Official Rules 2022

Please also see our Frequently Asked Questions

Rules subject to change before August 1, 2022.

General Process

• Write a song.
• Record your song as an MP3 (You may also enter the text of your lyrics in the lyrics-only category).
• Enter your song by uploading the song on our entry page.
• Our panel of judges will listen very carefully to all of the entries, and at the end of the contest will announce the winners!

Categories

There will be three grand prizes awarded to songs in the following categories:

1. Liturgical Song / Hymn
2. Popular Christian Song
3. Popular Secular Song

There will also be awards for sub-categories, if any of the songs submitted have these qualities:

• Best song about Mary
• Best song about the Saints or a Saint
• Best song about the Sacraments or a Sacrament
• Best Pro-Life Song
• Best Adaptation of a Sung Mass Part (i.e. the Gloria, Kyrie, etc)

Poetry and the deeper meaning of song lyrics often gets lost in translation, and we are only qualified to judge songs written in English, Spanish, French, and Latin. However, we want to and might be able to make exceptions. Please contact us to tell us what other language your song is in and we will let you know if we are qualified to judge the meaning of the lyrics.

If a song is submitted in an unapproved language, no refund will be granted.

You may enter 1 or 2 or 3 songs. Songs may be entered as an MP3 file or Lyrics Only.

All entries must be submitted online by 11:59 pm on November 26, 2022, the last day before Advent 2022 begins.

ELIGIBILITY

The Catholic Song Contest (the “Contest”) is contest will be open to anyone in the United States and residents of other select countries who are 14 years of age and older, void where prohibited. Any entrants who are younger than 18 years of age will require the submission by, and acknowledgement and approval of, a parent or guardian. Employees of Point Clear Media and other companies associated with the promotion of the Contest, and their respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, and advertising and promotion agencies, as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, and children) and household members of each such employee, are not eligible. The Contest is subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

• Grand prize winners of the previous year’s contest are ineligible
• You must be a citizen of the one of the countries listed below*. We hope to change this in following years.
• You must not have made more than $5,000 in publishing royalties in 2021 and you cannot be employed as a staff writer for a publishing company nor have been paid for such services by a publishing company.
• Each entry must be wholly original (co-writers allowed) and shall not infringe on any copyrights or any other rights of any third party. The artist need not be the performer. Each entrant shall hold the Catholic Song Contest (“the Contest”) and its parent company, Point Clear Media, harmless from and against claims inconsistent with these requirements.
• No composition or lyric may be entered that has been: (1) placed under contract for commercial sale with any record label in which the underlying contract prohibits the distribution of the artist’s recording on the Catholic Songwriting Contest’s website or other channels.

*Entries are only allowed from certain countries. If you are a resident of one of the following countries, you may enter: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom (UK), United States (US). If your country is not listed please contact us to consider adding it to the list. Note also, that the only three languages we are qualified to judge are English, Spanish, French, and Latin.

Important Dates

Contest Opens: August 1, 2022
Final Entry Deadline: November 26, 2022 at 3:00pm EST
Category and Genre Winners Announced: on or before January 6, 2023

Additional Information

Songwriters retain all rights to their songs

Promotional Agreements

All winners agree to authorize their winning songs for streaming and distribution by the Contest. Winners also agree that the Contest may post clips of their songs and/or video performance on the Contest website and social media.

Certificate Distribution

Each songwriter and co-writer listed on the entry form of a winning song, will receive a personalized certificate of merit in the form of a digital image file. The winning songwriter is asked to distribute the Certificates to any co-writer(s).

Additional Details of the Official Rules

Sponsor: The Contest is sponsored by Point Clear Media, LLC. The use of the word “Sponsor” below is only meant to refer to Point Clear Media and does not include the third-party sponsors of the Contest.

Agreement to Official Rules: Participation in the Contest constitutes entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor, which are final and binding. Winning a prize is contingent upon being compliant with these Official Rules and fulfilling all other requirements set forth herein.

Contest Period: The Contest begins on August 1, 2022, at 12:00 AM EST and ends on November 26, 2022 at 3:00 PM EST (the “Contest Period”). Entries that are submitted before or after the Contest Period will be disqualified.

