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Malta Eurosong 2009
Regulations
REGULATIONS
EUROSONG 2009
Public Broadcasting Services Ltd announces the Eurosong 2009. This festival is organised by the Public Broadcasting Services Ltd, hereinafter referred to as the Organisers.
The winning song will represent Malta at the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Russia in May 2009.
1. The Eurosong 2009 will be held in February 2009. Singers must be of Maltese nationality OR holding DUAL citizenship, one of them Maltese. Composers and authors who submit songs for this festival may be either of Maltese Nationality or from countries where Maltese composers and authors have equal opportunities to participate.
2. Authors may choose any subject for their songs, however, songs with racist, sexist, political or anti- religious remarks will be disqualified. The lyrics may be written in any language. Fifteen copies of the lyrics must be provided and inserted in an envelope.
3. Only the title of the song must be written on the lyrics and the CD submitted. On the CD, the title of the song must be written in black block letters.
4. The annexed forms “D”and “E” shall be duly filled and inserted in an envelope.
5. Music and lyrics should be original. The song should never have been published or performed in public and should not be longer than three minutes of playing time.
6. Composers and authors must submit the recording of the song on COMPACT DISC which would include:
a. On track 1 the full version of the song.
b. On track 2, the instrumental version of the song without any backing vocals.
c. On track 3, a 30 second caption of the song, chosen by the composer/author.
d. On track 4 the complete sing back of the song.
The recording must be of a professional quality. At no stage following submissions will changes in the compositions be permitted.
7. All submitted compositions for this festival, except for those which qualify for the final, are to be collected by their respective composers after March 2009 but by not later than June 2009.
8. Annexed form “D”, copies of the lyrics and the compact disc shall be placed in an envelope (1), with no markings on it. Annexed form “E” shall be placed in a smaller envelope (2) and inserted in the other envelope (1), and deposited at the offices of the Organisers at Television House, G’Mangia, on Monday 13th October and Tuesday 14th October 2008 between 09:00 hrs and 12:00 hrs and 14:00 hrs to 16:00 hrs. A processing fee of €60, non refundable, shall be paid for each submission. Envelopes shall be sealed by the applicant or his/her delegate. The Organisers shall not bear any responsibility if the sealed envelopes do not contain the required information / contents. Applicants should check they have included the required information / contents. Submissions made after the closure of the stipulated date and time shall not be considered.
9. There is no limit to the number of songs that may be submitted by each composer.
10. The maximum number of performers, including the main singer/s, is six. If the backing vocalists are opted for, they should sing live. Any form of accompanying vocals should adhere to this rule.
11. Since the festival finals shall be on half playback, the music must be pre-recorded. In the finals the singer will sing live. The backing vocals may be pre-recorded. A performance may have a combination of performers. Should backing vocals be pre-recorded, the composer has to indicate on Appendix E how many backing vocals are used in the actual recording.
12. All songs in all eliminatory phases shall be sung live by their respective main singers.
13. A singer may submit up to two songs. At no stage may the song or singer/s be changed. In the finals, every singer shall interpret only one (1) song. This shall be the one that obtained the highest number of points from those interpreted by the same singer. The other song will be automatically withdrawn from the competition.
14. Eurosong 2009 will take place in (4) phases, first phase, second phase (the televised phase), a final and a super final.
From the first phase a maximum of up to 80 songs shall qualify to the second phase, where all songs will participate in a live weekly TV programme. Judging will be done prior to the first programme. Results of this phase will be retained by the Notary Public. These results will be opened during the last TV programme (mid January 09).
Following this second phase, twenty (20) compositions shall proceed to the final. 15 entries will qualify through the judges’ vote. The remaining 5 entries will be chosen through the televoting. If any of the 5 songs chosen by the televoting are common to those chosen by the judges, the next to qualify will be those from the televoting – according to their placing.
In the first phase a professional jury will judge the songs. In the second phase (the televised phase) all songs will be judged by another professional jury and televoting. The final will be split in two parts:
i. Another separate professional jury will vote for the three songs for the SUPER FINAL. These votes will be added to the votes given by the juries in the previous rounds.
ii. THE SUPER FINAL will take place on the same night. The winning entry will be determined by 100% televoting (out of the 3 super finalists).
