Filscap launches songwriting tilt

Filscap or the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers is now in the midst of accepting entries to the Filscap Songwriting Competition. Deadline for submission is Feb. 15. Cash prizes are in store for winners and the 12 finalists while the lucky composer who will bag the grand prize of P200,000 and the chance to participate in the 2010 Song Summit Conference in Sydney, Australia on June 19 to 21.

Why is Filscap holding a songwriting contest?

Filscap is a collecting society for songwriters and publishers. The lifeblood of Filscap is hit songs. It collects fees from users of music. That means every business establishment that uses music, from radio and TV stations to malls, concert halls and karaoke joints, etc. must pay the owners for the use of the music. The more times a song is performed or played, the bigger is the share of the composer and the publisher. Filscap has noticed that most of the fees it was able to collect these past few years were for foreign works. Use of Filipino compositions continues to dwindle and is mostly confined to hit covers from the Manila Sound era. So why not hold a songwriting contest to revive interest in OPM and hopefully create more hits?

Are only Filscap members allowed to join the contest?

 No. Any Filipino citizen, regardless of sex or age and with or without any experience in the music business can join the contest. It might be wise though for all to join Filscap and get a share of those performance royalties. Those who have been disqualified are grand prize winners of other major here and abroad competitions. That means Ryan Cayabyab, who won the Metropop Grand Prix for Kay Ganda Ng Ating Musika cannot join the contest anymore.

 How many entries can a composer send?

There are four categories — Pop, R&B, Rock and Novelty but a contestant can send only one entry. So choose your category well. If you are a rocker, then go for rock. If you do rap or hip-hop, you go into R&B. Just make sure the song is your original work. Plagiarism is a crime.

Do the songs have to be arranged and recorded professionally?

 No. A home recording is fine as long as the melody and the lyrics are presented clearly. A professional recording, if you can afford it, might get an entry some edge but is not really required. Remember, Metropop lore has it that Anak, the most successful song to emerge from the Metropop was recorded by Freddie Aguilar at home with him playing the guitar and a rooster crowing in the background.

What will happen to the entries that will not make the finals?

Those songs will be returned to the owners unless they want to assign their works to Filscap. Besides, all is not lost just because you missed the finals. The entries had by then been screened several times over by industry professionals, some of whom might have a need for your kind of song or who might be interested in checking your other works. Exposure is what is important for a song. How can it become a hit when it has never been recorded or performed and nobody has heard it?

Can I send my song by e-mail?

Yes. Filscap has made joining the contest very convenient for everybody. Even a Filipino living in Timbuktu can simply put his song in mp3 and join the contest by sending it via e-mail to [email protected].

Do I have to have my song entry copyrighted?

This is not required but go right ahead if it will give you peace of mind. Again, I say just make sure you are sending your original work. You wouldn’t want to be in the contest only to have somebody claim your song as theirs

Will the winner be able to compete in a song festival abroad?

This is not part of the prize purse but Filscap is open to the idea. A suitable entry from among the finalists will be chosen to compete should there be an invitation from songfests in other countries. This means any of the finalists can get this big break.