Greetings fellow Newgrounders! I hope you're ready because it's time for the most anticipated audio contest of the year! And, after much deliberation with the Newgrounds contest moderators, we've decided for the Newgrounds Audio Deathmatch to officially begin roughly 3 weeks from now! (July 13th) Do you think you have what it takes to rise up to the top? Do you think you can go head-to-head, toe-to-toe with the best this site has to offer? Do you think you can hold your ground in a ruthless 2 week composition period and bring out the best content you can possibly make? This contest is THE place to do that and comes along with a high risk, high reward competition. What's the reward you ask? The absolute best bragging rights of being able to claim to be the best of this site! Oh and there's also the possible opportunity to gain some prize money too :) @TomFulp has agreed to allow for donations to be made possible to the prize pool!
Current Prizes:
1st - $180
2nd - $120
3rd - $60
4th - $60
There are also games up for grabs for the top 4.
So what does this mean for you right now? It means now is the time to audition! And you can bring in whatever you like. However (bold emphasis) this is what you need to know for auditions. Failing to follow these requirements may result in disqualification and or future headaches. PLEASE READ (this is not a terms and conditions document where you skip to the checkbox):
*You need to be scouted on the Audio Portal in order to enter.
-If you are unfamiliar with scouting, it's Newgound's system to allow approved users to submit to this site. If you are not scouted, people can still see your submission on your Newground's page but it is not officially approved Newgrounds content.
-If you want to be scouted, first make good art, people will notice you if you are good. You must have at least 4 pieces(? Not sure) to get scouted. When someone wants to scout you, you will be sent a request via PM. You can then choose to accept or deny their request. (Credit to Ornery http://ornery.newgrounds.com/news/post/388624)
*Stolen songs and MIDI rips will be automatically disqualified. This contest is for original content only! It's part of the fun, and a true test of talent, craft, and discipline.
*Use of licensed samples without the proper license will be promptly disqualified. (To that end, the audio moderators will be keeping a watchful eye on whether infringing samples are being used.)
*Your piece needs to be as original as possible.
- That means no recognizable hooks that are the identifying feature of copyrighted pieces.
- That means no memes. (sorry)
- If your song contains common chord progressions or familiar-sounding melodic lines, ensure that other areas of your compositions are unique enough to compensate
PLEASE REVIEW:
*If you are taking part as a duo or a band, you must actively take part as a that team for each round.
- If you are two or more producers, this means that tag-teaming is NOT ALLOWED. You can't have one person write one round and another person write another round. You must actively collaborate.
-The only exception to this rule is if your partner is no longer able to contribute and drops out of the contest, in which case you will continue participating as a solo contestant instead.
-For bands we recommend you keep the producer consistent.
*Audition songs, **and only audition songs**, can either be a brand new song that you make between now and the auditions deadline, or it can be any song that you've made in the past that you think is the best you've made. This can include previous contest pieces you've made in the past.
*Audition pieces can be in whatever genre you like. There are no limits to what you can bring to the table, but the recommendation is to keep the song to between 2-6 minutes.
-Too short and your piece may be lacking in structure. We (the judges) like to see proper development of an idea, and short songs tend to feel unfinished or rushed
-We anticipate there to be a large number of audition pieces. Too long and it may come across as being repetitive, unengaging, or difficult to get a proper listen from all of the judges.
-There are exceptions for both of these scenarios, but these are guidelines to help give you a better opportunity.
What are the judges looking for in an NGADM song? (both audition and future contest songs)
*Each judge will be looking at 5 qualities that we can quantitatively use to determine how good a song is. The categories we’ll be using are currently under discussion, but here are the most common categories:
-Composition: How well you can craft your melodies, chords, rhythm, and/or vocals.
-Sound Design: how well can you craft your sound. Which instruments / voices are you using for their intended parts and how do they fit?
-Production: how clean and clear does your song sound? How well can you mix and master your song?
-Structure: how do you develop the main idea of the song, and how does each section contribute towards it?
-The other categories are generally up to the judges tastes. These can be a range from qualities such as replayability (does your song still enjoyable the 5th time through), complexity (how easily could I or someone else replicate your song), originality (is it unique), and emotion (does the song make people to want to headbang, or could it even bring people to tears)
-Note: some of these categories may and likely will overlap each other depending on the judges definition. This is just to give an idea
That's what you need to know concerning the auditions. For when the competition itself starts, here's what you need to know for now:
*Each round after the competition will have a 2 week producing period.
*After those deadlines there will be a judging period to allow for the judges to listen through the submissions and give an appropriate score.
*You CANNOT begin writing a song for round 1 until the judges finish evaluating the auditions. The spirit of the contest is to be able to compose in a 2 week timeline.
*I repeat, DO NOT begin creating a song for round 1 until it's been announced that you've passed the audition stage.
*During the 1-on-1 rounds of the competition, songs will be given reviews from various judges.
-Note: constructive feedback is highly encouraged by everyone on this site! You do not have to rely on judges for their reviews, and you can visit other people's songs and leave helpful and encouraging comments on their work. :)
Now that all of that has been cleared up, here's the schedule for 2020's NGADM!
Auditions deadline July 13
-2 (almost) week judging (ending July 24)
Group stage of 64 (groups of 4) deadline August 10)
-2 weeks judging (ending Aug 24)
Dueling 16 deadline September 7th
-1 week judging (ending September 14th)
Dueling 8 deadline September 28
-1 week judging (ending October 5)
Semifinals and Finals?! To yet to be determined *evil chuckle*
Last but not least, here are the people that are hear to help make the contest happen.
Judges *(pending confirmation)*:
Myself – Spadezer
@johnfn??
Backup judge
Art Designers
Spreadsheet and schedule visualizer
Prize Sponsors (make a donation and PM @TomFulp to be added here)
@Jacon - $100
@Evry1sFavritNrd - $100
@TomFulp - $100
@Spadezer - $50
@TheGhostOfSevenSeize - $50
@Wegra - $10
@tomhson - $10
Best of luck fellow Newgrounders! And may you produce your best music yet!
Promo art by @TheMangoso:
DM me if you want a review!
