We Sing Pop! SONG CONTEST POLICY

I. ELIGIBILITY

 We Sing Pop! International Song Contest (hereinafter, the “Contests”) is open to independent solo musicians, artists, singers, dancers and bands of all ages, nationalities and countries.

Only the artists who are not signed to a major label record company and/or its affiliates or subsidiaries, are eligible to apply for the Contest. By submitting an application form, the artist or a band acknowledges that he/she/it is not signed to a label record company and/or its affiliates or subsidiaries. All applicants who are signed with the manager or producer must submit via email a General Representation and Release Form signed by the Manager/Producer to be eligible for the Contest.

Employees, members of Organizational Committee and judges of We Sing Pop! Song Contest, American Protege, a We Sing Pop! Song Contest organizer, its subsidiaries and affiliated companies and members of their families are not eligible to apply for the Contest.

If applicant is under 18 years old, an application form must be signed (endorsed) by a parent or guardian of the applicant.

Multiple winners will be chosen in each of the age or genre categories. The applications are reviewed and judged separately in each of the age/repertoire categories, listed on the Eligibility and Repertoire Requirements sections of the Contest’s Rules. For the age/repertoire categories list and awards and prizes, please visit the web-page of the respective Contest.

First round of the audition process includes screening of the audition materials by the We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee and its respective agents in the participating countries, which select applications for finals. Then the selected applications are delivered to the panel of judges who make a decision on the Winners. The panel of judges includes high profile musicians and teachers.

II. HOW TO APPLY

To apply for the Contest participants must submit:

• Completed Online Application Form.
• DVD or links to YouTube video recordings.
• A biography of the applicant emailed to info@americanprotege.com in MS Word format (not to exceed 150 words). Include past participation in competitions, contests, festivals and other public events.
• Portrait photo shot uploaded with an application form or emailed to info@americanprotege.com in electronic format, to be used for the Contest brochure printing and web-site posting.
• Application fee.

Participants are required to submit video or audio recording of one or several pieces for the audition.

Audition materials need not be of a professional quality but should be a fair representation of the applicant’s abilities. It is entrant’s responsibility to ensure that the submitted material (-s) are complete and playable.

Recording materials must be labeled.

If you are applying in multiple repertoire categories, each entry will be considered as a separate application and should be accompanied by a separate application form and separate audition material (-s).

Applicant may submit several pieces in each repertoire category and may also enter the same piece in more than one category.

Participants may apply in as many Contests as they want.

No changes of repertoire are allowed after the application is submitted.

All entries become the sole property of We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee and none will be returned for any reason. Entries must be received no later than the Contest Deadline. Entries will be rejected if they are late, incomplete, damaged, irregular, mutilated, forged or garbled. We Sing Pop! Song Contest is not responsible for late, lost, damaged, misdirected, postage due, stolen, incomplete, or misappropriated entries.

We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee does not give feedback or a critique to entrants. No communication or correspondence is guaranteed to be exchanged with applicants except with those selected as Winners.

III. MAILING ADDRESS

If you chose to submit DVD, please mail your Audition Materials and Application Fees to:

American Protege

P.O. Box 287476

New York, NY 10128

International participants must use express shipment services to the street address provided at this link and provide the tracking number.

IV. APPLICATION DEADLINE

The application materials must be received by the We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee office no later than a date indicated on the respective Contest page.

V. APPLICATION FEE

The application fees for We Sing Pop! Song Contest are provided on the Contest’s web-pages.

 U. S. participants should make a check or money order payable to American Protege and mail it to the address listed in the section Mailing Address above. US Participants may also use PayPal payment option on the Contest Page.

 International participants may use one of the following payment means:

• Certified bank check payable to American Protege
• International money order payable to American Protege
• Western Union
• PayPal payment option on the Contest Page.

We Sing Pop! reserves the right to increase the Application Fees for applications after the Contest Deadline if it extends the application period.

All Application Fees are non-refundable.

 VI. REPERTOIRE REQUIREMENTS.

The repertoire requirement are specified on the respective Contest web page.

Music, songs or costumes that are not considered age appropriate or family friendly by the panel of judges will be disqualified.

VII. CONTEST RESULTS ANNOUNCEMENT

Contest results will be published on the respective Contest web-page on the date announced for the Contest.

VIII. FINAL CONCERT INFORMATION

Finalists of the Contest who were awarded performance at the Contest Final Concert will perform one piece selected by the judges from the applicant’s audition repertoire. Performance time limit for each age and repertoire category is stated on the Contest’s web-page.

The Concert Fees (Recital and Photo Fees) include admission for the participant and a piano accompanist (if needed), set of professional high-resolution digital photos and Winner’s Diploma. Guests tickets are not included into the Concert Fees.

Concert Fees are not refundable.

Detailed Concert Guidelines will be emailed to the Winners along with the notification of their award.

