SpinTunes FAQ

NOTE: THIS PAGE IS OBSOLETE Future updates to the FAQ will be done on the Frequently Asked Questions page (there's a link on the top-left side of the website)

What is SpinTunes?

SpinTunes is an online songwriting competition where people submit original songs they write to meet challenges handed out by a panel of judges.

Can I enter a previously written song?

No. Even if you have a previously written song, that happens to meet the given challenge, you should not enter it. Besides the prompt given for each round, part of the challenge IS the deadline. Doing everything from scratch in the same time frame as everyone else is the only fair way to enter. If your song is previously unreleased I would have no way of knowing if you cheated, so we rely on the honor system.

Do I give up any rights to my work?

Of course not, your songs are your songs.  I won't profit from them or claim any rights to them, all I want is permission to put them on an album for the contest.

How do I win?

The competition has 4 rounds of challenges, and you are judged by a panel of judges each round. If you can make it to the last round without being eliminated, and then win that last round...you win.

What do I win?

Pride. We do this for the love of music...not for money or fancy trophies.

What do the judges look for in a song?

Writing (lyrics & music), performance & production are all things the judges will look at. You may write a great song, but if you can't present it to people properly they will never know. So it's really MORE than a songwriting contest, presentation is also key.

How do I sign up?

About 2-3 weeks before a contest I'll put up a sign up page. You just have to fill out the required info & e-mail it to me. So just keep an eye on the blog & the @SpinTunes Twitter account for updates.

The contest is already in progress, can I still compete?

Nope, but you are more than welcome to write a shadow song.

What is a 'shadow song'?

A shadow song is a song that someone writes for a challenge, even if they are not in the competition. Your song will still be put on the album with all the other regular entries.

Who is Heather, and why is everything her fault?

Heather Zink is a young lady who spends her free time making my life difficult. You'll have to ask her why. She is one of the 3 or so people who motivated me to finally start this contest, and was one of the first judges. When something goes wrong it's become a habit to just say #BlameHeather.

How did this get started?

At one time there was a songwriting contest called "Masters Of Song Fu" & a small songwriting Ning community called "Too Much Awesome" (TMA) grew around it. That contest is now dead, and the community stays in contact via the SpinTunes Facebook group & Twitter mostly.

With the end of "Song Fu" a lot of the TMA members wanted something new to compete in. I had been following along with 2 other songwriting contests called "Song Fight" & "Nur Ein" for a little over a year. Those contests (as great as they are) didn't suit the needs for this particular group of people. So I decided to start something that was a mix of "Song Fu" & "Nur Ein"....attempting to take the best of both contests.

Enough already with the history lesson. Where can I listen to the music?

All the songs can be listened to & downloaded for free on BandCamp.

For more information about SpinTunes please read the Rules page. You can ask questions below or send me questions on Twitter.

- Spin

SpinTunes #2: Election Results

Just a reminder as to what you voted on:

Issue #1:
Do you want the popular vote to be a 6th judge in SpinTunes #2?
Yes or No

Issue #2:
Should we continue to reset the scores each round or move to a cumulative scoring system?
Fresh Start or Cumulative

Issue #3:
Who should make the challenges?
Spin or Spin & The Judges

Issue #4:
Should judges be allowed to return for consecutive contests in a row?
Yes or No

Feel free to check my Math...I'm not Edric. :p But I totaled up the votes, and this is what I got:

Issue #1:
Yes: 5
No: 11
NP: 1

Issue #2:
Fresh Start: 8
Cumulative: 8
NP: 1

Issue #3:
Spin: 2
Spin & The Judges: 14
NP: 1

Issue #4:
Yes: 14
No: 1
NP: 2

(NP = No Preference)

This does not include my 'vote', and since 1 issue was tied, that basically means I decide. It should come as no shock that I'm going to pick "Fresh Start" over "Cumulative".

Since you guys don't seem to care if judges repeat, I'll keep that in mind. I will try to get new judges most of the time though. If there's someone I really want to return, or that you all really want to return...it could happen though.

I'll continue to brain storm ideas for challenges WITH the judges in TinyChat, and popular vote as a 6th judge isn't going to happen...at least not in the near future.

