Songs for Peace Contest Rules
Songs for Peace (Nyimbo za Amani) Competition Rules
Contest Sponsors
Songs for Peace is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Embassy Dar es Salaam and Busara Promotions.
Description of Contest Objectives
(See the “Eligibility” section below to find out who is eligible to be a contestant.)
Sauti za Busara brings people together in celebration of African music and communicates positive images of Africa to the world. The festival further provides a platform for local artists t o reach international markets, a forum for people to express themselves, learn from each other and build respect for cultural diversity.
The 12th edition takes place in Stone Town, Zanzibar during February 12 – 15, 2015. Featuring 35 groups, all performing live; at least 50% of the groups will be Tanzanian with the remainder representing other parts of the African Continent and diaspora.
Tanzanian people of all ages and backgrounds appreciate and value the fact our country is peaceful. Peace is priceless, peace must be protected and we cannot take this peace for granted. With next year being election year in Tanzania, Sauti za Busara 2015 shall highlight PEACE & UNITY as headline themes for the festival.
All Tanzanian groups participating in the festival are invited to compose 1 (one) special song on the theme of peace and/or unity, and to perform this song during their festival sets.
A jury panel of local music experts shall judge the most creative ‘songs for peace’ as performed during the festival. The jury shall comprise 5 or 7 leaders from the cultural sector, including musicians, producers, media professionals, teachers from Dhow Countries Music Academy, and/or Zanzibar Government representatives.
To be eligible for inclusion in the competition Songs for Peace must include lyrics in Swahili.
Whilst visiting artists will also be encouraged to include songs on peace and unity in their festival shows, only artists of Tanzanian descent will be eligible to participate in the competition.
Parameters of the competition shall be distributed to jury members and participating artists in advance. Judging criteria will include lyrical content, music arrangement, artistic quality, originality and innovation, performance skills and/or the audience’s response.
The jury shall decide the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Best Songs for Peace at Sauti za Busara 2015. Winners shall be announced at the festival on Sunday 15th February.
Cash prizes shall be awarded. These shall be contributions towards studio fees for production of audio recordings or video clips of winning songs: 4m/- Tsh (1st Prize), 3m/- Tsh (2nd Prize) and 2m/- Tsh (3rd Prize)
Winning artists will be paid 50% of their prizes at the festival and 50% on submission of CD/DVD recording.
How to Enter
Participation in this contest is automatically deemed as acceptance of these Official Contest Rules. A submission song must be originally created by the contestant.
The artist will be considered the contestant and will be eligible to compete for the prize if he/she submits the signed contract on or before midnight on November 30th, 2014. Organizations are not eligible to compete for the prize, either as an entity, or through representation by an individual. In order to be eligible for the prize, the contestant must provide complete and accurate information.
The contest commences on Thursday 12 February 2015 at 16:00, Tanzania time. Entries must be performed at Sauti za Busara festival in Zanzibar between Thursday 12 February 2015 at 16:00 and Sunday 15 February 2015 at 19:00. Judging begins on Thurs 12 February 2015 at 16:00 and ends on Sun 15 February 2015 at 19:00
Content Requirements
a. The Song for Peace must be performed live and include lyrics in Swahili , with reference to a desired advancement of peace, respect and/or unity. Songs must not contain content or messages that could be considered as acting in bad faith, or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person. In other words, the content of all songs must be suitable for a global, public audience.
b. The Song must be original content created by the contestant and must not contain any elements that are protected by someone else’s copyright or otherwise subject to third party intellectual property or proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights.
c. The selected jury panel reserve the right to disqualify, at their sole and absolute discretion, any performance/song that does not adhere to these criteria and to the intent and substance of these Official Contest Rules
d. The contestant must affirm that he/she is registered under the local law by BASAZA and/or BASATA. The contestant further affirms that he or she is prepared to provide reliable documentation of any and all such consents, licenses, etc., upon request.
