The 2004 Elemental Music Compo

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[Rules] [Judging] [Awards] [Entries] [Results]

Introduction

Welcome to the 2004 Elemental Music Competition! In this compo, participants will compose music based upon, or inspired by, the four elements. For example, one could pick the Fire element, and write a song that captures the essence of fire. Use your imagination! Anything is possible in this compo. Come up with a song that you feel best represents Earth, Wind, Fire, or Water.

Each element will be it's own category. Artists can enter multiple categories if they wish, but only one song per category. Once the compo is complete and the judging has taken place, the winner of each category will receive the category's applicable trophy. Here's what the trophies look like.

Rules

Here are the rules for the 2004 Elemental Music Compo!

1. The 2004 Elemental Music Compo will run from March 1, 2004 through March 31, 2004. This is the timeframe during which submissions will be accepted. No submissions will be accepted before the starting date, and likewise, none will be accepted after the closing date of March 31, 2004.
2. Entries must be in MP3 128kbps format. Please edit the ID tags to include the song name, artist name, and the EMC category the song will compete in (for example: Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water). ZIP your entry; one song per zip file. Songs may not compete in multiple categories (meaning you cannot write a song which represents both Fire and Wind, for example). Entries that do not contain the song's title, artist's name, and category for competition will be disqualified. If you do not know how to edit the ID tags of your MP3 file, please include a simple text file called "info.txt" with the required information in the zip archive with your song, and I will add the ID tags to your MP3 file for you.

3. Please include comments with your song! This can be up to a paragraph or so, and it should describe the overall feel of your song, and perhaps why you feel it fits into the category you are entering the song into. Please name this text file "comments.txt" and include it with your song in the required zip archive. Also, BE SURE to include your full name and shipping address in the "comments.txt" file; this information will be used to send the winning participant's trophy!
   ALSO: Skizo has asked me about the possibility of using some of the tracks from the EMC in a music disk, and I've told him that it would be fine, as long as the artists don't mind their music being used as such. So, if you would, please indicate either "Yes I wouldn't mind my music being used in the music disk" or "No, please don't use my tune in the music disk" along with your song comments and address in the "comments.txt" file. Thanks!
4. Maximum size for each entry will be 10 megabytes (zipped). Entries which are larger than 10 megabytes will be disqualified. Songs must be at least 30 seconds long. There is no maximum time limit. Also, songs can be made using any program (tracker, sequencer, etc.), any instruments (wind, brass, string, synth, etc.), and any method (live recording, etc.)!
5. Please do not submit "joke" songs; spend some time on your entries. Entries for the 2004 Elemental Music Compo must be new (previously unreleased) works (please, no covers or remixes).
6. You may submit one song to each of the four categories (Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water), or to as many of the categories as you wish; but, again, do not submit any song to multiple categories.
7. Co-ops are allowed! However, if you submit a co-op song into a category, that one song will count for your entry AND your co-op partner's entry. This means you cannot submit a co-op song into the Fire category, and then submit a solo work of your own into the Fire category as well. You may, of course, submit a co-op entry in one category, and then still enter other co-op or solo works in other categories.
8. Most any kinds of samples are allowed. Please, however, take care in choosing your samples. For example, please do not submit songs with offensive words, lyrics, or language. Also, I, the 2004 Elemental Music Competition, and/or it's participants will not be held liable or in any way responsible for any commercial samples used in your entry. It is best NOT to use samples from movies or other commercial sources. You MAY use any samples which you have purchased, but please steer clear of illegal samples.
9. To enter a song into the 2004 Elemental Music Compo, please E-Mail Christofori with a download link to your song. Also, please be sure to indicate which category your song will compete in. You may do this in a text file included in the zip archive with your song, or in the body of the E-Mail message that contains the link to your song. Please, do not send your song(s) to the host via E-Mail! If you do not have a means to host your song, please contact me and we can work something out.
10. Have fun, and do your best! If you have ANY questions about this compo, please do not hesitate to contact me. Also please note that any song that does not meet all of the requirements set forth in these rules will be disqualified.