Now that the voting is done, I'll start working on the rules & stuff a little more. I'll probably get a lot of it done this weekend.

SpinTunes #2: Election Week

Issue #1:
Do you want the popular vote to be a 6th judge in SpinTunes #2?
Yes or No

Issue #2:
Should we continue to reset the scores each round or move to a cumulative scoring system?
Fresh Start or Cumulative

Issue #3:
Who should make the challenges?
Spin or Spin & The Judges

Issue #4:
Should judges be allowed to return for consecutive contests in a row?
Yes or No

Not Voting On:
Molly Lewis Rule - Now that I've seen how the current round 4 set up works, I've decided to go ahead and change the last round for SpinTunes 2. A number of people agreed that having 1 or 2 more people in the last round would be fine. There was another suggestion by Edric Haleen that I will consider for SpinTunes #3, but it had a few flaws (in my opinion) that I'd like to think over. One thing that people did seem to agree on is me changing the name of the current rule. It shall now be called the Maggi Logan rule. (PS: There will probably be 4 finalist in SpinTunes #2)

Schedule - Since I don't know what my schedule will be like in the future, I'll just do my best to take your suggestions into consideration when the time comes. Especially the part about giving people a weekend toward the end of the songwriting period.

E-Mail Reminders - Not going to happen. Most didn't think it was needed...I agree.

Widget - Most people don't care much about it, so I'm getting rid of the widget. In it's place there will be a larger link to the album when the songs are posted.

Shadow CD - Shadows will continue to be posted with whatever album they were wrote for. I've started tagging them with, "(Shadow)" on the albums & on the profile page though.

Judging Guidelines - This isn't going to be voted on, but there will be some guidelines for the judges in the future. There will probably be a meeting scheduled after each deadline, and judges (who are able to attend) will discuss with me what does & does not met the requirements. After the meeting all judges will rank the songs that do not meet the requirements at the bottom. Details about farther guidelines & the judges meetings will come later.

How To Vote:
Just use the comments section below & include your name. I don't really want to start a poll on the side and have random people voting...I'm more concerned with what the people involved in the contest think. Make it short & sweet like the example below:

"Issue #1: No
Issue #2: Fresh Start
Issue #3: Spin & The Judges
Issue #4: No
(your name)"

I'll give you all about 1 week to vote. Then I'll start making up the official rules for SpinTunes #2. Voting ends...next Tuesday...11:59 PM EST.

PS: No need to make arguements for your votes or how people should vote here. We had a post for that already...just vote.

SpinTunes Hall Of Fame & Records

Don't expect this to be updated much. Probably just once after each contest.

*The stats do not include side projects like Champions Vs Shadows.


SpinTunes Champions

Champions Vs Shadows 2015 Champion

Champions Vs Shadows 2016 Champion

Finals Appearances: (Was updated after ST12)

6 - Edric Haleen

5 - Ross Durand

2 - Governing Dynamics

2 - MC Ohm-I

2 - Ominous Ride

2 - Brian Gray

2 - Zoe Gray

2 - Ryan M. Brewer

2 - RC

1 - Kevin Savino-Riker

1 - Chris Cogott

1 - Zarni De Wet

1 - Rebecca Brickley

1 - Mitchell Adam Johnson

1 - Matt And Donna

1 - Pat And Gweebol

1 - Charlie McCarron

1 - Steve Durand

1 - Jess Scherer

1 - David DeLuc

1 - Mariah Mercedes

1 - Blimp Exhaust

1 - Jenny Katz

1 - Jutze

1 - James Young

1 - TurboShandy

1 - Pete Murphy

1 - Jailhouse Payback

1 - Megalodon

1 - Steve Stearns

Challenge Victories: (Was updated after ST12)