Selection of Winners
a. A jury panel of local music experts shall judge the most creative ‘songs for peace’ as performed during the festival. The jury shall comprise leaders from the cultural sector, including musicians, teachers from Dhow Countries Music Academy, and/or Zanzibar Government representatives.
b. The jury shall be tasked with identifying the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Best Songs for Peace at Sauti za Busara 2015
c. Prizes shall be presented at the festival on Sunday 15th February, with 1st Prize winner given the opportunity for a repeat performance of the No. 1 Peace Song at the festival.
Sauti za Busara Festival Regulations
a. All artists wishing to participate in the Songs for Peace competition must confirm their intention to participate by email to reach Busara Promotions on or before midnight on November 30th, 2014.
b. Busara Promotions agrees to retain the services of the Artist to perform at the Festival in accordance with the Engagement Details annexed in their performance contracts and the Artist agrees to provide such performance services. A Festival Programme providing more detail concerning the Artists’ performance will be provided to the Artist as and when it becomes available.
c. The Artist will be allocated a set up and sound check time to be specified in a subsequent agreement, outlining all information of Engagement Details (Annexure 1). The Artist will have access to stage, sound and PA equipment for the purposes of set up and sound checks only during the allocated time. Late arrival by the Artists may result in cancellation of sound check, performance and fees.
d. Sauti za Busara is an international festival. We insist all artists sing and perform live. In case artists wish to use CD playback, this must be requested in advance in writing and permission may be given for using instrumental backing tracks only. If any artist is seen to be miming, he or she will be immediately removed from stage and will forfeit right to all payments including artist fees.
e. Busara Promotions will provide security measures to ensure no unauthorised persons have access to the stage or backstage areas of the Festival venue. The Artist and the Artist’s authorised personnel will comply with the requirements and directions of Busara Promotions’ security personnel. The Artist is responsible for the safety of instruments or equipment left unattended anywhere within the Festival venue, excluding the stage and backstage areas.
f. Busara Promotions will use an accreditation system of festival passes to control access to the stages and backstage areas and persons not registered in the accreditation system will not be allowed access to these areas. The Artist will ensure that, subject to the agreement of Busara Promotions, all members of the Artist’s group, including the Artists, managers and technical crew, are registered on the accreditation system before 31st January 2015. Artists must have their passes with them at all times within the venue.
g. The Artist agrees for photographic, audio and visual recordings to be made of their performance. Only Busara Promotions and accredited media representatives will be entitled to make professional audiovisual recordings and photographs of the Artist’s performance and the Artist’s other involvement in the Festival. The festival only selects professionals for accreditation where we are confident their material will be used for positive promotion of the Artist and the Festival. Where professionals are engaged on behalf of Busara Promotions, the Festival will use such materials for the purpose of disseminating information in the nature of documentaries, news and promotion for the Festival, future festivals and Artists’ participation at the Festival. The Artist agrees for Busara Promotions to authorise recordings of a maximum two songs for promotional and non-commercial uses and the titles to be recorded, including Song for Peace competition entry will be chosen by the Artist.
Technical Requirements
a. The contestant must submit his/her technical requirements before confirming his/her participation
b. The festival will provide all technical requirements within its capacity
c. Performances of Songs for Peace shall be recorded live at the festival, on audio and/or video
Eligibility
a. Contestants must be residents of Tanzania, or people of Tanzanian descent. Parental or legal guardian consent is required for individuals under the age of 18.
b. The following individuals are not eligible to participate in the contest: Employees, interns, directors, and officers of: the Contest Sponsor, the Platform(s), the U.S. Government, or contractors of the U.S. Government; or any employees, interns, directors, or officers of any agencies or entities involved in the administration, advertising, judging, creation, development, execution, and/or fulfillment of this contest, and the immediate family members (defined as spouse, recognized partner, parent, child, sibling, and spouse or “step” of each) and those living in the same household of each such individual.
Prize(s)
a. Cash prizes shall be awarded, being to include costs for studio production of quality audio recordings of the winning songs: 4m/- Tsh (1st Prize), 3m/- Tsh (2nd) and 2m/- Tsh (3rd Prize).
b. Winning artists will be paid 50% of their prizes at the festival. The remaining 50% shall be paid (to artists or directly to recording studio / producer) on submission to Busara Promotions of a professional-quality CD recording of each of the winning songs, not later than 30th April 2015.
c. All taxes on or in connection with any prize, and the reporting consequences thereof, are the sole and exclusive responsibility of the winner.
d. Winning songs may be promoted on the website or facebook pages of Busara Promotions and/or shared by U.S. Embassy.