The respective songs up to the superfinal shall retain all votes given by the jury. During the counting of votes of all phases only the Organisers, not less than 2 Notary Public, and not less than one certified Public Auditor will be present.
After the final of February 2009, participants will be given their total points and ranking obtained in all phases, as verified by the Notary Public and Public Auditor.
15. All finalists, composers, authors and singers, shall enter into a signed agreement with the Organisers regulating their presence and participation in the Eurosong 2009 Festival and the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest. This agreement is to be signed by not later than a fortnight after the Organisers announces the finalists. If any one of the finalists, composers, authors and singers does not sign this agreement within the stipulated time limit, the song next in line will be admitted to the finals in his/ her stead.
- All decisions taken by the Organisers are final and binding and there may be no appeal from such decisions. No reason needs to be given for any decision taken by the Organisers.
By participating and by entering a song for the Eurosong 2009, each applicant is accepting all these terms and conditions regulating this participation and is agreeing to be bound by such conditions and regulations. All applicants undertake to follow all the festival’s regulations and the Organisers’ directives. Any breach of same will entail immediate disqualification from participating in any manner in the festival, without any recourse whatsoever.
17. Malta’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest is regulated by the regulations governing the festival as published by the European Broadcasting Union.
18. Whereas the copyright of each song shall remain the sole property of the author and composer, same are hereby agreeing that Organisers shall have the exclusive and unlimited use of the said song, and that Organisers shall have the exclusive right to produce and sell CDs/dvds of same as well as of the Maltese transmission related to the festival. Organisers shall have the right to engage third parties to produce said copies of CDs or dvds. The copyright and performing rights of the winning song shall become the absolute property of the Organisers and shall remain so for up to three calendar months following the Eurovision Song Contest. This subject to EBU requirements regarding performing rights and copyright with the exception of the winning song. Performing rights and copy right pertaining to ring tones shall remain the property of the composer.
19. In the period between the Eurosong Festival and participation in the Eurovision Song Contest the singers may not enter into any personal sponsorship agreement without the prior written consent of the Organisers. Furthermore, in the case that the singer/s win/s the Eurovision this agreement is automatically renewed for one year.
20. All matters regarding the winning song itself including the presentation, choreography and publicity shall be dealt with at the sole discretion of the Organisers as soon as the winning song is announced.
21. The Organisers shall finance the participation, flight and accommodation, of the performers, composer and author of the song participating in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009.
22. The Organisers reserve the right to make the required adjustments/adaptations to the winning song as well as to the presentation of it.
23. In the eventuality that a participant decides to interrupt, without proper justification his/her participation, the said participant will be disqualified from further festivals by the same Organisers.
24. Participant is accepting that she/he shall be filmed during her/his performance, as required. Participant, whose songs qualify to the second phase, also accepts that such coverage as deemed pertinent by the Organisers shall be broadcast on PBS television stations and all other stations controlled by PBS. Participant also agrees that the Organisers shall have the right to transmit same on radio as well as on the web, hand held and new media devices as well as on cable/satellite tv.
25. Participant binds herself/himself not to participate with the same song in a similar programme, on any other television station till end of the Eurosong 09 Festival.
26. Participant binds herself/himself not to take part in talk shows, interviews or any other programme dealing with her/his participation, be it on television, on radio, on printed media or on the web, unless permission is granted by the Organisers.
27. Participant is hereby renouncing, with regard to the Organisers, to any damages including moral, material and psychological, which might occur to her/him during her/his participation, or as a result of such participation, as well as any other damages which might occur as a result of the festival or its transmission. Participant hereby signifies her/his acceptance that the Organisers shall not be liable for any injury, damage, loss of personal items, or other legal liability caused during her/his participation. Participant accepts that Organisers shall also not be liable for any costs of legal fees and services required in the eventuality that the Participant is sued in Court, a Tribunal, or an Arbitration Panel.
28. Participant shall indemnify the Organisers for any sort of damages, be it libel or otherwise, arising from her/his use of any improper, illegal or immoral, actions or words, or anything arising from her/his participation in the festival.
29. Participant is to indicate beforehand whether she/he suffers from any medical condition, and in such eventuality has to specify same to the Organisers prior to her/his being accepted for the programme. The Organisers disclaim any responsibility where a person is suffering from any medical condition, and reserves the right not to accept the participant if such condition might be an obstacle to her/his proper performance.
