CANADIAN SONGWRITERS COMPETE FOR MAJOR CASH PRIZES!

Over the last few months, songwriters have been competing across Canada for their chance to be discovered with the National Songwriting Competition, sponsored by Standard Radio in association with the Songwriters Association of Canada, The SOCAN Foundation and select regional radio stations across Canada.

The contest attracted thousands of entries from songwriters across the country and was endorsed this year by the hit artist Fefe Dobson. Twelve radio stations across Canada solicited demos of unpublished songs, and from these applicants, twelve winners were chosen, spanning from British Columbia to Newfoundland. The premise for the contest is to recognize new talent in Canadian songwriting. Any self-published or non-published songwriter residing in Canada was eligible to enter.

The best writer for each region was flown to Toronto for an all-expense paid weekend and to perform at the Songwriters Festival, held Saturday, March 5 at Piper's inside the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, as part of Canadian Music Week 2005. Here, the Grand Prize winner was announced - Kuba, from Vancouver, BC - as well as the runner-up - Stone Melodies, from Ottawa, ON.

KUBA - BIO

Kuba is the enigmatic leader of Victoria's underground dance collective Velvet, one of Canada's leading pioneers of live organic electronic music. His debut solo record, Ride On, is a natural coming of age for this singer-songwriter and producer, who has shared the stage with the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Nelly Furtado, Parliament and DJ Shadow. With Ride On, Kuba has triumphantly merged the worlds of soul, house and rock 'n' roll, all anchored by his unique soaring vocal delivery.

Kuba's recent showcase at the CMW 2005 Festival was his first ever solo appearance in Toronto, following a triumphant live debut at NewMusicWest 2004. Since winning the West Coast region of the 12th annual National Songwriting Competition, his song Never Meant To Hurt You has been receiving regular rotation on Vancouver's Z95.3, and has delivered Kuba the title of Grand Prize winner of the nationwide competition.

REGIONAL WINNERS

Congratulations to the following regional winners of the 12th Annual National Songwriting Competition:

		Vancouver - Kuba				Toronto - Jeen O'Brien
		Calgary - Starewell				Ottawa - Stone Melodies
		Edmonton - Shattered Core				Montreal - Anthony Zanca/Mark Zanca
		Saskatoon - Stephen Morari				Halifax - Jonathan Landry
		Regina - Heidi Little				Saint John - Jessica Rhaye
		Winnipeg - Malynda Zacharias				St. John's - Chris Ledrew/Andrew Ledrew

As the Grand Prize Winner of the National Songwriting Competition, Kuba receives the following prize package:

GRAND PRIZE

• $10,000 in Cash
• 30 Hours of Mixing and Mastering Time from MetalWorks Studios - Canada's #1 Recording Studio
• Neumann TLM 127 Multi-Polar Pattern Professional Studio Microphone
• TASCAM SX-1LE Plus Digital Production Environment
• $2500 National Radio Promotion Package sponsored by dB Promotions & Publicity Inc.
• A Promotional Release by Warner Music Canada

REGIONAL PRIZES

Each regional winner received the following regional prize package:

• An all-expense paid weekend, including round-trip airfare, to Canadian Music Week, March 2-5, 2005 at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel
• A private seminar with Canada's most successful songwriters
• A GARRISON G-30-CE Sitka Spruce Acoustic Guitar with Hard Shell Road Case
• A SENNHEISER Studio/Live package including an E 865 condenser vocal microphone, stand, cable and HD 280 professional headphones
• A copy of MasterWriter – a complete collection of writing tools for the modern songwriter
• An invitation to an intimate SONGWRITERS SHOWCASE - March 5th in Toronto
• A one-year subscription to CANADIAN MUSICIAN magazine