8 - Edric Haleen 1-1, 1-2, 5-3, 6-1, 6-3, 8-1, 10-3, 10-4

4 - Chris Cogott 2-2, 2-3, 3-1, 4-1

3 - Brian Gray 4-2, 9-1, 12-4

3 - Ross Durand 5-1, 6-4, 12-3

3 - Governing Dynamics 5-4, 11-3, 12-1

3 - Ominous Ride 7-2, 7-3, 11-1

2 - Kevin Savino-Riker 1-3, 1-4

2 - Mitchell Adam Johnson 2-1, 2-4

2 - RC 5-2, 7-4

2 - TurboShandy 6-2, 9-3

2 - Jenny Katz 8-2, 8-4

2 - Ryan M. Brewer 8-3, 12-2

2 - Jailhouse Payback 11-2, 11-4

1 - Charlie McCarron 3-2

1 - Pat And Gweebol 3-3

1 - Matt And Donna 3-4

1 - David LeDuc 4-3

1 - Steve Durand 4-4

1 - Blimp Exhaust 7-1

1 - Steven Wesley Guiles 9-2

1 - MC Ohm-I 9-4

1 - Kolton H 10-1

1 - Megalodon 10-2

1 - Steve Stearns 12-2

SpinTunes Judges:

SpinTunes 1:

Heather Zink

Julia Sherred

Joe Lamb

Sammy Kablam

E. Niveous Rayside

SpinTunes 2:

Kevin Savino-Riker

Dave Leigh

Jeff MacDougall

Zack Scott

Glenn Phillips

----

Len Peralta R2

Andy Rehfeldt R3

Sara Parsons R4

Jerry Buckner R4 (Bonus)

SpinTunes 3:

Mitchell Adam Johnson

Mike Lombardo

Dave Santucci

Ben Davila

Glenn Case

----

Nicole Dieker R1

Randy Parcel R1

Dante Cimadamore R1

Hazen Nester R2

Rebecca Brickley R2

Meisje Djamila R2

Kari Fleskes R3

Kevin Nalty R3

Chris Commisso R4

Anhayla Rene Stanley R4

Walt Ribeiro R4

SpinTunes 4:

Matt & Donna Schubbe

Dave Leigh

Peter Coffin (dropped out after round 1)

Denise Hudson

Heather Miller

----

Zarni de Vette R2

Chris Cendana R3

Cherry Lee R4

Sam Hart R4

SpinTunes 5:

Steve Durand

Mick Bordet

Hazen Nester

Charlie McCarron

Mark Meritt

----

John Anealio R1

John Dahl R1

Jason Morris R2

Jon Eric R2

Jenny Katz R4

SpinTunes 6:

Travis Norris

Debs And Errol

Graham Porter

Paul Potts

E. Niveous Rayside

----

Joe Lamb R1

Stephen Carradini R2

Heather Stewart R3

Bill Martin R3

SpinTunes 7:

Ross Durand

Dave Leigh

Brian Gray

T.C. Elliott

Felix Frost

----

Scott Barkan R4

SpinTunes 8:

Daniel Calwell

Katharina Bordet

Joe Lamb

David Ritter

Paul Potts

----

Sammy Kablam R1

Justin Nault R4

SpinTunes 9:

Dave Leigh

James Rechs

John DiBello

Ted Kiper

Scott Mercer

----

Donna Schubbe R1

Andy Borman R1

Ross Durand R2

Greg Benson R4

Jenny Katz R4

SpinTunes 10:

Pedro Esparza (dropped out with no reviews)

Jana Pochop

MC Ohm-I

The Dreamstalks (Karen Bray & Zach Miko)

Rusty Cage

----

Monique Macasaet R1

E. Niveous Rayside R1

The Orion Sound R1

Matthew Jordan R2

Marian Call R2

Walt Ribeiro R2

Brent Brown R3

Sarah Donner R3

Jane Lui R4

John D. Boswell R4

Champions Vs Shadows 2015:

Ross Durand

Joe Lamb

Denise Hudson

----

Edric Haleen R1

Kirby Krackle R2

Laura Marie R2

Klopfenpop R2

SpinTunes 11:

Zoe Gray

Dave Leigh

Kally O'Mally

Ted Kiper

Rachel Clark

----

Crayondroids R1

Jonathan Nelson R2

Miray R2

Champions Vs Shadows 2016:

T.C. Elliott

Graham Porter

Ted Kiper

James Rechs

----

Ian Ferguson R2

Zack Scott R2

SpinTunes 12:

Joe Lamb

Zarni de Vette

Nick Dellaposta

Ted Kiper

Jeff Campbell

T.C. Elliott

----

Corinne Lucy R3

Marian Call R4

Alternate Judge:

Spintown 1-4, 5-3, 9-3, 11-3, 12-2

SpinTunes #1 Champion: Kevin Savino-Riker

Runner Up: Ross Durand

Congratulations Kevin! Each round you stepped up to meet whatever challenge you were handed, and as a reward you win this great big...oh wait...there is no trophy. Why exactly did we start this again? Oh yes, the music & outlet for creativity. Well congrats nonetheless your performance & dedication has been excellent Kevin. If we ever get t-shirts made for SpinTunes, I'll make sure you're the first to get one. Until then, all I have for you is this picture.



Kevin will be allowed to be a judge in the next competition, unless he decides to compete. He was also featured as Julia Sherred's Musician Of The Month. Kevin wrote a SpinTunes Epilogue, so be sure to check that out.

Ross, you deserve a round of applause as well. It may not be Nur Ein, but 4 original tunes on a set deadline is still an accomplishment.

Totals & Reviews:
In the end 16 of the 23 people sent in their votes, and the final count was 11 to 6 in favor of Kevin. The popular vote count was 16 to 10 in favor of Kevin as well.

Heather Zink - Julia Sherred - Joe "Covenant" Lamb - Spintown - Sammy Kablam
Thank You
Not only to Kevin & Ross, but to everyone that signed up or participated in SpinTunes. Judges, shadows, fans who listened & voted...you all played a role in making this contest happen. It has come to my attention, that there may have been some bumps along the way. Rules unclear, rules people don't like, things that weren't planned for, etc... I can promise you that I will #BlameHeather until these problems are taken care of. Thanks for sticking with the contest while I get my feet wet. Here's hoping I make all NEW mistakes in the next edition.

There will be 2 new blog posts over the next few days. The first is just something fun, and the second concerns changes for SpinTunes #2. Over the next couple days I'll be rereading all your thoughts on what needs to happen in SpinTunes #2. Then I'll be posting the polls so you all can vote on those changes Tuesday or Wednesday. I may leave off some of the things I had originally planned for you to vote on. Based on your responses to the discussion post, there were a couple issues most people seemed to agree on, so I see no reason to vote on them.

The next contest will probably start around the beginning of October. (but that's not set in stone) Keep an eye on the blog & @SpinTunes twitter feed for updates.

SpinTunes #1 Round 4 Review: Spintown

I'm posting in place of Niveous this round, as I have not heard from him & the deadline is now passed. If he sends me his review, I'll add it below...

Kevin Savino-Riker - I like the idea...but I'm not big on the spoken lyrics. You can just ask Edric...I like to SING! This is well...very dull...in terms of singability. While listening to this I think of movie endings. You know how they often tell you what happened to all the characters years later at the end? Think "Sandlot" or the end of "Band Of Brothers". For what it is, it's great, but it's not really something I would listen to for fun. Bet your family LOVES it though.

Ross Durand - Overall this song was much more up my alley than Kevin's. I thought the transitions were better, it was singable & fun. I can overlook it being 3 seconds short (easy fix), but when someone pointed out the ethnic styles were also a bit short...well to stay consistent with how I've judged throughout this tournament (even though most of my reviews haven't been published), I'd have to vote Kevin.

SpinTunes #1 Round 4 Review: Heather Zink

Kevin Savino-Riker – “Lovers, Fighters, Survivors”
This was a really great idea. I really liked the music, however, I wish that the story telling wouldn’t have been a speaking voice. But, it was a very charming song and interesting. The only other thing I didn’t really like about it was the repeating of “This is my family tree” at the end of the song, it seemed a little out of place, it felt a little out of the soft personal bubble that the rest of the song had. But, really nice job.

Ross Durand – “That Sweet Smile”
I was really pleased with this entry as well, it was a clever idea to have the guy traveling because he’s on the run. The two things that put this song in second for me were, one, that I’m not too sure that the ethnic styles/sounds were very different from one another (the Mexican one was fine, but I don’t think the other two really distinguished enough). Second, is that out of the three styles, the only one that lasted thirty seconds was the Mexican section. The others were 10 seconds or so too short. But, besides that, I really think you did a great job.