Please note: The rules for the 2004 Elemental Music Compo may change without notice. However, these rules should NOT change once the start date of the compo has passed. Please be sure you've read and understand the rules before you submit your entries!

Also note: ALL information collected for the 2004 Elemental Music Compo will be held in strict confidence by the host. The host will NOT distribute any collected information, public or private, to any third party, except for use as needed in the 2004 Elemental Music Compo. Basically, this means that I won't spam you, won't sell your address or other personal information, and etcetera; but I WILL use your E-Mail information to contact you if need be, and I will also use your supplied shipping address to ship the trophy to you, should you win. If you have questions about this policy, or about information security as it pertains to the 2004 Elemental Music Compo, please do not hesitate to contact me.

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Judging

Each category will have multiple judges. The judges will listen to all songs in their respective category, and then shall proceed to rate each song based upon the following criteria:

• Relevance to Theme and Category: 20 Points Maximum. This score will be based upon how well the judge feels the song fits in the category under which it was entered.
• Musicality: 10 Points Maximum. This score is based upon the musicality of the song; for example, how good or well-rounded the song is, or how much sense (musically speaking) the song makes.
• Originality and Creativity: 10 Points Maximum. This score will be based upon the overall creativity of the song.
• Technical Quality: 10 Points Maximum. This score is based upon the technical level of the song.
• Comments. Each judge will provide some feedback for each song in the category. This could be a few sentences, or a paragraph; whatever length that the judge feels adequetly describes the song.

Once the closing deadline of March 31, 2004 has passed, the judges will begin reviewing all of the songs. If you would like to be a judge, please contact me and let me know! Please note that you CAN NOT judge a category if you have entered a song into that category. For example, if you enter a song into the Wind category only, you may then judge the Earth, Fire, and Water categories; but NOT the Wind category. Also, you may judge as many categories as you wish; so long as you have not entered a category which you want to judge.

All of the judges' scores will be averaged together to form one overall score for each song in each category. Then, the placement of the songs in each category will be determined based upon the average scores. For example, if there are 4 judges in the Fire category, they will each give song "x" an allotment of points. Then, the four scores will be averaged together. The result of this average will determine the overall placement score for song "x."

Once all of the judges' comments and decisions are in, the scores will be averaged, and results for the 2004 Elemental Music Competition will be posted! Participants will be notified via E-Mail of any changes to the competition, as well as the periodic status of the competition while it is in progress.

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Awards

Each category's winner will receive a trophy. These trophies look like this. There will be one trophy per category, and the winner of each category will receive the respective category's trophy. In the event that one person wins multiple categories, the host will contact the winner to determine which ONE trophy he or she wants. Then, the second-place song's author in the other effected category (or categories) will receive the respective trophy. For example, if 'Susan B. Modwriter' wins the Earth, Fire, and Water catories, she will be asked which ONE trophy she would rather receive. Let's say 'Susan' chooses the Fire trophy. Then, the second-place artists in the Earth and Water categories would receive the Earth and Water trophies, respectively.

In the event that a co-op entry wins a category, it will be the sole responsibility of the co-op participants to decide whom, among them, shall receive the category's trophy. Sorry, but I can't get multiple trophies for a category, so that each member of the co-op team could receive one; I wish I could!

The winning song in each category will be hosted on my web site indefinately. Sorry, but I cannot host all of the files! I wish I could, though.

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Entries

Click on a section to view the entries: [Earth] [Wind] [Fire] [Water]

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Results

The results for the 2004 Elemental Music Competition, at long last, are finally available! The trophies will be sent out to the winners shortly. Many thanks to AladdinSane, Annonymous (I know who you are, lol!), obScene, and delux-cloudx for assisting me in the judging phase of the EMC! Also, congratulations to obScene, skyscape/Libris, Benefit of the Boomerang (featuring Ethelion), and Skizo, the winners of the 2004 Elemental Music Competition! Competition in many of the categories was pretty stiff, so great work guys. I was generally impressed with all of the entries, especially by the variety of music entered. Thanks again to all those who entered!

Click on a catagory name to view it's results:

[Earth Results]
[Wind Results]
[Fire Results]
[Water Results]

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