APRA Silver Scroll Awards | Kaitito Kaiaka

The APRA Silver Scroll Awards

1. Five Awards are conferred

• APRA Silver Scroll | Kaitito Kaiaka
• APRA Maioha | Tohu Maioha
• SOUNZ Contemporary | Tohu Auaha
• APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film | Tohu Pūmanawa
• APRA Best Original Music in a Series | Tohu Paerangi

2. The Award is in the form of a certificate suitably inscribed, in addition to:

• The APRA Silver Scroll Award suitably engraved and in the recipients care for eleven months; a payment of NZ $5,000
• The APRA Maioha Award suitably engraved and in the recipients care for eleven months; a payment of NZ $5,000
• The SOUNZ Contemporary Award suitably engraved and in the recipients care for eleven months; a payment of NZ $3,000
• The APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film Award suitably engraved and in the recipients care for eleven months; a payment of NZ $1,500
• The APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Series Award suitably engraved and in the recipients care for eleven months; a payment of NZ $1,500

In the event of more than one writer having collaborated in writing the winning work, the cash award will be allocated between the writers, as dictated by the work's APRA registration.

ELIGIBILITY

The Writer(s)

• The work must have been written principally (minimum 20% share) by an APRA writer member/members that are residents or citizens of New Zealand, or that are principally domiciled in New Zealand.

Entries for the SILVER SCROLL AWARD:

• The work must be an original song. It must not be an arrangement or adaptation of a traditional non-copyright work or any other original work.

The work must have:

a. been made available as a recording for purchase by the public or through a streaming service in New Zealand and;

b. been first broadcast or communicated in New Zealand between: 1 June in the previous year and 31 May in the current year.

Entries to the SOUNZ CONTEMPORARY AWARD:

• The work must be original, and can be solo, chamber, ensemble, choral, orchestral, electro-acoustic or a combination of any of these. (There is no restriction on duration.)
• The entered work must have been publicly performed or professionally recorded for the first time between 1 June in the previous year and 31 May in the current year.

Entries for the MAIOHA AWARD:

• The lyrics must be substantially, but not necessarily exclusively in Te Reo Maori.
• The work must be an original popular song. It must not be an arrangement or adaptation of a traditional non-copyright work or any other original work.
• The entered work must have been first performed in public or broadcast in New Zealand between: 1 June in the previous year and 31 May in the current year.

Entries for the APRA BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC IN A FEATURE FILM AWARD

• The music must have been written specifically for inclusion in the feature film entered. It must not be an arrangement or adaptation of a traditional non-copyright work or any other original work.
• The music must have been made for a production which received its first public screening, broadcast or release between 1 June in the previous year and 31 May in the current year.

Entries for the APRA BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC IN A SERIES AWARD

• The music must have been written specifically for inclusion in the series entered. It must not be an arrangement or adaptation of a traditional non-copyright work or any other original work.
• The first episode from the series entered must have received its first public screening, broadcast or release between 1 June in the previous year and 31 May in the current year.

ENTRY PROCEDURE

• Entries can be submitted by the APRA member, their Management, Publisher or a third party i.e. Agent or Record Company (or film / television company / producer in the case of the APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film or Series).
• Entry forms are made available on the APRA AMCOS NZ website www.apraamcos.co.nz
• The entrant is to ensure that all information given on the entry form is true and correct.
• Not more than one work may be submitted by or on behalf of any one writer for the APRA Silver Scroll, and not more than two works by any one writer for the APRA Maioha and SOUNZ Contemporary Award, except in the case of co-written songs, where a writer may be included in entries for each separate band/artist that they collaborate with. A maximum of three entries may be submitted for the APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film or Series awards. A separate entry form is to be completed for each work.
• Unless specifically requested, the copies of recordings and films / series submitted shall be retained by APRA. Copies of recordings and scores submitted for the SOUNZ Contemporary Award may be retained by SOUNZ, for lodgement in the Centre for New Zealand Music library.
• The entrant agrees to allow APRA to stream the work(s) entered on its website and judging portal and reproduce the lyrics for the purposes of judging.
• The entrant agrees to uphold a high level of professional respect and a high standard of conduct in all areas, including but not limited to: integrity and respect for others; behaving in a professional and courteous manner at all times; not engaging in, encouraging or condoning any form of discrimination, harassment or bullying
• SOUNZ may in its absolute discretion accept an entry outside the eligibility period because of special circumstances. For example, when a composition is completed and professionally recorded but not made available for reasons beyond the compser's control this may qualify as a special circumstance.
• Finalists within the judged short-list of the Silver Scroll are based on peer voting as tallied by APRA. Voting in this category is available to all APRA members.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

