Render your entry as an MP3, and upload it via our submission form with the following information.
You may be involved with up to two Main entries. You may only be the primary artist or arranger of one of those entries. You may be involved with up to five Alternate entries, which are held to less strict rules but are not ranked at the end of the contest.
By requiring at least the main instrument to be performed live, we can showcase the musical skill of our competitors. This is also a place of learning and growth! If you persevere and accept feedback from other competitors, you'll quickly find that your instrumental and production skills will increase.
The main instrument is the one that is playing the melody of the tune through the majority of the song. A few examples: electric guitar, synthesizers, trumpet, vocals, clarinet, etc.
Yes, Main entries must be at least two minutes, while Alternate entries must be at least thirty seconds.
No, however, keeping an arrangement fresh for more than 6-7 minutes takes considerable skill and should only be attempted by those who are confident they are up to the challenge, and are prepared to be judged accordingly.
Yes, your recordings can be edited to clean up or fix timing discrepancies, tuning issues, etc., as long as the edits do not drastically alter the recorded performance. You do not need to record your entire song in a single take (although that is impressive)! This applies to MIDI data as well.
Yes.
If you have a track you have been working on that happens to fit the announced theme, you can submit it as an entry as long as the track has never been released publicly. Many competitors will work on a track and save it for a Free Month, submitting it then. However, starting when the theme is announced and working on a track with a one-month deadline can be quite fun and expose you to new songs you may have never heard before!
You certainly can! Please do keep the song firmly in the realm of "video-game-remix", though. Playing one lick from a video game tune and then going off into a 20-minute guitar solo isn't going to cut it. Someone should be able to put your remix and the original side by side and tell that it was an obvious remix. If this is not the case, an admin may ask to see a source breakdown of your arrangement.
The main instrument of your track must be performed live, but supplemental harmony or rhythm instruments can be sequenced or programmed if you wish.
Listening parties are typically held within the same day as the deadline. Keep an eye on our Discord server for announcements regarding the listening party times.
This is known as the "Smash Bros. loophole" and is not allowed!
Shortly after the submission deadline, the website will be updated with the month's submissions. All songs are presented anonymously, so nobody knows who submitted what song. You can listen to the entries from this page and vote using the sliders attached to each entry. You must give a vote for every entry. Copy and paste the formatted votes and send them to dodsongs@gmail.com before the deadline. The votes will be tallied and ranked, all artists will be revealed, and the next month will be announced!
That would be awesome, and beneficial to all those who submitted this month. In order to promote this, voters who submit song reviews will have their votes weighted heavier than those who did not! This means your submitted votes have a greater impact on the final results of the competition.
Join our Discord server and message an admin about it!
