International Songwriting Competition (ISC) extends their deadline for submission of entries until November 1, 2012.

ISC gives in to the extension requests by aspirants that are still preparing their song entries, they will also offer some special promotions and incentives.

This is a great chance for aspiring songwriters to make final adjustments and prepare their songs better before submitting. With $150,000 in cash and prizes, this is indeed a prestigious competition with big name artists and musicians sitting in as judges.

You need to impress respected and accomplished judges in order to win this year's grand prize, the judges include familiar artists like: Jeff Beck, Tom Waits, Nas, Martina McBride, Bernie Taupin (Elton John Lyricist), Janelle Monae, McCoy Tyner, Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi, Bruce Hornsby, Brian Setzer, Gerald Casale (Devo), Monte Lipman (President, Universal Republic), Dan McCarroll (President, Capitol/Virgin Label Group); and many more.

ISC also doubled the amount of merchandise for the grand prize winner this year, with more than $40,000 in prizes plus $25,000 cash. If that does not entice you, there are additional prizes which are impressive themselves - a custom Lowden acoustic guitar valued at over $11,000, a Marshall full stack amp, a studio package from Solid State Logic, a duplicator from Discmakers, and many more.

The contest categories for ISC 2012 are as follows:

Adult Album Alternative (AAA), Adult Contemporary (AC), Americana, Blues, Children's Music, Comedy/Novelty, Country, Dance/Electronica, Folk/Singer-Songwriter, Gospel/Christian, Instrumental, Jazz, Latin Music, Lyrics Only, Music Video, Pop/Top 40, Performance, R&B/Hip-Hop, Rock, Teen, Unsigned Only, and World Music.

According to ISC, winners receive great prizes and media recognition, as well as industry attention. They said in the press release that "many previous winners have gone on to great success and garnered record deals, publishing deals, licensing deals, and even Grammys. ISC's newest success story are past ISC winners Gotye and Kimbra whose song "Somebody That I Used To Know" recently charted at #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart for eight weeks in a row."

Each finalist will also get the chance to have their songs in the hands of the music industry's heavy hitters. The songs are evaluated and then they select the overall winners. Your submission is to be judged based on these important points: Originality, Creativity, Lyrics, Melody, Arrangement, and Overall Likeability

Check out the 2011 ISC Grand Prize Winner - Kimbra Johnson:

There multiple ways to join, you can send your submission through regular mail, via ISC online form or via various music platforms like ReverbNation, Sonicbids and Broadjam. Note that the entry fee per song during the extended deadline period is $35. To find out more about the International Songwriting Competition 2012 and to join, you can head over to ISC Online

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