TERMS + CONDITIONS
2024 PRIZE // TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Version published : 22 / 04 / 2024
1. The Competition
1.1 Information on how to enter the The Environmental Music Prize any forms, the Prize and rules for redeeming the Prize form part of these terms and conditions. By submitting an entry in the competition for the Prize (Competition), the person submitting that entry agrees to be bound by these terms and conditions.
1.2 The Competition is a competition of songwriting and production skill, based on qualitative assessment and voting. Chance plays no part in determining the winner of the Prize.
2. Organiser
2.1 The Competition is organised by Environmental Music Limited (ABN 24654774320) (Organiser)
3. Entrant Eligibility
3.1 Entry is open to individuals that are amateur or professional songwriters, whether published or unpublished. Entry must be in the name of an individual (Entrant).
3.2 Entrants must use their own names and can only submit musical works and accompanying lyrics (each a Song) they have composed themselves, either alone or as a co-writer.
(There is an exception for minors, see below.)
3.3 Songs co-written by multiple writers are eligible for entry. However, an individual song may be entered once only, under the name of a single Entrant. The first co-writer to submit a song is deemed the sole Entrant for that song. It is the responsibility of the Entrant to divide any Prize with co-writers as appropriate.
3.4 It is a condition of entry that the Entrant supplies, on request, satisfactory evidence of all the copyright owners of the musical work, sound recording or the video, on request.
3.5 Entries can be accepted from persons under the age of 18 years (Minor Entrant) if their parent or guardian enters on their behalf. The parent or guardian of a Minor Entrant may be required by the Organiser to enter into a further agreement as evidence of consent to the Minor Entrant entering the Competition. References in these terms and conditions to “Entrants” includes Minor Entrants as applicable.
3.6 As a condition of entry, the Entrant (or the parent or guardian of a Minor Entrant) must sign on request any consent or agreement in the form required by the Organiser, including but not limited to a legal release and indemnity form related to all material submitted by the Entrant to the Competition and covering permitted uses of the Entrant’s name and likeness in connection with the Competition..
3.7 The ‘Shortlisting Committee’ for the Competition (and their immediate families) are ineligible to enter.
4. Entries
4.1 Entrants must follow the directions on the Competition online entry form at www.environmentalmusicprize.com and properly complete and submit an online entry form for each Song entered, together with a YouTube link to a video clip of a performance of the Song (Video).
4.2 On request, each Entrant must also supply the Organiser with an audio-only version of the Song as incorporated in the sound track of the Video (the Recording) in mp3 format, and links to any other Digital Service Provider or platform, such as iTunes, Apple Music, Vimeo, Soundcloud, Spotify etc (each a Platform), where the Song or the Video is accessible to the public. (The Video, the Recording and the text of the Entrant’s application including biographical information and their picture, are referred to, in whole or in part, as the Material).
4.3 Entrants may enter a maximum of 2 Songs, with each Song being a discrete Entry.
4.4 The Organiser may verify the validity of entries and may disqualify any Entrant for any reason at the Organiser’s sole discretion. An entry which does not comply with these terms and conditions or is invalid, incomplete, indecipherable or illegible entries will be deemed invalid.
4.5 Songs will only be shortlisted for the Prize if they are publicly released at least 21 days before the date published by the Organiser for the start of public voting, and if all authorisations and clearances requested by the Organiser have been delivered to the Organiser’s satisfaction.
4.6 The Organiser does not have to delete or cease using or accessing Material.
4.7 Material may be used by the Organiser for promotional purposes associated with the Prize, the Competition and its promotion.
4.8 Entering the Competition does not guarantee that an Entrant will win a Prize or derive any other benefit.
4.9 The Organiser is not responsible in any way for the decisions, actions or conduct of the Shortlisting Committee, or the way in which the public votes.
5. Competition Period
5.1 The Competition opens on Wednesday 13th March, 2024 at 6am AEDT and closes on EARTH DAY, Monday 22nd April, 2024 at 11:59pm AEST (Competition Period).
The Organiser has the discretion to change the Competition Period and will have no liability as a result of any change.
5.2 All entries must be submitted by the Entrant prior to the end of the Competition Period. Entries are deemed to be submitted, at the time the Organiser has both received the Material and can access the Video, and not the time of submission by the Entrant. The Organiser is not responsible for failure to receive or access any entry, whether for any cause beyond its control or otherwise.
6. Privacy
6.1 All details of the Entrant will be held in accordance with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 and the Organiser’s privacy policy which can be viewed at www.environmentalmusicprize.com/privacy.