SpinTunes #1 Round 4 Review: Julia Sherred

Kevin Savino-Riker - "Lovers, Fighters, Survivors"

Overall, this song didn't work for me. I liked the music as seperate pieces. I liked the concept. But I don't think the execusion worked as nicely as it could of. The spoken word fell flat on me and the lyrics were a tad soft. I realize this narrative style is a very valid genre for certain types of folk, but it didn't work for me in this piece. The transitions were rough as well. I don't suppose I needed to be so detailed with my review as it won't count for anything other than information. I hope that you take it as it is intended, to help you grow. It was a very good attempt none the less.

Ross Durand - "That Sweet Smile"

It is too bad that you didn't meet either of the time requirements. I would have placed this song first if it had. Such a wonderful song. I really like your style. And the transitions were so very nice and smooth. I hope that you enter Spintunes 2 because I want to hear more from you. Excellent job.

Shadows:

I will not be reviewing the shadows this time. If you (meaning the person who wrote the song) want my feedback on your song, then email me and I will get to them when I can.

SpinTunes #1 Round 4 Review: Sammy Kablam

KEVIN SAVINO-RIKER: Lovers, Fighters, Survivors

ROSS DURAND: That Sweet Smile

I'm not really going to review the songs this time. Both of them pretty well dominated the challenge, and I think trying to review them individually would be too difficult. In fact, I can't say anything bad about either of them. It's really quite a relief that I don't have to vote this round, because that takes off a lot of pressure. Ross's song was more upbeat, and thus a little more fun. But Kevin's was so personal, with such a strong human connection. And yes, in my opinion, Kevin's got more points for having (for lack of a better expression) a wider variety of styles. But I also recognize that by complimenting him, I'll get scolded for my comments on Bram Tant's "Kebab Shop", which I said wasn't a song. Much of Kevin's song is prose, and is not sung. But I don't care. At this point, in this condition, I consider that semantics. I feel the same way about Ross' song being 3 seconds short of the 3 minute minimum, and even his "ethnic sections" being ten seconds or so too shy. If you simply listen slower, the time gets filled in, so I hardly think it should make a difference.

Both of these songs impressed me, for different reasons but in similar ways. And I'm confident in saying that's not a cheat; I'm not the kind of guy to take the easy way out. If I absolutely had to pick a favorite, put a gun to my head, and I'll say Kevin. But, from where I'm sitting, I'm glad the decision's not mine.

SpinTunes #1 Round 4 Review: Joe "Covenant" Lamb

I have decided that I cannot allow my rank to be in any way decisive in this round.
(Not that I think it will as no doubt the other methiods will FAR outsway the judges having to be used)
One song did not meet the techinical part of the challenge:
For the *topic* part, well, I can see that bent til it is screaming and accept it, but the Tech side has to be stringent.

Sadly, one of the songs did not meet that challenge.
Sadly, I thought that was the better song.
Therefore I cannot give my *rank* to any of them.
For the same reason I'd rather not review them either.

"Hi! I'm the anti-climax!"

;' )

Good luck to all in SP2.

Shadows (in the order of Bandcamp)

JoAnn Abbott:
Much better recording. Much better sound.
Great lyric, good puns.
But not the best of your songs this contest.
I *think* I can hear three different tunes, but not sure what the second style is?
Sound like another *Surf* style to me?

Caleb Hines:
Not a big fan of Meta songs to be honest.
Bad quality recording from Caleb unusually,
Distinct styles, a bit racist though.
("White folk can't keep the beat !??!") ; ' )
Was it good? Musically, yes it was, impecable as always.
Would I listen again... No. I really dont like Meta songs!

The Offhand Band:
If this had been IN the final it would have won.
(In my opinion)
The best from the Offhand Band this entire contest.
Song lends itself to the singing, Clever song, good styles.
Lyric relates to the music and ALSO carried through the song... Liked it a lot.

