A trade association’s competition, and the trade is the prize: IMSTA represents music-software manufacturers, and the global Grand Prize is a collection of software packages it values at over $5,000. There is no cash. The online round costs $20 a song, closes on November 26, 2026, and produces one winner who then competes against the winners of the regional rounds — Miami, New York, Toronto, Beijing and the rest — each of which is open only to people attending that city’s IMSTA FESTA event.
The rights sentence is the reason to read the rules rather than the entry form. Your rights “shall remain the sole property of the Artist” — and in the same breath, “the rights granted herein are for broadcast and promotion only.” Something is granted. What is missing from every captured bullet is how long it lasts, which is what the heads-up on this card reports: a promotional licence with no stated end date is a different thing from no licence at all, and the ownership sentence sitting beside it settles neither.
Two more things are worth knowing before the $20 goes through. The rules require that a prize winner may be asked to prove the song was made with legally purchased software — an unusual condition, and a coherent one for an anti-piracy trade body. And the page’s own dates do not agree with each other: the online round’s submission deadline is listed as November 26, 2026, while the text above the table says the online winner “will be announced on November 20”. The deadline table is the operative statement, and the rules reserve the right to change closing and announcement dates “without notice to you” — so this card carries the November 26 deadline and records the discrepancy rather than smoothing it over.
The record
Source
IMSTA’s own 2026 songwriting-competition page, including its dates table and Competition Rules & Regulations, together with its members and past-winners pages (imsta.org), all captured August 14, 2026.
What it costs
“Each song submitted to the IMSTA Song-Writing Competition is $20.00 usd.” One price per song, with no early or late tier published. Captured August 14, 2026.
What you can win
No cash prize is offered at any level. “The global winner will be awarded the Grand Prize, which includes a remarkable collection of software packages valued at over $5,000.” The valuation is the organizer’s own, and the individual titles are not itemized on the captured page. The online round produces one winner, who then competes for the Grand Prize against the regional winners; each finalist submits an additional song for the final round.
Deadline
November 26, 2026 for the online round, taken from the organizer’s own dates table. The regional rounds close earlier — Miami August 18, New York September 22, Toronto October 13, Beijing October 27 — and are open only to “IMSTA FESTA Attendees”, so they are not the same opportunity as this one.
Two dates that disagree
The page states the online winner “will be announced on November 20” while listing the online submission deadline as November 26, 2026 — an announcement six days before entries close. The dates table is the operative statement and is what this card carries; the rules also state that “closing and announcement dates for this Competition may change without notice to you.” Checked and recorded August 14, 2026 rather than resolved: only the organizer can resolve it.
Where your song can appear
Entering gives consent “to have your song and/or song link posted to the IMSTA website, social media platforms, or any equivalent streaming/distribution service where your works are available, YouTube or any other online service for promotional purposes only.” The purpose is bounded to promotion; the duration is not stated anywhere in the captured rules.
An unusual eligibility condition
“Prize winners may be asked to prove that the composition was created with legal, purchased software. Songwriters using illegal software are not eligible to win.” Entrants must also be at least 16, and the rules state that “all entries are final and irrevocable” — an entry cannot be withdrawn or moved to another category once submitted.
Who is behind it
The International Music Software Trade Association, 1160 Ellesmere Rd., Toronto, Ontario, reachable at info@imsta.org and 416-789-6850. Its own members page names its manufacturer, distributor and retailer members — Avid, Steinberg, Native Instruments, Universal Audio and Focusrite among them — and lists AES, ASCAP, the Grammy P&E Wing and Harris Institute as sponsors and partners.