30. The Organisers retain the right, and participant accepts, that her/his participation in the festival can be terminated at any given moment in time, if there are serious and grave reasons which merit disqualification, and this at the discretion of the Organisers. In such an eventuality Participant shall be informed in writing.
31. Participant shall abide at all times by any rules laid down by the Organisers.
APPENDIX “A”
PARTICIPATION IN THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2009
1. Malta’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest is regulated by the regulations governing the festival as published by the European Broadcasting Union from time to time.
2. In the period following the Song for Europe Festival and participation in the Eurovision Song Contest the singers may not enter into any personal sponsorship agreement without the prior written consent of the Organisers. Furthermore, in the case that the singer/s win/s the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 this agreement is automatically renewed to one day after the Eurovision Song Contest 2010. Committed sponsorships by the Board take priority on any other commitments of the singer/s and have to be fully honored.
3. All copyright and performing rights of the winning song shall become the absolute property of the Organisers and shall remain so for up to three calendar months following the Eurovision Song Contest 2009. Songwriters and performers shall retain full rights for royalties that may be due to them and shall not be used, in part or in whole, by anyone without the Organisers prior written consent.
4. The Organisers has the absolute right to effect any changes and amendments which they may deem necessary to the winning song.
5. Composer, author and singer of the song representing Malta in the Eurovision Song Contest shall enter into a formal agreement with the Organisers regarding their participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009.
6. All matters pertaining to the winning song itself including the presentation, arrangement, singing, choreography, publicity shall be dealt with at the sole discretion of the Organisers as soon as the winning song is announced at the Eurosong 2009. By accepting the festival results the composer, author and singer of the winning song shall relinquish any rights which they might have, in favour of the Organisers with the sole exception of any royalties regarding such song, as agreed upon with the Organisers.
APPENDIX “B”
PRIZES
A. The winning song will represent Malta in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest.
B. The composer/s, author/s and singer/s of the winning song will receive
€ 4,700 in prize money.
C. The composer/s, author/s and singer/s declared in second place will receive €1,400 in prize money.
C. The composer/s, author/s and singer/s declared in third place will receive
€ 935 in prize money.
E. A subsidy of €120 will be paid to all composers in the final for expenses incurred to include the songs in the compilation album of the Eurosong 2009.
.
APPENDIX “C”
Important Dates
2nd September 08 Publishing of rules
13th October 08 Opening date of submissions
14th October 08 Closing date of submissions
23rd – 26th October 08 Eliminatory phase (1st phase)
1st – 2nd November 08 Eliminatory phase (2nd phase)
November 08 – January 09 10 televised programmes
February 2009 Final
APPENDIX “D”
EUROSONG 2009
Declaration by singers
(Rule No. 4)
Name & Surname _______________________________________
Address _______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
Date of Birth _______________________________________
Contact No. _______________________________________
E-Mail _______________________________________
Name of Song _______________________________________
Declaration by singer/s
I/we the undersigned declare that I/we have read all Eurosong 2009 regulations and to abide by them.
__________________ _______________
Signature Date
APPENDIX “E”
EUROSONG 2009
Declaration by composers/authors
(Rule No. 4)
Name & Surname _______________________________________
Address _______________________________________
_______________________________________
_______________________________________
Date of Birth _______________________________________
Contact No. _______________________________________
E-Mail _______________________________________
Name of Song _______________________________________
Declaration by composer/author
I/we the undersigned declare that I/we have read all Eurosong 2009 regulations and to abide by them. Also that we are the owners of the copyright of the song.
Backing vocals used in the actual recording: _________
__________________ _______________
Signature Date
________________________________________
Public Broadcasting Services Ltd would like to clarify rule no. 1 of the Eurosong Regulations 2009
ALL non-Maltese composers and authors shall, before submitting the song, forward to PBS Ltd. these details:
· Name of composer / author
· Stage name of composer / author
· Nationality
· Permanent residence
This is to verify if the same are eligible to submit a song for the Maltese selection.
PBS Ltd will not be liable to damages if any of the non-Maltese composers / authors who submit a song do not abide by this rule.
Amendment to Rule 8
The time for depositing envelopes containing the required information for both Monday 13 and Tuesday 14th October has been extended till 17:00 hours.