How to Enter: Online: This method of entry will be available by visiting our website (https://catholicsongcontest.com) and following the directions provided to fill out the entry information, and submit. Entries received from any person, e-mail address, or household in excess of the stated limitation will be void. All MP3 files and entry data (the entry information, not the rights to the songs, which are sole property of the entrant who enters them) become the property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. The Contest reserves the right to change the entry fee of future entries.

Prize Awarding: On or about January 6, 2023, the Sponsor will announce the winners. If a winner cannot be contacted within fifteen (15) days after the date of the first attempt to contact him/her, the Sponsor may select an alternate potential winner in his/her place at random from the remaining eligible entries.

Winner Notification: The potential winners will be notified by email. Each potential winner (parent/legal guardian if a minor in his/her state of residence) will be required to complete, electronically sign and submit a Declaration of Compliance within fifteen (15) days of the date notice or attempted notice is sent, in order to claim his/her prize. If a potential winner cannot be contacted or fails to submit the Declaration of Compliance within the required time period (if applicable), or prize is returned as undeliverable, the potential winner forfeits the prize. If the potential winner is at least 18 but still considered a minor in his/her jurisdiction of residence, Sponsor reserves the right to award the prize in the name of his/her parent or legal guardian, who will be required to sign the Declaration of Compliance on the potential winners’ behalf and fulfill any other requirements imposed on winner set forth herein. Potential winners must continue to comply with all terms and conditions of these Official Rules, and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements. In the event that a potential winner is disqualified for any reason, Sponsor will award the applicable prize to an alternative runner-up winner from among all remaining eligible entries. Prizes will be fulfilled approximately 2 months after the conclusion of the Contest.

General Conditions: In the event that the operation, security, or administration of the Contest is impaired in any way for any reason, including, but not limited to fraud, virus, bug, worm, unauthorized human intervention or other technical problem, or in the event the Contest is unable to run as planned for any other reason, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, the Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, either (a) suspend the Contest to address the impairment and then resume the Contest in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of these Official Rules or (b) terminate the Contest and, in the event of termination, award the Prize at random from among the eligible, non-suspect entries received up to the time of the impairment. The Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to damage the website or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, the Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages (including attorney’s fees) and any other remedies from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Failure by the Sponsor to enforce any provision of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.

Release and Limitations of Liability – By participating in the Contest, entrants agree to release and hold harmless the Sponsor, and each of their respective partners, subsidiaries, judges, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies, other companies associated with the Contest, and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, shareholders, representatives, and agents (the “Released Parties)” from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the Contest or receipt or use of the prize (including any travel or activity related thereto), including, but not limited to: (a) any technical errors associated with the Contest, including lost, interrupted or unavailable Internet Service Provider (ISP), network, server, wireless service provider, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone, cellular tower or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties; (b) unauthorized human intervention in the Contest; (c) mechanical, network, electronic, computer, human, printing or typographical errors; (d)application downloads, (e) any other errors or problems in connection with the Contest, including, without limitation, errors that may occur in the administration of the Contest, the announcement of the winner, the cancellation or postponement of the event and/or the flyover, if applicable, the incorrect downloading of the application, the processing of entries application downloads or in any Contest-related materials; or (f) injury, death, losses or damages of any kind, to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrants participation in the Contest or acceptance, receipt or misuse of the prize (including any travel or activity related thereto). Entrant further agrees that in any cause of action, the Released Parties liability will be limited to the cost of entering and participating in the Contest, and in no event shall the entrant be entitled to receive attorney’s fees. Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest. Entrant waives the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, punitive, consequential, direct, or indirect damages.

Disputes – Except where prohibited, each entrant agrees that any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in Virginia, USA. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Official Rules, entrants rights, and obligations, or the rights and obligations of the Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of Virginia, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules, which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than Virginia.

Privacy – Information collected from entrants is subject to Sponsor’s privacy policy.

Winner List: To request the name of the winner send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Point Clear Media, 107 S. West Street, Box 530, Alexandria, VA 22314 ATTN: Catholic Song Contest Winners List. Winner List requests will only be accepted after the promotion end date (listed above).