6.2 Any personal information of the Entrant will only be used for the purpose of the Competition and to add the Entrant to the Environmental Music Prize’s mailing list. By entering the Competition, the Entrant authorises the Organiser to add them to the mailing list and to contact the Entrant via email or phone.
6.3 The Organiser will only share the Entrants information with the people involved in supporting the delivery of The Environmental Music Prize and will not, without the Entrant’s consent, disclose or permit access to the Entrant’s personal information to other organisations.
7. Rights in Songs and other Material Entered
7.1 The Entrant, and all other relevant copyright owners, will retain any copyright they hold at the time of submission, and all other rights controlled by the Entrant or other rights holders in any Material submitted to the Competition. For the avoidance of doubt, no copyright in any of the Material, including in the Song, or any Recording, will be assigned to the Organiser by entering the Competition.
8. Licences, Warranties and Indemnities
8.1 The Entrant grants the Organiser, subject only to the prior rights of APRA, a non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, all-media right to reproduce, communicate, perform, publish and edit the Material, and to cause it to be seen or heard, for the purposes of the Competition, which may include compiling shareable playlists across various Platforms. The licence does not include the right to commercially exploit the Material.
8.2 By entering the Competition, the Entrant warrants to the Organiser in respect of each Song submitted in this Competition that:
(a) He or she is the author or co-author of the Song;
(b) He or she owns or controls the copyright in the Material and is entitled to submit the Song as a part of and for the purposes of the Competition;
(c) Nothing in the Material infringes the rights of any third party, including copyright, and all efforts have been taken to avoid any such infringement;
(d) the Entrant has obtained written permission from any co-writer or publisher or other person controlling any rights in the Song or other Material, to the use of the Material under these terms and conditions; and
(e) None of the Material is offensive, inappropriate, obscene or defamatory, or otherwise breaks any law.
8.3 The Entrant indemnifies and holds the Organiser and its licences and assigns harmless from and against any claims inconsistent with the warranties above.
8.4 The Entrant agrees that:
(a) all entries may be shared with the Shortlisting Committee who will be determining the Shortlisted Songs;
(b) Shortlisted Songs will be shared publicly either on the Environmental Music Prize website, an app or a partner’s website or app, so that the public can vote on the shortlisted songs to determine the winner or winners;
c) other prizes and subcategories might be created at the Organiser’s discretion and that the mechanism for attributing the prize, or selection for the Prize, might be different than originally described, based on the judgement of the Shortlisting Committee;
(d) the Organiser may, in its sole discretion, take down any Song or any other Material from any platform, or disqualify an Entrant for Material that the Organiser deems to be inconsistent with these terms and conditions;
(e) should the Entrant’s Song be Shortlisted, the Organiser shall have permission to use the Material, as well as the Entrant’s name, country, likeness, or voice solely for any and all advertising and publicity purposes in connection with the Competition, as well as on the Organiser’s website and through its social media channels and that of its partners without additional compensation; and
(f) Shortlisted songs may be showcased or presented either alone or as a playlist in video or audio format for the promotion of the prize and to amplify environmental music.
8.5 The Organiser (and any party associated with the Competition) will not be liable for any loss, damage, payment or expense of any kind (including but not limited to indirect or consequential loss or damage caused by the Organiser’s or other party’s negligence), or personal injury or other damage suffered or sustained as a result of entering, judging, running, cancellation or acceptance, enjoyment or use of the Competition or the Prize (or part thereof), except for any liability that cannot be excluded by law.
8.6 The Entrant indemnifies the Organiser against:
(a) all liabilities, losses, damages, costs and expenses (including all legal costs, whether incurred or awarded) suffered or incurred by the Organiser in relation to any breach by the Entrant of its obligations under these terms and conditions;
(b) claims about the loss or destruction of any Materials;
(c) any loss or damage of any kind (including but not limited to indirect or consequential loss or loss or damage caused by the Organiser’s or other party’s negligence) arising out of, or in connection with, the postponement or variation of the Competition or the Prize (or part thereof), subject to Clause.
8.7 Entrants agree to release, indemnify, and hold the Organiser and Shortlisting Committee harmless for any liability, damages, or claims for injury or loss to any person or property relating to, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, participation in the Competition.
9. Shortlisting and Judging
9.1 The Organiser will appoint a Shortlisting Committee comprised of a selection of members of the Organiser’s Advisory Council, the environmental movement and music industry, Music Ambassadors (Shortlisting Committee).
9.2 Each valid entry will initially be reviewed by the Organiser and judged on its merits to determine a first round shortlist of Songs for consideration by the Shortlisting Committee (First Round).
