OFFICIAL RULES AND GUIDELINES

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

Sponsor

The No Strings Songwriter Showdown (the “Contest”) is sponsored by Nashville Vans, (“Sponsor”).

Eligibility

  • The Contest is open to unsigned songwriters who are legal residents of the United States and at least 18 years of age at the time of entry.

  • An “unsigned songwriter” is defined as an individual who is not currently signed to a recording contract or publishing deal with a major label or publisher.

  • Employees, officers, and directors of Nashville Vans, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, and their immediate family members (spouse, parents, siblings, children) or household members are not eligible to participate.

  • Entrants must have a public Instagram account to meet engagement requirements (follow, like, share).

Contest Period

  • The Contest begins on May 31, 2025, at 12:00 AM EDT and ends on June 30, 2025, at 11:59 PM EDT (the “Submission Period”).

  • All entries must be received by the end of the Submission Period to be eligible.

  • Submission is free for the first 500 applicants — no strings attached. $25 application fee will apply after 500 applicants received.

How to Enter

To enter the Contest, participants must complete the following steps:

  1. Click here to submit your song

  2. Follow @NashvilleVans and @hittingtheroad.us on Instagram

  3. Like the official Contest announcement post on Instagram

Submission Guidelines

  • Songs must be original works created by the entrant and must not infringe on any copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property rights.

  • Songs must not contain obscene, defamatory, or offensive content, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.

  • Submissions must be in MP3 or WAV format, under 10MB, and no longer than 5 minutes.

  • By submitting a song, entrants grant Sponsor a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, and publicly perform the song for Contest-related purposes, including promotion on social media, website, and events.

  • Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, or misdirected entries.

Judging Process

The Contest consists of multiple rounds of judging:

Top 10

Top 5

Top 2

Grand Prize Winner

All eligible entries will be reviewed by a panel of music industry professionals selected by Sponsor.

The top 10 finalists will be announced on or about June 30, 2025 via @NashvilleVans Instagram and @hittingtheroad.us Instagram.