• Entries will be assessed based on their compositional craft, creativity, originality and excellence

DECISION MAKING PROCEDURES

• Entries to the APRA Silver Scroll Award are narrowed down to a Top 20 by a judging panel appointed by APRA (all APRA members themselves)
• APRA members then vote on the Top 20 online for the five songs they think are best, which determines the winner, as well as the Top 5 finalists.
• APRA Maioha and SOUNZ Contemporary Awards finalists and winners are decided by a judging panel appointed by APRA and SOUNZ respectively.
• APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film and Series finalists and winners are decided by a judging panel appointed by APRA.
• A judging panel may not include any member who is a subject of an entry. Should such a situation arise, either the entry must be withdrawn or the judge replaced.
• There are five to ten judges per award. Judges receive material to review individually before making final decisions via a conference call or meeting. Decisions reached by the judging panels are final and no discussion regarding the result shall be entered into once the process is complete.

CONDITIONS - APRA SILVER SCROLL, APRA MAIOHA & SOUNZ CONTEMPORARY AWARDS

a. Not more than one work may be submitted by or on behalf of any one writer for the APRA Silver Scroll Awards, except in the case of co-written songs where a writer may be included in entries for each separate band/artist that they collaborate with. Not more than two works may be submitted by or on behalf of any one writer for the APRA Maioha and SOUNZ Contemporary Awards. A separate entry form is to be completed for each work.

b. In the event of more than one writer having collaborated in writing the winning work, the cash award will be allocated between the writers as per the APRA work registration.

c. Unless specifically requested, the copies of recordings submitted shall be retained by APRA. Copies of recordings and scores submitted for the SOUNZ Contemporary Award may be retained by SOUNZ, for lodgement in the Centre for New Zealand Music library.

d. The entrant shall (or shall cause the copyright owner of the entry if different from the entrant to) permit APRA and any person APRA authorises to perform the entry in and as part of any APRA award ceremony and to record it for those purposes and for the purposes of communication to the public.

e. APRA will have the right to print the name and likenesses of any entrant in publicity in respect of the competition and all matters incidental thereto.

f. The entrant agrees to allow APRA to stream the work(s) entered on its website and judging portal and reproduce the lyrics for the purposes of judging.

g. The entrant agrees to be bound by APRA’s entry procedures, and rules and regulations established in this entry form.

h. APRA shall have the right to interpret the entry conditions and to determine all issues arising out of this contest. Any such interpretations and determinations shall be final.

i. SOUNZ may in its absolute discretion accept an entry outside the eligibility period because of special circumstances. For example, when a composition is completed andprofessionally recorded but not made available for reasons beyond the compser's control this may qualify as a special circumstance.

j. All decisions in regards to the judging and selection of the short list by the judges, and the selection of the finalists by the member votes, are binding. No correspondence will be entered into.

k. The entrant is to ensure that all information given on the entry form is true and correct.

CONDITIONS - APRA BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC IN A FEATURE FILM & APRA BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC IN A SERIES AWARDS

a. A maximum of three entries may be submitted by or on behalf of any one writer in any one award category. However, any individual composer can only receive a maximum of two nominations in any one category. A separate entry form is to be completed for each entry.

b.Original music includes the original dramatic underscoring and original songs written explicitly for inclusion in the production entered.

c. The original music entered must comprise more than 50% of the total duration of original music embodied in the film or series.

d. In accordance with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a feature film is defined as running for 40 minutes or longer.

e. The feature film can be either fictional or a documentary.

f. A series is considered more than one episode.

g. While the first episode in a series must have received its first public screening, broadcast or release during the eligibility period, the episode entered for consideration does not have to have been publically broadcast or released.

h. In the event of more than one writer having collaborated in writing the winning work, the cash award will be allocated between the writers as per the APRA work registration.

i. Unless specifically requested, the copies of recordings submitted shall be retained by APRA AMCOS.

j. The entrant shall (or shall cause the copyright owner of the entry if different from the entrant to) permit APRA AMCOS and any person APRA AMCOS authorises to perform the entry in and as part of any APRA AMCOS award ceremony and to record it for those purposes and for the purposes of communication to the public.

k. APRA AMCOS will have the right to print the name and likenesses of any entrant, as well as the promotional collateral of the production entered in publicity in respect of the competition and all matters incidental thereto.

l. The entrant agrees to allow APRA AMCOS to stream the work(s) entered on its website and reproduce the lyrics for the purposes of judging.

m. The entrant agrees to be bound by APRA AMCOS’ entry procedures, and rules and regulations established in this entry form.

n. APRA AMCOS shall have the right to interpret the entry conditions and to determine all issues arising out of this contest. Any such interpretations and determinations shall be final.

o. The judges reserve the right to nominate any entry into another category if it deems that category more suitable.

p. All decisions in regards to the judging finalists and winner are binding. No correspondence will be entered into.

q. The entrant is to ensure that all information given on the entry form is true and correct.

