The Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition is an annual competition that "acknowledges great songwriting whilst supporting and raising money for Nordoff-Robbins" and is coordinated by Albert Music and APRA AMCOS. The competition awards a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place and was named after iconic writers Harry Vanda and George Young, known as Vanda & Young.[1]
| Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | acknowledges great songwriting |
| Country | Australia |
| Presented by | Albert Music and APRA AMCOS |
| First awarded | 2009 |
| Last awarded | Current |
| Website | www |
The competition is Australia's most prestigious and lucrative songwriting competition.[2] The inaugural competition took place in December 2009, with Megan Washington winning with the song "How to Tame Lions". [3]
Background
editIn 2009 independent music company Albert Music collaborated with APRA AMCOS to establish an international songwriter's competition. The competition open to all songwriters – published or unpublished, and all proceeds raised by the Vanda & Young Global Song writing Competition go to not-for-profit organisation Noro Music Therapy Australia (NRMTA), which uses music therapy to help people cope with the struggles of living with a wide range of needs.[1]
The winners are selected by a panel of experts from a cross-section of industries.[1]
The 2014's competition include an Encouragement Award with a cash prize of $2,000 which was donated by 2013 winners, The Preatures.[4]
As of 2020, 1st place receives a $50,000 cash prize, 2nd place receives $10,000 and 3rd place receives $5,000. The Emerging Songwriter winner receives $5,000 courtesy Australasian Music Publishers Association.[1]
Past winners
editList of top three from each year as listed on the APRA AMCOS website.[5]
| Year |  Gold
|
 Silver
|
 Bronze
|
Unpublished prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Megan Washington – "How to Tame Lions" | Eskimo Joe (Kav Temperley, Joel Quartermain and Stuart Macleod) – "Foreign Land" | Caitlin Harnett – "Tying Hands and Holding Shoelaces" | — |
| 2010 | No competition | |||
| 2011 | Kimbra – "Cameo Lover" | Catherine Britt – "Sweet Emmylou" | Gotye – "Somebody That I Used to Know" | — |
| 2012 | No competition | |||
| 2013 | Isabella Manfredi (The Preatures) – "Is This How You Feel?" | Robert Conley – "Paper Thin" | Thelma Plum – "Breathe in Breathe Out" & Jasmine Nelson – "Keep Her Close" (tie) | — |
| 2014 | Husky Gawenda – "Saint Joan" | Meg Mac – "Roll Up Your Sleeves" | David Le'aupepe (Gang of Youths) – "Poison Drum" | Andy Bull – "Baby I Am Nobody Now" (Encouragement Award) |
| 2015 | No competition | |||
| 2016 | Gretta Ray – "Drive" | Emma Louise – "Underflow" | Tigertown (Charlene Collins/Christopher Collins) "Lonely Cities" & Tia P. "4 Seats from Beyoncé" (tie) | — |
| 2018 | Amy Shark "Adore" | David Le'aupepe (Gang of Youths) – "Let Me Down Easy" | David Le'aupepe (Gang of Youths) – "The Heart Is a Muscle" | Grace Shaw – "Better" |
| 2019 | Matt Corby and Dann Hume – "Miracle Love" | Sarah Aarons – "The Middle" | Sahara Beck – "Here We Go Again" | Kaiit – "Miss Shiney" |
| 2020 | Thelma Plum – "Better in Blak" | Baker Boy, (aka Danzal Baker) "Meditjin" | Ruel – "Painkiller" | Carla Geneve – "The Right Reasons" |
| 2021[6] | Genesis Owusu – "Gold Chains" | Jerome Farah – "Mikey Might" | MAY-A – "Time I Love to Waste" | |
| 2022[7] | King Stingray – "Milkumana" | Budjerah – "Ready for the Sky" | King Stingray - "Camp Dog" | Charley - "Worst Taste in Girls" |
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "About the Vanda Young Global Song Writing Competition". APRA AMCOS. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ "KIMBRA WINS VANDA & YOUNG SONGWRITING COMPETITION". Varrasspor. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ "Megan Washington wins the inaugural Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition". Loud N Local. 8 December 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ "2014 VANDA & YOUNG SONG COMPETITION ENTRIES NOW OPEN". Australian Musician. August 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ "Past Winners". APRA AMCOS. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ "Genesis Owusu wins 2021 Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition". The Music Network. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ "King Stingray nab the top gong and over $50k at global songwriting competition". MSN. 8 June 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.