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AIM 2024 Rules

Random-storykeeper — 7 days ago

This post contains the rules and timeframe for the 2024 Art-Inspired Music Contest.

Links

Submissions Thread - Submit your entries here!
Discussions Thread - Ask questions and leave comments here about the contest!
#aim-general channel - An invite to the #aim-general channel in the NG Audio Pub Discord, where you can also ask questions and chat about the contest.
Newgrounds Art Portal
Newgrounds Audio Guidelines
Approved Entries Playlist - Play through all AIM 2024 entries eligible for judging
Master List - A spreadsheet containing links to AIM 2024 entries and their art for easier reference

Timeframe

All times are in PST. Please note that due to the long timeframe and general volume of entries, extensions cannot be granted for the submissions period.

Submissions Period: Friday, April 19th at 12:00 AM - Monday, June 17th at 11:59 PM. A 1 week, 24 hour and 1 hour notice will be posted in the submissions thread.
Judging Period: Tuesday, June 18th - TBD depending on the amount of entries. Generally 3-4 weeks, but the submissions thread will have occasional posts with updates regarding the progress of judging.
Fan Voting Period: Same as Judging Period. Once the judging concludes, the Fan Vote will close 24 hours after.

Rules

Please review the rules before starting your entry and double-check them before submitting, even if you're a returning participant.

General Rules

You must be at least 13 or over to enter.
You must be a scouted musician. This is for anti-fraud purposes. For more information on how the scouting process works, please review the Audio Portal Questions section of the Newgrounds FAQ.
Read the title of a thread before posting! The submissions thread is only for submitting your entries to the contest, and the discussions thread is for any non-submission related conversation. Non-submission related posts in the submissions thread are subject to removal.

Submission (Entry) Rules

This contest is for original works only. Covers, remixes, mashups, etc. are not allowed.
Entries must be started and finished within the submissions period. Entries created and/or started outside of the submissions period (that is, when the submissions thread was posted) are not allowed.
Your entry must be uploaded on Newgrounds, suited for the "Music" format when uploading audio, posted in the submissions thread and following the Newgrounds Audio Portal guidelines.
Your entry may contain explicit content suitable for up to the M content rating, i.e. E, T and M. No A-rated entries are allowed.
Entries must be between 3-6 minutes in length. Generally, entries up to 15 seconds outside of the range will be accepted, but anything hitting exactly 15 seconds outside that range may be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The organizer will have the final say in whether an entry is too long or short to be accepted for the contest. Your best bet is to be right within the 3-6 minute range.
Each participant may submit up to 2 different entries. These cannot be two versions of the same entry, e.g. same composition with different instruments.
Samples can only be used if they are a) within Audio Portal guidelines, and b) reworked in a way that is original. For example: You cannot take pre-recorded lyrics from a vocal pack, transpose them and compose accompaniment to go along with it. However, chopping up a vocal line and using a small part of it for a percussive effect in an original composition is allowed.
You can work with anyone, whether it be a singer, producer, etc. Bands are allowed, too! If they have an NG account, tag them in the project system, or if not, credit them in the description of your song(s). Keep in mind, only one person gets the prize (unless it can be split equally).
Entries must be posted in the submissions thread by June 17, 2024 at 11:59 PM PST. Posts must contain a link to your entry and, at minimum, a link to your art inspiration in the Author Comments of your audio submission OR in your submissions post, though both would be preferred! If your art is multi-image, please also specify which image you are using for your inspiration! (see Art Inspiration Rules - point 4)
Updates to your already submitted entries are permitted within the submissions period, but not during the judging period. If you update your entry, please mention it in the discussions thread or DM me. This contest receives a lot of entries and some judges may begin evaluating entries as they are being submitted to stay ahead of the curve.

Art Inspiration Rules

Your art inspiration must come from the Newgrounds Art Portal.
Only E, T or M rated art is allowed, i.e. no A-rated art.
Only one art piece can be used as inspiration per entry. If you are inspired by other pieces of art, you may mention them in your Author Comments, but must clearly indicate the "main" inspiration that will be used to evaluate your entry in the Relevance to Art category.
An image from a multi-image artwork is allowed, but you must specify which image in the set was used by mentioning the number (from the top or left) and/or linking the specific image by copying the direct image URL. If unspecified, the first loaded image will be assumed as your main inspiration - that is, the topmost image or the leftmost (the one that loads in large view in the gallery first).

FAQs

You can ask questions or clarification in the Discussions thread or in the #aim-general channel of the NG Audio Pub Discord. Some notes based on FAQs from past compos are posted below. I may add more to here if additional questions recur.

Only your entry needs to be created within the submissions period. The art inspiration can be something that was published before the submissions period or it can be from within the submissions period. Likewise, the artist for the art inspiration does not need to be scouted, only the participant submitting an entry.
You should try to reach out to the artist you want to use as your inspiration, but if you are only being musically inspired by their work, you do not need to get permission (in the case that they are unreachable, for example). However, you should get permission from the artist if you want to use their work to promote your music, e.g. using it as cover art, sharing it in a video containing your song, etc.