The Record-Producer.com Second Creativity Competition Opens Today!

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You can read about last year's Creativity Competition here. It led to an extraordinary outburst of amazingly original music. You'll never hear anything like it anywhere else, that's for sure.

And this year's Creativity Competition is going to be even better. Are you ready? Here is the brief. All you have to do is...

Write and record a Beatles song.

Yes, a Beatles song. Not a song by the Beatles, but a new song of your own creation that is so convincingly Beatle-like that it could have been freshly dug up from a newly discovered archive.

So the song has to sound 'Beatley', and the recording has to sound Beatley. OK, you don't have to sing in a Liverpool accent. We'll let you off from that.

The inspiration for this competition comes from Noel Gallagher of Oasis who once said on TV that he had the art of writing Beatles' songs, "Off to a T". And he's not wrong composition-wise, although the sound of Oasis is totally different.

But I reckon you can do better. Don't you think so too?

Your song should sound as though it came straight off a Beatles album. From all the way back to Please Please Me (UK) or Introducing The Beatles (USA), right up to Abbey Road, which was their last album recording although not their last release.

In fact your song could come from the next album the Beatles might have made if they had not split up.

Sonically you can use any of the sounds that the Beatles might have used, all the way from solo guitar to full symphony orchestra (sampled orchestra allowed!). You can write a John song, a Paul song, a George song or even a Ringo song (but I bet you don't remember any!). You can use any musician that the Beatles used, from Eric Clapton to Billy Preston, even to David Mason (who played trumpet on Penny Lane). In the interests of opening the competition to all, you can use a female vocalist, and if you use a female lead vocalist you can use female backing vocalists too. Yoko and Linda sound-alikes need not apply.

If you wish, you can submit photographs or artwork in styles associated with the Beatles. Although this is not part of the competition, it may be useful in the promotion of your work. Wherever your artwork is published, so will your song be too.

So what's the prize?

Er.. none. You're in it for the fame and exposure. And there will be significant exposure on the Audio Masterclass website. The winner will be judged by voting on the Audio Masterclass website. There is no voting fee.

It may also be possible to promote your work outside of Audio Masterclass. If there's any money on offer, then we'll come back to you to discuss a deal.

So, you'll be wanting a summary of the rules, any here they are...

• Write and record a song that sounds like it could have been written and performed by the Beatles.
• The song must sound like a Beatles song.
• The recording must sound like a Beatles recording.
• A Liverpool accent is not compulsory.
• The lead vocalist can be female. If the lead vocalist is female then the background vocalists can be female too.
• Any combination of instruments can be used, but they must be evocative of the original sounds of the Beatles, from any of their albums, or the next album they might have made if they had not split up when they did.
• If your work contains samples, they must be free from copyright restrictions.
• You may submit photographs and artworks, but these are not part of the competition. If you submit photographs and/or artworks, then wherever these are displayed, your song will be too.
• You may make multiple entries.
• Although it is the intention of Audio Masterclass to display all submissions on the Audio Masterclass website, we reserve the right not to display certain submissions. For example, a work with lyrics similar to Happiness is a Warm Gun would not be accepted.
• Although the Beatles may have stimulated their creativity with 'recreational substances', Audio Masterclass advises against this. Audio Masterclass also advises against performing on rooftops.
• By submitting your work, you agree that you own the song and the recording, and you have permission from the performers to submit. You also confirm that any samples you have used are free from copyright restrictions. In addition you give Audio Masterclass a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual license to display the song on the Audio Masterclass and associated websites. You will of course retain copyright in your work.
• Although Audio Masterclass will strive to conduct this competition with the utmost fairness, for legal reasons we make no guarantees of anything other than that we will not rip you off. (That's a simple and short wording that will save you reading a page of small print, and means the same.)
• If your name is Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr, you are eligible for entry (we want to see if you have still got it). If your name is Noel Gallagher of Oasis, then be warned that you will be up against tough competition!

The closing date for the second Creativity Competition is Monday April 16, 2007. Entries will be available for voting on the Audio Masterclass website a week after that.

So, sharpen up your creative skills, listen to a few Beatles albums, and get writing and recording! Send your song in 160 or 128 kbits/second MP3 format as an e-mail attachment to

If you have any questions, just ask them in the comments section and I will reply here.

One more thing - when you send in your song, could you tell us which Beatles album it could have been on?

Come on the FREE COURSE TOUR