The Song Post.
Competitions/Songwriters Resource Network

Great American Song Contest 2026.

with Songwriters Resource Network — trading as Great American Song Contest since 2001 per its own copyright line, with a winners archive published back to the 20th contest in 2018 · listed Aug 2Verified · Aug 3
Closes
November 18
late autumn
Entry
$40 per song
limit of 10 songs per writer per year
You could win
$2,500 cash to the Grand Prize
plus $500 per category winner and a $1,000 lyric prize
Your rights
Writers retain all rights to their songs, lyrics and compositions — contest rules.

$40 a song is the highest per-song fee on this desk, and the contest answers for it in the one way that costs an organizer real money: “ALL submissions receive a written evaluation from contest judges.” Of the eight other competitions currently listed here, two publish a feedback policy of their own, and both amount to the same sentence: entries receive none, and a critique is a separate purchase.

The arithmetic, since the page advertises “$10,000 in Prizes” across “50 awards in ten songwriting categories”: the cash inside that figure is $2,500 to the Grand Prize, $500 to each category first place, and $1,000 to the lyric-writing winner. The remainder is memberships, a demo, a gift certificate and promotional certificates — the prizes page attaches its own stated values to each. Entries close November 18, 2026.

The record
Who can enter
Writers worldwide, across ten categories including a lyric-writing category. “There is a limit of 10 songs per songwriter per year.”
What it costs
“$40 per song”, captured from the rules page August 2, 2026.
The prize
Cash: $2,500 to the Grand Prize winner, $500 to each category first place, $1,000 to the lyric-writing winner. Non-cash: SongU.com and SongTown.com memberships, a Musician’s Friend gift certificate, a YourSongmaker demo for the lyric winner, and Outstanding Achievement certificates for top-five placings.
Rights, plainly
The rules page states, in its own capitals: “WRITERS RETAIN ALL RIGHTS TO THEIR SONGS, LYRICS & COMPOSITIONS”. No licence over entries appears elsewhere in the captured rules.
Feedback policy
“ALL submissions receive a written evaluation from contest judges”, and “ALL entries receive a thorough review from qualified music-industry professionals”. A stated feedback policy is a disclosure. Of the six other competitions on this desk, two publish one — and both state that entries receive no feedback, with a critique sold separately.
Source
Great American Song Contest rules, prizes and winners pages (greatamericansong.com), all captured August 2, 2026.
more from this desk
Competition

Best Song Of The Month

with SongwriterUniverse
Closes
Rolling
Rolling — no deadline pressure
Entry
$10 per song
You could win
No cash, industry directories and a Broadjam membership, plus a published interview
The contest page carries no rights, licence or ownership clause — captured August 2, 2026.
Verified · Aug 2The record
Competition

International Acoustic Music Awards 2026

with International Acoustic Music Awards
Closes
November 6
seven weeks
Entry
$35 per song
You could win
No cash, $11,000 of merchandise and services to the Grand Prize winner
“Entrants and their collaborators will retain full rights to all work submitted for the competition” — Rule 5.
A publicity-rights note: Rule 6: “Entry constitutes permission to use winners names, likeness and voices for future publicity and advertising purposes without additional compensation.” A publicity grant over winners, not a claim on the song — the same clause shape appears in ISC’s Rule 10 and the John Lennon Songwriting Contest’s Section 5.
Verified · Aug 2The record