Enter the Montserrat Carnival Jingle Competition

The Montserrat Arts Council (MAC) invites musicians on Montserrat and in the diaspora to enter its ‘Carnival 2019 Jingle Competition’, for the chance to win $500 in cash.
The ‘Carnival 2019 Jingle Competition’ will produce the jingle that will be used in the run up to carnival and during carnival, to promote all of its festivities. Montserrat residents and those in the diaspora will also be able to choose their favourite by voting online for the People’s Choice.
“It’s important to us that the jingle not only represents the carnival, but also the island. We’re excited to hear what local and international musicians come up with for the ‘Carnival 2019 Jingle Competition’ and to provide a platform for them to really flex their talent and creativity,” said Kenneth Silcott, Director of MAC.

Competition Details

  • Who can enter: Montserrat residents and Montserratians in the diaspora who are 18 years old and over can enter the competition. If a group or organization submits a jingle or jingles, the group or organization must designate a group or organisational representative to be responsible for coordinating communications.
  • Music Genres: Soca and calypso
  • Number of jingles to submit: There is no limit on the number of jingles entrants may submit. However, only one prize will be awarded for the winning jingle.

Jingle specifications:

  • Lyrics must mention and promote Montserrat Carnival 2019. The song must include themes of festival/carnival and Montserrat’s culture and heritage.
  • All submissions must be the original work of the person, group, or organization.
  • All submitted songs must be between :30-:60 seconds in length. Lyrics exceeding the time limit will be disqualified.
  • Entrants may use any artistic medium to create their original song.
  • All lyrics in the entry must be in English.
  • All Entries must be no more than 100MB in size and submitted in one of the following formats: .AVI, .MOV, .MPG or .WMV.

Judging criteria:

Entries will be judged based on universal appeal, originality, lyrics, melody, composition and relevance to the theme and Montserrat carnival.

Lyrics must not:

  • Contain material which is (or promotes activities which are) sexually explicit, obscene, pornographic, violent, self-mutilating (e.g., relating to murder, the sales of weapons, cruelty, abuse, etc.), discriminatory (based on race, sex, religion, natural origin, physical disability, sexual orientation or age or any other factor prohibited by law), illegal, offensive, threatening, profane, or harassing.
  • Include mention or performance of copyrighted media production including, but not limited to, music, films, books, television programming or identifying descriptions of any media property.
  • Contain any material that is propriety to a third party or otherwise protected by intellectual property laws.

Material use and ownership
All submitted lyrics will become the property of the MAC and may be used for promotions or presentations, at the sole discretion of the MAC.

Voting Process
The MAC Team will select the top 8 finalists. Residents of Montserrat and those in the diaspora will choose one winner from the top 8 finalists as the People’s Choice. Voting for People’s Choice will be held online from the 16th to the 25th of October.

The Prize
People’s Choice – $500 cash prize and the winner will also get to perform at an event during Carnival 2019, to be announced at a later date.

How to enter:
1. Contact the MAC Office for a registration form.
2. Complete the registration form.
3. Submit the full jingle and a 30-second version. Audio only. Each file must not be larger than 100 MB.
4. Last day for submission is at 11:59 pm on the 15th October. The winner will be announced on the 29th October 2019.