John Lennon Songwriting Contest

The John Lennon Songwriting Contest, named for former Beatle John Lennon, is a songwriting competition for songwriters, open to amateurs and professionals. The contest was established in 1997 by Lennon's widow Yoko Ono, in collaboration with David Sonenberg and Brian Rothschild.

The contest accepts instrumental pieces as well as songs with a vocal component. Though all entries must include a CD, cassette, or mp3 file, a professional recording is not needed. Songs are not judged based on performance, but on originality, melody, composition, and lyrics (if applicable). Entries may be submitted in any one of twelve categories:

Songwriting contests such as the John Lennon contest have been called a "career boost." Prizes for 72 Finalists, 24 Grand Prize Winners, 12 Lennon Award Winners and 1 Song of the Year winner vary from year to year. In addition to cash awards, winners receive prizing from Yamaha, Other World Computing (OWC), Audio-Technica, SESAC, Digital Media Academy, Epiphone, IK Multimedia, SSL, Mackie/Ampeg, ZVEX Effects, New Bay Media, etc. In addition to the songwriting prizes, one band is selected annually to perform on the Vans Warped Tour, courtesy of Neutrik USA.

The John Lennon Songwriting Contest is divided into two sessions each year. Session I runs until June 15, and announcements for winners and finalists of this session occur on September 1. Session II begins on June 16 and runs until December 15. Winner and finalist announcements for Session II occur on March 1 of the following year. In each session, there are twelve grand prize winners - one for each category - and thirty-six finalists - three for each category. Judges for the John Lennon Songwriting Contest vary each year. Executive judges are often well-known recording artists and members of the music industry, including Fergie, Prince Royce, Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers, George Clinton, Jim Steinman, 311, Switchfoot, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Mike Sapone, Matthew Koma, Taylor Momsen, The Veronicas, Natasha Bedingfield, Bob Weir, The Bacon Brothers, Ryan Shaw, Ken Komisar, Jesse Harris, Lamont Dozier, and Matt Pinfield.

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