The Boffo Yux Dudes:
This was a bit disjointed.
Theme was good, lyric was okay. Singing in the accent of minorities.. is that okay?? ;' )
But... did it meet the challenge...
Welll.. thats an odd one to answer.
Indian section 24 seconds long without the chorus... and the chorus was the same tune, just with a sitar. instead... is that a style???
The Chinese section was only 26 secs long even with chorus (Which WAS def Chinese style)
French style... again... the verse def. french. chorus-same tune but with accordian.. is that French style?
Too much to think about to decide! ;' )

Dr. Lindyke & Denise Hudson:
Great to hear a well mixed Denise! ;' )
Oddly, Dave was a bit muffled.
Excellent song, but far too long.
Should have ended at the section where Lady Liberty starts to suggest being turning to the Villian side.
(The *have my cake and eat it too* bit - Which was my favourite part of the song)
Clever song, but, Ultimately, too many styles (trying to be *too* clever). Meant the flow was lost.
(Jamaica? No she did it of her own free will)
One of those drunken voices was excellent btw...

Best line?
"Cos it's HOT and it's Boooorriiiinnnnng"

Get Out The Vote

Of the 23 people/groups that are allowed to cast a vote I have 16 votes so far:

Kevin Savino-Riker - Jon Eric - Bram Tant - Bryce Jensen - Steve Durand - Caleb Hines - The Offhand Band - Governing Dynamics - Edric Haleen - Sara Parsons - Ross Durand - Denise Hudson - Godz Poodlz - Emperor Gum - Boffo Yux Dudes - JoAnn Abbott

Details on where & how to e-mail your vote are on the previous blog post. Cast your vote before time runs out.

Will it be Kevin or Ross:

SpinTunes 1: Round 4 Songs

You can find the "SpinTunes 1: Round 4" album on BandCamp here: --> LINKAGE.

The deadline for the judges to get their reviews done is August 15th, at 11:59PM EST. The reviews & results will be posted on the 16th. The popular vote will stay open until the judges deadline.

Voting Details:
The judges do NOT get to pick the winner of this final round. Everyone who originally signed up for this contest, who ALSO submitted at least 1 song (shadows included) will get to vote on who wins. Some people entered as teams or bands (Godz Poodlz for example), and those bands will only get 1 vote...not 1 vote for each member. If bandmates disagree on who they should vote for, how they decide to cast that 1 vote is up to them. If it's just 2 people, their votes would cancel out anyways.

So again...you have to be one of the 31 original people who signed up if you want to vote, and you need to have submitted at least 1 song to the contest. Shadows count, but if you haven't turned one in by now...you will not be voting. The voting will be done via e-mail, and you have until the judges deadline (August 15th, at 11:59PM EST) to get those votes in my inbox.

When you e-mail me your vote, title the e-mail "(Your Name) - Round 4 Vote". The only thing I want in the body of the e-mail is the name of whoever you are voting for. I don't want any justifications or added commentary...just a name. (Kevin or Ross)

I counted 23 people who are allowed to vote (correct me if I'm wrong), but if someone doesn't cast a vote by the deadline, they just don't get a vote. I'll try to remember to send e-mail reminders out since some of those people have been eliminated for awhile now. If there is a tie, the popular vote is the first deciding factor, and then the judges are the last deciding factor.

Good luck guys,
Spin.

Reviews & Links Of Interest For This Round:

- Mark wrote a song bio for his round 4 shadow. LINKAGE

- Paul Peterson submitted a shadow for round 1 called "Hero". LINKAGE

- Paul Peterson also submitted a shadow for round 3 called "Expectations". LINKAGE

- Denise Hudson submitted a shadow for round 3 called "Mercy Killing". LINKAGE

- The Boffo Yux Dudes now have a video for their round 1 song "The Ballad Of Henry Pym ". LINKAGE

- Russ Rogers, of Godz Poodlz, went on YouTube to perform the song he was working on for round 3 called "Always Be My Girl". LINKAGE

Listening Party & Deadline News

Listening Party Details
- Wednesday August 11th 8:00PM EST (that's today people)

- Will be held HERE, and hosted by Jules.

