Dolly Parton Songwriters Award
Scholarship Sponsored by BMI Foundation
Overview The Dolly Parton Songwriters Award is a yearly, nationwide contest aimed at emerging songwriters. Winners receive grant funding that can be used broadly to advance a music career — for example, tuition, lessons, instrument purchases, studio or recording expenses, or other professional costs (funding is not limited to tuition). Initial endowments for the award include a lead gift from Rusty Gaston of Sony Music Publishing and an additional contribution from country star Luke Combs. History and Prize Originally launched in 2015 by BMI as the Nashville Songwriting Scholarship to mark BMI’s 75th anniversary, the program was later retooled and renamed. Under the current format, the program provides $20,000 awards for up to two standout original songs in any of these genres: Americana, blues, bluegrass, contemporary Christian, country, folk, or roots. Past judges have included GRAMMY-winning artist Kacey Musgraves, hit songwriter Rodney Clawson, and Nashville industry veteran Mark Brown. Who is eligible - Applicants must be between 17 and 24 years old on February 15, 2025. - Applicants must live in the United States or in a U.S. territory. - Each person may submit only one application to any single BMI Foundation awards program. - The same musical composition may not be entered in more than one BMI Foundation awards program. - Submitted works must not be assigned to a major music publisher or a major record label. - Previous winners of the Dolly Parton Songwriters Award or the Nashville Songwriting Scholarship are not eligible to apply again (those who received only an honorable mention may reapply). Rules for co-written songs - Co-written entries are limited to a maximum of three writers. - Every co-writer must meet the eligibility criteria listed above. - A single songwriter of record must submit the application on behalf of the co-writers. - A songwriter may serve as the writer of record on only one submission. - A writer of record and their co-writers may appear as co-writers on other submissions. - If a co-written song wins, the award amount will be divided equally among the credited songwriters, and each co-writer will receive their share. - Only songwriters should be listed as co-writers for the purposes of this award; do not include performers, producers, or other non-writing contributors.
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