INFORMATION, ADVICE AND DISPUTES

For assistance with information, advice or the resolution of disputes, members in the first instance should direct queries to the Head of New Zealand Operations, who may respond directly or refer the matter to the APRA Board.

Are you a little unclear on who decides the winner of the Silver Scroll Award?

Confused about judging panels, and voting, and scores, and the mathematics involved?

Well here’s a chance to see it all laid out!

How the winner of the APRA Silver Scroll Award is chosen

1. A judging panel of New Zealand songwriters listen to all entries (usually around 200+ songs) and choose the 20 songs they think are the best.
2. All the judges’ top songs are collated into a long list for discussion at the judging panel meeting. The judging panel meets in person to discuss this long list and work out the top 20.
3. All NZ APRA members (around 10,000 songwriters) are invited to listen to the top 20 songs and vote for the five songs they think are best, in order.
4. These votes are collated to determine the top five finalists and the overall winner of the APRA Silver Scroll Award.
5. Both judges and voters are asked to choose the best songs on the basis of artistic merit only – neither commercial nor critical success is a factor in determining their votes.
6. Entries: Anyone who is a New Zealand APRA member can enter. It’s free to be an APRA member, and it’s also free to enter. There are a number of eligibility criteria which you can check out in detail on our website but to put it simply, the song must have been written (at least in part) by an APRA member who is a New Zealand citizen or resident and must have been released between 1 July of the previous year and 31 May of the current year.
   
7. Judging: Because it’s very time consuming to listen to 300+ songs, we break the judging and voting process into two phases. The first phase involves a judging panel of New Zealand songwriters who listen to all 300+ songs, and then choose the 20 best songs from all the entries. We announce this judging panel publicly. They aim to come up with a list that reflects our diverse local music landscape, as well as being great songs.
8. Voting: Once the Top 20 songs have been decided upon and announced, it is up to the APRA membership (which consists of 10,000 NZ songwriters) to listen to those 20 songs and vote for their top five songs, in order.
   

For greater detail about each step see below.

How the winner of the APRA Silver Scroll Award is chosen (in more detail)

• Entries: Anyone who is a New Zealand APRA member can enter. It’s free to be an APRA member, and it’s also free to enter. There are a number of eligibility criteria which you can check out in detail on our website but to put it simply, the song must have been written (at least in part) by an APRA member who is a New Zealand citizen or resident and must have been released between 1 July of the previous year and 31 May of the current year.
  
  We spend a considerable amount of time and energy trying to contact anyone who may be eligible to enter and let them know that entries are open. We generally receive between 300 and 400 eligible entries.
  
• Judging: Because it’s very time consuming to listen to 300+ songs, we break the judging and voting process into two phases. The first phase involves a judging panel of New Zealand songwriters who listen to all 300+ songs, and then choose the 20 best songs from all the entries. We announce this judging panel publicly. They aim to come up with a list that reflects our diverse local music landscape, as well as being great songs.
  
  They work through this judging process in two parts – firstly they listen to all the songs in their own time, over several weeks, and choose their individual 20 top songs.
  
  They don’t know who wrote each song at this point, they are only the given the audio, song title and lyrics, so judging is done with as little bias as possible.
  
  They categorise their top songs into three tiers. The songs in each tier are apportioned a score, and these scores are tallied up to create a long list of around 50 songs to discuss. We then hold a meeting which everyone attends in person, and discuss all these songs, until a consensus is reached about the top 20. It can be a pretty long meeting.
• Voting: Once the Top 20 songs have been decided upon and announced, it is up to the APRA membership (which consists of 10,000 NZ songwriters) to listen to those 20 songs and vote for their top five songs.
  
  All APRA members are sent an email invitation which sends them to the voting portal where they can log in, listen to the tracks, and place their votes.
  
  They rank their top five, and each song is given a weighted score depending on the ranking – the songs in first position gets 5 points, second position gets 4 points, third position gets 3 points, fourth position gets 2 points, and fifth position gets 1 point.
  
  These scores are all added together to find the five songs with the most points, and these voting scores dictate the five finalists and the winner of the award.

It is worth noting that the judges and voters are both simply asked to pick the songs they think are the best. There are no criteria about the commercial or critical success of the song, it is purely based on artistic merit. Obviously, the artistic merit of a song is highly subjective, which is why the Silver Scroll Award winner is chosen by a very large number of fellow songwriters.