Celebrated Rwandan musician Cecile Kayirebwa's song ‘None Twaza’, has made it for the semi-finals for the grand prize at International Songwriting Competition (ISC).
ISC is an annual song contest whose mission is to provide an opportunity for both aspiring and established songwriters to have their songs heard in a professional, international arena.
The contest is designed to nurture the musical talent of songwriters on all levels and promote excellence in the art of songwriting. Amateur and professional songwriters and musicians are invited to participate. ISC has the most prestigious panel of judges of all the songwriting and music contests in the world, offering exposure and the opportunity to have your songs heard by the most influential decision-makers in the music industry.
The 2020 year’s edition has received over 26 000 entries vying for the prizes in 23 categories of the contest.
Depending on the category, submissions are judged on a number of key criteria including creativity, originality, lyrics (excludes songs that do not have lyrics), melody, arrangement and overall likeability.
Kayirebwa’s song made it into the semifinals in the ‘World Music’ category, according to the announcement made by the organisers on February 24.
"Feeling delighted and grateful that one of my songs made it to the semi-final at the International Songwriter Competition. One of the world biggest of its kind with 26 000 entries in 2020. Excellent platform to promote Traditional Rwanda to a wider global audience,” Kayirebwa posted on her Twitter account.
‘None Twaza’ could see the 74-year-old musician find among the 71 winners who will share in the cash and prizes.
The grand prize winner will take home a $25,000 cash prize, a fully mastered album from Lurssen Mastering, a pair of LCD-X headphones from Audeze, a Sonic Blue Electric Guitar from Fano Guitars, global promotion distribution for a single or album release from Play MPE, 12-month Master Tour subscription by Eventric and a V Collection 7 bundle from Arturia.
The winner will also be granted one Spire Studio from iZotope, two free releases (single or album), free publishing administration, free YouTube monetization, store automator for both releases, new Music Friday Spotify playlist consideration provided by TuneCore, a $100 gift certificate from Sweetwater Sound Inc and One Studio One Professional provided by PreSonus, among others.
The winner will also be granted a one-year free subscription to Celebrity Access one-year Featured Membership from GigSalad, 12-month subscription to Merch Cat and one-year Platinum membership of SongU.
ISC is not only a great opportunity for songwriters, musicians, and performers to win cash and prizes but also to further their music careers, and gain recognition and exposure in the music industry globally.
In addition to cash and merchandise prizes, winners benefit from a multilateral promotional campaign designed to give international exposure and attention to their songwriting achievements.