Judging SCALA’s FOOM Song Competition

I have the privilege of being one of the judges for this years SCALA FOOM (Festival Of Original Music) Song Competition and I’m having a great time doing it.

I’ve already judged one of the live heats a couple of weeks ago and at the moment I’ve shortlisted some songs in the demo section of the competition ready for another listen or two to determine a winner and some highly commended and commended songs.

I love being a songwriting judge because I get to give back to the songwriting community in the way of constructive feedback.

Even through some songs grab me more than others, I always learn something new about my own songwriting in general or, of the songwriter themselves through their songs and its that experience that I value so highly.

Some people have criticised FOOM (and songwriting competitions in general) in the past saying that there’s no room for competition in songwriting or, in fact any artistic endeavour. While I can see their point of view I can also see how the existence of songwriting contests can be of great benefit for some songwriters.

Sometimes a sense of purpose and/or a deadline to work towards can spark amazing feats of creativity in a songwriter and if FOOM or any other song competition can become a catalyst for the creation of new songs then how can that be a bad thing? FOOM gives the songwriter a unique chance to get really concise and constructive feedback on their songs which they can then use to improve their craft.

This feedback is meant to be taken for what it is, thoughts and observations coming from a place of love and respect for the songwriter, the song and the creative process as a whole. It’s not to be taken personally.

The giving of feedback is the thing I take very seriously and it’s something I’d like to see more of as a way of helping songwriters become better at their craft in general.

Peace,

Corey