- The songs are already uploaded onto the Bandcamp album, and they will be available for everyone to hear & down for FREE shortly after the LP.

Deadline News:
- Both of the finalist made the deadline, so it will be Kevin Savino-Riker vs Ross Durand in the final round.

- The first & second alternate, along with 4 others, shadowed this round. They won't be ranked this round, but they will contribute to making the LP a lot more fun.

- There were also 3 shadows turned in for past rounds. Those will also be shared at the LP.

Reminder:
- If you are one of the original people to sign up for this contest, you will be allowed to vote to decide the winner of SpinTunes. You also need to have contributed 1 song since this contest started. More details will be posted after the LP.

SpinTunes #2 Planning: Discussion

I figured it was as good a time as any to start planning the next edition of SpinTunes while Kevin & Ross are hard at work. There are a lot of things that could be changed before the next competition starts. Some of them large issues, but most of them small tweaks. This blog will be divided into 3 parts:

1. Things that I've already decided on.
2. Possible major changes.
3. Possible minor changes.

It's Been Decided:
These issues are not open to discussion here. If you really want to, you can catch me in ArtiFiction sometime, and I'll talk with you about them. I won't be debating them on this blog though. You can address the issue, but don't expect a response here.

- I will remain as the alternate judge. It's just so much simpler if I'm the alternate.

- I will be posting my reviews on Spintown, but they will not come into play unless someone fails to do their job.

- There will be no "Entry Round" or "Round Zero". I told people I wanted to go in this direction, because of the high round 1 drop out rate, but I've come up with another solution I want to try. I did this because most people didn't think highly of the whole entry round idea. So expect 4 rounds just like we have now. The change I've got in mind is very minor, and you'll learn about it later.

- I will be running the LP for SpinTunes #2. Jules was a big help this time around, but I think it's best if I take over in the long run. Joe "Covenant" Lamb already offered to do it, and I'll keep him in mind as my back up. (you know....should I totally fuck things up)

Possible Major Changes:
These are things that could change the whole structure of the contest to some degree. Most of these things have been brought up by other people, and I'm more open to change some of these things than others. But I'm willing to listen, and a strong majority opinion could get any of these options included in SpinTunes #2.

- Popular Vote: I'm not a strong supporter of the popular vote, but a number of people have suggested I make it a 6th judge. I will not incorporate the popular vote any more than that; no matter what the majority thinks. So your options are leaving it the way it is, or making it a 6th judge.

- Scoring: A couple people have suggested that I should not reset the scores each round, and go with a cumulative scoring system until the last round. Once again I'm leaning toward leaving things as is, but it's open for discussion. Edric Haleen made some good points about this topic to me...hopefully he'll post them in the comments section.

- I HAVE THE POWER: This is NOT my idea...just to be clear. Joe "Covenant" Lamb actually suggested it. He suggests that I decide on all the challenges myself, and only allow the judges to suggest things to me. He made some good points about what type of challenges should be made, but he didn't sell me on the idea of taking this power away from the judges. As of right now, in the judges meetings, it's a group effort to come up with ideas & decide on things. I of course have veto power if I really don't like something. If I was in charge all by myself the challenges would definitely have been different, but that does not mean better.

Possible Minor Changes:
These are relatively small issues, that aren't a big deal for me to change.

- Molly Lewis Rule: This is a bit hard to decide on at the moment, because the final round is still going on, and I don't know how well my current rule works. If the whole idea of shadows from 3rd round competitors being alternates doesn't work out, I'll need to come up with something different. Right now I'm thinking of having 3-4 people in the final round, but I'm looking for other suggestions as well. I do not want to have someone win by default if it can be avoided.

- Judges Term Length: As of now all the judges will be new each tournament. But if at the end of a contest, everyone is happy with 1 of the judges, would you be against having that judge return for a second tour of duty? I don't know if that will happen, but I want peoples thoughts on the issue. I like having new people being judges, so I don't expect to keep many people for multiple contests in a row.