9.3 Each Song comprised in the First Round will be reviewed by the Shortlisting Committee and judged on its merits to determine the Shortlisted Songs that will be voted on by the public (the Shortlist or Finalists).
9.4 Judgement of entries is at the absolute discretion of the Organiser and Shortlisting Committee. The decisions of the Organiser and Judging Committee with respect to the Competition are final and no correspondence will be entered into. For the avoidance of doubt, the Shortlisting Committee will not provide Entrants with feedback or a critique with respect to entered Songs.
9.5 If the Organiser has corresponded regarding an entry or provided advice, that should not be taken as an instruction or as an indication that the song will be Shortlisted.
9.6 The Shortlisted Songs will be made available to the public and open for public vote. The mechanism and number of votes per person are to be decided by the Organiser, and can be changed at the Organiser’s discretion.
9.7 The Competition is intended to be principally decided by popular vote, however the Organiser can decide whether votes are valid or not. If the Organiser in its discretion determines that there are irregularities in the online voting, the Organiser can use its discretion to engage in an alternate evaluation process.
9.8 The Song receiving the most valid votes will be deemed to be the Winner. The Prize may be allocated between more than one Song.
9.9 The Shortlisting Committee may choose to attribute other Prizes based on different criteria and not using the same judging mechanism.
10. Winners
10.1 The Organiser will use its best endeavours to announce the Entrants who have won the Competition (Winners) by Friday 2nd August, 2024, but will not be held liable for any unforeseen delays in the judging process.
10.2 The Winners will be notified by email or telephone. The Winners will also be posted on the website www.environmentalmusicprize.com
10.3 The Winners will be required to make a statutory declaration confirming their winning Song is original, does not infringe any copyright or any other rights of any third parties, and that all necessary permissions to enter the Song have been obtained. Provision by an Entrant of false information or the failure to sign, return or otherwise validly make that statutory declaration within the time period specified by the Organiser may result in that Entrant’s disqualification, revocation of any Prize awarded to that Entrant and an alternate Winner being selected in lieu of that Entrant.
11. Prize
11.1 Subject to Clause 12, the prize awarded to the Winners comprises the following (Prize):
(a) The Entrant receiving the most votes will be the ‘People’s Prize’ Winner and will receive AUD $20,000 cash.
(b) Other prizes to be determined at the Organiser’s discretion. These may be voted on by the public, or decided by the Shortlisting Committee or sponsors.
11.2 If the Organiser elects to offer additional in-kind prizes, the Prize values will be correct at the time of announcement, but no responsibility is accepted by the Organiser for any variation in the value of the Prize or part of the Prize.
If, for any reason, an in-kind Prize, or part of that Prize, is not available or otherwise cannot be granted by the Organiser and has a value, the Organiser reserves the right to substitute that Prize, or part of it, for a prize of similar value.
12. Prize Conditions
12.1 The applicable Prize will be awarded in full to the individual Entrant who submitted the Song for which a Prize was awarded.
12.2 The Prize is not transferable or exchangeable. The Organiser is not liable in any way if the Winners cannot receive, accept or use any element of the Prize for any reason. The Prize (or any part thereof) may be cancelled at the Organiser’s discretion if Winners attempt to transfer it.
12.3 The Organiser will not cover any associated costs in connection with the Winners’ enjoyment of the Prize other than those expressly stipulated above or on the Competition entry form. Without limiting anything else in these terms and conditions, the Winners are not entitled to any reimbursement of any kind as a result of entering the Competition or enjoying or participating in the Prize or part of the Prize. Any taxes payable in relation to the Prize are the sole responsibility of the Winners.
12.4 The Organiser reserves the right, in its absolute discretion, at any time during the Competition period, to vary, withdraw, postpone or cancel the Competition or Prize including without limitation, in circumstances where it cannot conduct the Competition or grant any part of the Prize for any reason beyond its control. In the event the Competition is cancelled in its entirety, Entrants will receive an email notifying them of its cancellation.
13. Miscellaneous
13.1 If the Competition is not able to be run as planned due to any event beyond the Organiser’s reasonable control, the Organiser may cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Competition. Any such cancellation, termination, modification or suspension will be published on the Competition Website and the Organiser will use best endeavours to communicate those events to Entrants via their contact details supplied with their entry.
13.2 Failure by the Organiser to enforce any of its rights at any stage does not constitute a waiver of those rights.
14. Governing Law
14. The Competition including these terms and conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of New South Wales, Australia and all Entrants irrevocably and unconditionally agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales, Australia.