All participants are responsible for their own expenses related to the Concert participation.

 For concert tickets please visit www.carnegiehall.org

IX. We Sing Pop! NOT LIABLE: We Sing Pop! shall have no liability to Participant for any delay or annoyance caused to Participant arising out of the actions of any public authority or on account of any strike, lockout or other labor difficulties, and We Sing Pop! shall not be responsible or have any liability for loss or damage to the equipment or personal properties of Licensee or of any officer, agent, employee, performer or independent contractor of Participant kept or placed in the Premises or the Building of the performance venue, or used in connection with any rehearsal, Performance or Engagement to be given or entrusted to any person employed at the performance venue or by We Sing Pop!, whether due to fire, theft or any other cause. We Sing Pop! shall not be liable in any way because of We Sing Pop!’s inability to provide heating or air-conditioning of the Recital Hall. Further, Participant hereby recognizes and acknowledges that (a) there is an inherent risk of exposure to Infectious Disease in any public place where people gather, particularly indoors and in group settings; (b) the performance of We Sing Pop! obligations entails the gathering of people in indoor and/or group settings; and (c) We Sing Pop! cannot completely manage or mitigate the risks associated with Infectious Disease. Licensee assumes all known and unknown risks related to exposure to Infectious Disease. We Sing Pop! Party shall not be liable, and Participant shall not bring any claim or demand against We Sing Pop!, for any injury, damage, loss, expense, or other liability related to Infectious Disease that may arise, directly or indirectly, in connection with the Participant performance.

X. PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY PROTOCOLS: Participant agrees to, and will cause all of its relatives, friends, employees, agents, performers, independent contractors, and any ticket holder or other person admitted to the Premises or the Building of the performance venue as part of the audience for the Engagement, Performance or rehearsal or otherwise, to comply with (a) all We Sing Pop! and the performance venue health and safety protocols, as communicated by We Sing Pop! to Participant or otherwise made available by We Sing Pop!, and (b) all guidelines, rules, and regulations for mitigating the spread of any Infectious Disease promulgated by any applicable municipal, state, or federal department or agency, including without limitation the New York State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and any updates, additions, or revisions thereto as may be promulgated or made effective during the time preceding the performance (collectively, “Health Protocols”). Failure by Participant to adhere to all Health Protocols will be a material breach of We Sing Pop! Policy.

We Sing Pop! may need to limit number of performers due to health and safety protocols.

XI. POLICY CHANGES IN RESPONSE TO PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERNS: Participant and We Sing Pop! acknowledge and agree that the threat of Infectious Disease and its many known and unknown ramifications pose unique challenges to the execution of the Engagement(s) and Performance(s), and the novel nature of such Infectious Disease makes it difficult for the parties to forecast with any particularity the health and safety measures or other accommodations that may be legally required, economically feasible, socially responsible, or otherwise reasonable and appropriate at the time of a given Engagement or Performance. We Sing Pop! and the Participant further acknowledge and agree that the health, safety, and wellbeing of all guests and participants are of paramount importance, such that it may be necessary or desirable to institute remedial or preventative measures or other accommodations not explicitly described in this Policy, but that may nevertheless alter the rights or obligations of the Participant and We Sing Pop!. Considering the foregoing, Participant acknowledges and agrees that We Sing Pop!, in its sole discretion and without any liability to Participant, may terminate the performance or the Recital in its entirety or institute additional requirements, restrictions, or accommodations (“Requirements”) applicable to the Engagement(s) and Performance(s), including, without limitation, Requirements affecting Performance duration or size, ticketing policies, or audience capacity, and that such Requirements shall supersede the written provisions of this Policy or the Competitions rules and correspondence exchange to the extent that a conflict arises between the written provisions of We Sing Pop!  policies and rules and the Requirements provided pursuant to this Section. If the Recital or the Participant’s Performance are terminated in full pursuant to this Section, We Sing Pop! will re-schedule the Performance to a later date. No amounts will be owed, paid, or payable by We Sing Pop! to Participant as a result of or in connection with any actions taken by We Sing Pop!, including termination of the Performance or imposition of any Requirements, pursuant to this Section.

XII. INDEMNIFICATION BY THE APPLICANT

By entering the Contest, an applicant releases and holds American Protege and We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee harmless from any and all liability for any injuries, loss or damage of any kind to the entrant or any other person, including personal injury, death, or property damage, resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any Award, participation in the Contest and/or Recital, any breach of the Contest Rules, or in any Award-related activity. The applicant agrees to fully indemnify American Protege and We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee from any and all claims by third parties relating to the Contest, without limitation.