Liability and Rights
a. Contest Sponsors do not necessarily endorse any song or messages expressed therein, and Contest
Sponsors expressly disclaim any and all liability in connection with the songs including disputes between collaborators related to a performance.
b. The contest does not permit copyright infringing activities or infringement of any other intellectual property rights, and jury panel reserve the right to disqualify any songs they deem to be in violation of another party’s copyright or other intellectual property rights.
c. Contestants retain sole ownership of their original work. The song remains the intellectual property of the contestant, and the Contest Sponsors and U.S. Government make no claim of copyright as to the work of any individual who enters the contest. Contestant specifically agrees to give the Contest Sponsors permission to use all content submitted for purposes of judging the contest. Finalists and/or winners will be required to grant Contest Sponsors, with proper attribution through whatever means they deem appropriate, a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub-licensable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, and/or display the song, in any media formats and through any media channels in perpetuity in connection with the activities and operations of the contest.
d. Contestant assumes sole responsibility for the contest submission and the material contained in it, and for any consequences of performing it.
e. Contest Sponsors reserve the right at any time, to verify the validity of entries and of contestants and to disqualify any contestant or entry deemed not in compliance with these Official Contest Rules. Contest Sponsors also reserve the right to request further documentation, at their sole and absolute discretion, to verify eligibility and compliance with these Official Contest Rules.
f. If a prize or any portion thereof, is unavailable, Contest Sponsors, in their sole discretion, reserve the right to substitute the prize with another prize of equal or greater value and/or specification.
g. Contest Sponsors reserve the right, at any time and in their sole discretion, to disqualify and/or deem ineligible any individual who they reasonably believe (i) has violated the Official Contest Rules; or (ii) is acting in a bad faith, or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person.
h. Contest Sponsors reserve the right to modify, suspend, terminate or cancel the contest at their discretion for any reason.
i. Contestant agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Contest Sponsors, their parent, subsidiary and affiliated companies, officers, directors, employees, interns and agents, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees) arising from (i) violation of these Official Contest Rules (ii) violation of any third party right, including without limitation any copyright, trademark, intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or other proprietary right in connection with the contest; or (iii) any claim that a contest submission(s) caused any harm, including financial, to any third party. These indemnification and hold harmless obligations will survive indefinitely beyond the conclusion of the contest.
j. The conduct, judging, and awarding of prizes will be carried out in full compliance with applicable U.S. law and laws of The United Republic of Tanzania. In the event of a conflict between U.S. law and
Tanzanian law, host country law shall apply.
k. Contest organizers will take reasonable measures to protect privacy data, personally identifiable information, and other sensitive data of contestants. Contact information provided by contestants may be used to contact contestants for other purposes in the future. This information may be shared with the co- sponsor of the contest and/or made available to third parties to the extent permitted by law.
l. Contest Sponsors assume no liability or responsibility for any loss or harm resulting from any user’s participation in or attempt to participate in the contest or ability or inability to upload, download, or otherwise access any information in connection with participating in the contest. Contest Sponsors assume no responsibility or liability for technical problems, or technical malfunction arising in connection with the operation of the contest, including: hardware or software errors; faulty equipment, online communication problems; or loss, miscount, misdirection, inaccessibility or unavailability of an email account used in connection with the contest.
m. Use of contest site is at user’s own risk. Contest Sponsors are not responsible for any personal injury, property damage, or losses of any kind which may be sustained to equipment resulting from participation in the contest, use of the contest site or the downloading of information from the contest site. By participating in the contest, the contestant releases Contest Sponsors from any and all claims, arising from or relating to such contestant’s participation in the contest, whether directly or indirectly.
n. Contest Sponsors are not liable in the event that any portion of the contest is cancelled or delayed due to weather, fire, strike, acts of war or terrorism, or any other reason.