- Schedule: What were your thoughts on the schedule? I already plan a minor change (extra day between deadline & LP), but is there anything you didn't like about it, or would change? More or less time to record? When things should be announced? This is one of the few areas I did really well with in SpinTunes #1. I only missed 1 self set deadline, and that was only because of a power outage. #BlameHeather

- E-Mail Reminders: Should I e-mail you each round about the challenge & deadline? Personally I think you should be able to find that stuff out on your own. I mean between the blog & SpinTunes Twitter account I didn't expect people to want e-mail reminders for those things. But it's not that hard to do if people want them. I just don't want to spam people if most don't want them.

- Widget: Should I keep the widget or just use bandcamp only? I'm leaning toward getting rid of the widget. It seems a bit unnecessary, and it would make keeping track of the stats easier if everything was in one place. But again....I'll keep it if you want it.

- Shadow CD: Should I place the shadows on their own CD or have a cut off point for submitting shadows?

- Judging Guidelines: Should I give the judges some sort of guidelines to follow while reviewing? Edric had an idea about this I kind of liked, but I would probably modify it slightly. *waits for Edric to post his ideas in the comments*

- SUGGESTIONS: Is there ideas or issues you want to bring up that I haven't mentioned? I know I probably forgot a couple things I meant to bring up.

Reminder:
This blog post is just a place to discuss possible changes. We are not deciding anything here now. I will use your ideas from this discussion, and later create some polls for you to vote on the issues. Then 'I' will decide on matters taking your thoughts & opinions into consideration.

SpinTunes #1: Round 4 Challenge

Musical Road Trip - Write a song using at least three different ethnic styles. The music from each of the three parts of the song should give the listeners a mental image of a place or group of people from a certain area. (at least 30 seconds each style) (3 minute minimum)

Examples: Latin - Bollywood - Cajun - Reggae

Reminders:
- It is very possible that someone who was eliminated in round 3 will be needed as an alternate if Kevin or Ross fail to enter a song. Kevin & Ross don't look like Molly Lewis, but you never know. :p (Song Fu JOKE)

- The judges do NOT get to pick the winner of this final round. Everyone who originally signed up for this contest, who ALSO submitted at least 1 song (shadows included) will get to vote on who wins. Some people entered as teams or bands (Godz Poodlz for example), and those bands will only get 1 vote...not 1 vote for each member. If bandmates disagree on who they should vote for, how they decide to cast that 1 vote is up to them. If it's just 2 people, their votes would cancel out anyways.

So again...you have to be one of the 31 original people who signed up if you want to vote, and you need to have submitted at least 1 song to the contest. (shadows count) Those of you who are planning to shadow, but haven't...get them turned in by the round 4 deadline if you want to vote. It'll be done via e-mail, and more details will be posted after the round 4 deadline.

Submitting Entries:
- Entries must be received by the given deadline. Otherwise it'll be posted as a shadow. Received means that it has to appear in my e-mail inbox by the given deadline. I will be going by the time stamp on the e-mail in my inbox.

- Song must be sent in MP3 format. If possible send it in a format that Bandcamp excepts as well. (.aiff, .wav or .flac) If you don't, I'll convert it for upload onto Bandcamp myself. Don't complain if my converter sucks & your music suffers though. If you decide to send in that second file, you can find the specific requirements for Bandcamp files HERE.

- Name the MP3 the song's title, but without spaces & punctuation.

- Title of the e-mail should be the title of the Challenge & your band's name.

- Include the song lyrics in the body of the e-mail. (If your song doesn't have lyrics...consider yourself eliminated. Instrumentals can be pretty, but SpinTunes does require lyrics.)

- Include information on anyone that needs credited if you collabed with someone.

- File sharing options if you need them: ZShare, MediaFire, RapidShare & YouSendIt. Please send an e-mail as I already stated, but with the download link if you need one of these services. Please follow directions so your file doesn't wind up in my spam or trash folder accidentally.

Short Term Schedule: (I'm using EST)

August 10th 11:59PM (T) - Final deadline.

August 11th 8:00PM (W) - Listening party will be held HERE, and hosted by Jules.

August 12th (R) - Songs are uploaded by Heather & me onto the blog & BandCamp.

*During this gap:
- People will vote via e-mail
- judges will review the songs*

August 16th (M) - Winner will be announced.