XIII. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee assumes no responsibility or liability for lost, late, unintelligible/illegible, falsified, damaged, misdirected or incomplete entries, notifications, responses, replies or any release, or for any computer, online, software, telephone, hardware or technical malfunctions that may occur, including but not limited to malfunctions that may affect the transmission or non-transmission of an audition materials. We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by website users, by any of the equipment or programming associated with, or utilized in the Contest or by any technical or human error, which may occur in the administration of the Contest.

We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, audition materials.

We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee is not responsible for any problems, failures or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, providers, computer equipment, software, e-mail, players, or browsers, on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet, at any website, or on account of any combination of the foregoing.

We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee and American Protege are not responsible for any injury or damage to entrant or to any computer related to or resulting from participating or downloading materials in this Contest. Entrant assumes liability for injuries caused or claimed to be caused by participating in the Contest, or by the acceptance, possession, use of, or failure to receive any Prize. American Protege and/or We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee assumes no responsibility or liability in the event that the Contest cannot be conducted as planned for any reason, including those reasons beyond the control of American Protege, such as infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or corruption of the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this Contest and/or the Contest Website.

There will be no transfer and substitution of Awards, including Cash Awards, Prizes, Plaques, etc., except as necessary due to availability in which case a prize of equal or greater value will be awarded. All federal, state, and local taxes, and customs fees, when applicable, are the sole responsibility of the Winner.

We Sing Pop! is not responsible for, and will not pay, any winners’ taxes or customs’ fees.

XIV. CONDUCT

By participating in each and any of the We Sing Pop! Song Contests, each participant agrees to be bound by the We Sing Pop! Song Contest Policy and the Contest Rules, as amended, which are posted on this page and on the Contest web-page. Participant further agrees to be bound by the decisions of We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee, which shall be final and binding in all respects.

We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any applicant found to be: (a) violating the We Sing Pop! Song Contest Policy and Contest Rules; (b) tampering or attempting to tamper with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or the We Sing Pop! Song Contest Website; (c) violating the terms of service, conditions of use and/or general Policy or guidelines of We Sing Pop! Song Contest; and/or (d) acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person.

CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WE SING  POP! SONG CONTEST WEBSITE OR ANY RELATED WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE AMERICAN PROTEGE MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE WE SING POP RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK REMEDIES AND DAMAGES TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

Winners must at all times behave appropriately when taking part in the Recital and observe the Contest Rules and any other We Sing Pop! Song Contest Policies, Rules or Regulations in force at the Halls, studios and/or other locations. We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee reserves the right to remove from the Hall, studio or other premises or location, any Winner and/or a person (-s) accompanying the Winner who break (-s) such rules and/or fail (-s) to behave appropriately and to disqualify such Winner.

XV. PRIVACY / USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

In addition to the information below, please refer to a separate Privacy Policy Page.

By participating in the Contest, entrant:

1. grants to We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee the right to use his/her name, mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address (“Personal Information”) for the purpose of administering the Contest, including but not limited to contacting and announcing the Winner;
2. grants to We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee the right to use his/her Personal Information for publicity and promotional purposes relating to the Contest, in any and all media now known or hereafter devised, without further compensation unless prohibited by law.

XVI. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

All intellectual property, including but not limited to trade-marks, trade names, logos, designs, promotional materials, web pages, source code, drawings, illustrations, slogans and representations are owned by We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee, American Protege and/or its affiliates. All rights are reserved. Unauthorized copying or use of any copyrighted material or intellectual property without the express written consent of We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee or American Protege is strictly prohibited.

All Applicants retains all ownership and intellectual rights to all original piece (-s). We Sing Pop! will not have any intellectual rights to any piece (-s) submitted.

XVII. TERMINATION

We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee and American Protege reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to terminate the Contest, in whole or in part, and/or modify, amend or suspend the Contest, and/or the Contest Rules in any way, at any time, for any reason without prior notice.

XVIII. LAW

This is the official We Sing Pop! Policy. The Policy is subject to applicable federal and state laws and regulations. The Policy and Rules are subject to change without notice in order to comply with any applicable federal and state laws or the policy of any other entity having jurisdiction over American Protege. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of the We Sing Pop! Policy or the rights and obligations as between the applicant and We Sing Pop! Song Contest Organizational Committee in connection with any We Sing Pop! Song Contest shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York including procedural provisions without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules or provisions that would cause the application of any other jurisdiction’s laws. If any provision of these Policy is found to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction or appointed arbitrator, such determination shall in no way affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision herein.

XIX. LANGUAGE DISCREPANCY

In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between the terms and conditions of this Policy and disclosures or other statements contained in any Contest-related or Recital-related materials, including but not limited to the Contest application form, TV, print or online advertising, the terms and conditions of this Policy shall prevail, govern and control.

XX. APPLICANT’S REPRESENTATIONS

By entering the Contest, an applicant represents individually or in case of an ensemble, jointly, that he/she or they read these Policy and the Contest Rules and consent to the Policy and Contest Rules.