Deadline:
January 15, 2025
Location(s)
Online
Overview
The John Lennon Award is an annual competition open to student songwriters and composers of contemporary musical genres including alternative, pop, rock, indie, electronica, R&B, and experimental. Over the past twenty years, more than $400,000 in scholarships has been awarded to talented young musicians from colleges and universities throughout the United States, making this award one of the nation’s most esteemed accolades for emerging songwriters.
Details
Established in 1997 by Yoko Ono in conjunction with the BMI Foundation, this scholarship program honors the memory of one of the preeminent songwriters of the 20th century. Lennon’s enormous creative legacy includes “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” “Strawberry Fields,” “Imagine,” “I Am the Walrus,” “All You Need Is Love,” and “Come Together,” and continues to inspire and uplift new generations of music lovers around the world.
Through the generosity of Ono and Gibson Musical Instruments, three scholarships totaling $20,000 are presented annually for the best original songs submitted to the competition. Works are judged by a prestigious panel of music publishers, songwriters, musicians, and executives. Broadcast Music Inc.’s Vice President, Creative, New York, Samantha Cox, oversees the competition. Cox has worked to build the careers of numerous major recordings artists, including Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, and 3 Doors Down, and lends her rich, varied experience for supporting new talent to her role as the program’s Director.
For inquires please contact: info@bmifoundation.org.
Opportunity is About
Eligibility
Candidates should be from:
Description of Ideal Candidate
ELIGIBILITY
- Residence: Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming
SELECTION CRITERIA
- Applicants must be in residence in the United States or its territories.
- Applicants must be between the ages of 17 and 24 years on the day of the application deadline.
- Songs can be in any language. An English translation must be included in the application.
- Applicants may only submit one application per BMI Foundation awards program.
- Applicants may not submit the same song to more than one BMI Foundation awards program.
- Work submitted must never have been commercially recorded, published or distributed.
Dates
Deadline: January 15, 2025
Cost/funding for participants
Three scholarships totaling $20,000 are presented annually for the best original songs submitted to the competition.
Un-save Opportunity
Internships, scholarships, student conferences and competitions.
