 2010

The ISC deadline has been extended to December 3, so there is still time to enter. Go to www.songwritingcompetition.com for more info and an entry form. You can enter online, through the mail, or with your songs on MySpace.
Judges

Recording Artists: Peter Gabriel; Rihanna; Kings of Leon; Tom Waits; Ben Harper; Jeff Beck; Kelly Clarkson; Timbaland; Keane; McCoy Tyner; Ben Folds; Train; Robbie Williams; Joe Nichols; Michael W. Smith; John Scofield; Jerry Lee Lewis; Regina Spektor; Alejandro Sanz; Jeremy Camp; Terence Blanchard; Ray Wylie Hubbard; Montel Jordan; John Mayall; Craig Morgan; Jazmine Sullivan; DJ Tiësto; James Cotton; Sandra Bernhard; Robert Earl Keen; Baaba Maal; Wynonna; John Digweed; K'Naan; Adele; Black Francis (The Pixies); Robert Smith (The Cure); Chris Hillman (The Byrds); Darryl McDaniels (Run D.M.C.); Toots Hibbert (Toots & The Maytals); Matt Thiessen (Relient K); Chayanne; and Dan Zanes

Industry Executives: Monte Lipman (President, Universal Republic Records); Amanda Ghost (President, Epic Records); Rick Krim (Exec. VP, Talent & Music Programming, VH1); Brian Malouf (VP A&R, Walt Disney Records); Bruce Iglauer (Founder/President, Alligator Records); Angel Carrasco (Sr. VP A&R, Latin America, Sony/BMG); Ric Arboit (President, Nettwerk Music Group); Daniel Glass (Founder/CEO, Glassnote Entertainment Group); Cory Robbins (Founder/President, Robbins Entertainment); Dr. Demento (Radio Host, The Dr. Demento Show); Steve Lillywhite (Producer); Dan Storper (President, Putamayo World Music Records and Putumayo Kids); Lisa Ramsey Perkins (Sr. Director, A&R Sony Nashville); Kim Buie (VP A&R, Lost Highway); Leib Ostrow (CEO, Music For Little People); and Tommy Morris (Talent Coordinator, The Comedy Store)
Categories:

Pop/Top 40, AAA (Adult Album Alternative), R&B/Hip-Hop, Adult Contemporary (AC), Rock, Country, Folk/Singer-Songwriter, Americana, Blues, Jazz, Gospel/Christian, Latin Music, Instrumental, Dance/Electronica, Comedy/Novelty, World Music, Children's Music, Lyrics Only, Teen, Performance, Music Video, and Unsigned Only. Entrants may submit as many songs as they wish - in the same category or in multiple categories.
ISC "Crank Your Cred" Contest on Myspace

If you have a MySpace page and want to enter using your MySpace songs, ISC will go to your page and listen to your songs there. It's very easy! Also, as a bonus, every month ISC will pick two winners out of all the entrants who entered through MySpace that month. The winners will be promoted on ISC's website and featured in an ISC e-newsletter that goes out to over 400,000 musicians and industry professionals. Then, at the end of ISC, the monthly winners will go head-to-head in an online public vote, and the winner will win lots of cool prizes and mega promotion. ISC will definitely Crank Your Cred! Winners will of course also be entered into ISC and be eligible to share in $150,000 in cash and prizes as part of ISC.
Sponsor Spotlight
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Industry Partners
Hello Music Hello Music

Hello Music is a digital A&R service dedicated to helping independent artists by pairing them with music industry opportunities ranging from live gigs to paid sync licenses, Internet radio play to free studio time. They are non-exclusive, and it's free to sign up and submit to all their opportunities. Every artist gets a free feedback report from their in-house A&R team who listen to every song they get. Their partners include Yahoo Music!, RootMusic, PlayNetwork, Tunecore, and more. They are currently looking for the next New Music Seminar "Artist on the Verge." Sign up today at www.hellomusic.com.
OnlineRock OnlineRock

OnlineRock provides tools and information to musicians who are looking for new ideas to promote their music. Founded in 1999 as an interactive music community, OnlineRock's visitors and members can learn about gear, products and services through interviews, reviews and downloads as well as giveaways, discussions and other music-related content. For more info, go to http://www.onlinerock.com.
ISC Sponsors: Martin Guitar, Berklee College Of Music, Disc Makers, D'Addario, Shure, Westone, Thayers,
Sonicbids, Taxi, Onlinegigs, ASCAP, SongU.com, Grooveshark, TuneCore, Aspen Brownie Works, The Music Business Registry, Independent Mastering, Indie Venue Bible, George Stein, Esq., music Submit, and Alphabet Arm Design
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