Competition Rewards Incentive

I'm trying to think of ways to encourage more contestants for these competitions. If Young Composers offered 1st, 2nd and 3rd place monetary prizes (or just 1st place depending on how many contestants), would people "buy into" the competition? A variety of factors would contribute to the prize reward, such as # of contestants, how many placements there are, the required "buy in" to the competition, YC's percentage giveaway.

If people would be interested in something like this, I could think about how to arrange this. There is also no rule that we have to do monthly competitions, there could be multiple competitions going on at once. Please let me know your thoughts.

I don't agree with paying, it makes it seem like a lottery and many 'young' composers are strapped for cash (esp if they are too young to have a job or go to college etc)

There can't be a monetary reward without a buy-in of some sort.

This is akin to entry fees. Dumb.

This is akin to entry fees. Dumb.

It's also akin to 50/50 draws. Buy a ticket, maybe win a prize. Do you have a problem with those too?

;)

Hmm... what happened to the idea of some sort of (small) prize going to the winner in the form of something from the YC store? I think something like a piece of sheet music, etc would be good. Nothing expensive.

Or if that's too much (considering how many competitions go on), maybe if the person say, makes 3rd, 2nd, or 1st in 5 competitions, they get to pick a piece of sheet music.

Or even if the prize was open just to the monthly competitions. That would be 12 pieces of sheet music a year. I have no idea what the budget for YC looks like, but I think that would be doable.

Personally I think that just to be able to say "i won!" is enough, but something extra is always good :)

I don't think there needs to be a reward. Keeping this a "just for fun" thing is perfectly fine by me.

Wasn't the reward at one point getting your piece on the home page for everyone to see?

What about smaller entry fee's, like $5? That would make it a lot less cheaper to enter, and it could still offer some incentive to the winner(s).

I like your idea David. Smaller fee's might be easier to handle for those in college or high school. I think the idea of YC perhaps hosting a publicized competition would be a boon to the site as well as to the composers on here. Imagine the attention our works would receive from the professional community if we hosted a publicized competition? I think the promotion of our works alone would be enough to contribute to a pot.

If there was an entry fee I would most likely be unable to enter any of these competitions! I'm only fourteen, and there's no way my dad would pull out his credit card just so I could enter a competition. :(

For the type of competitions we have on YC, I think there should be no entry fee, even if it were a penny. The fact that some online transaction has to be made despite the amount involved is enough on its own to discourage a number of potential participants, including myself. We could however feature an annual competition intended for more serious works works that could have a small entry fee (say, 10 - 15 USD). Participants would send the fee once they complete and submit their works for judging and we could have a larger reward for this annual competition, such as a monetary reward or a free copy of Finale or Sibby or a sound sample or one year of premium membership.

For ones like the monthly competition I like that idea that winners get a small reward from the YC Store. Such as if you win two competitions you get a free score worth up to $10. Or you can save up, if you win three competitions, you can get up to a $20 score, or four competitions, up to $30 dollars in score(s). This way the reward is there if the participants are persistent in entering.

Yeah I don't know about monetizing it. That would only compound the lack of participation in competitions.

Really, though, there are few contests that I've seen that are anything but, "Write something to amuse me." What would you get in return for your investment, even if you don't win? Our reviewers already have enough problems keeping up with presenting quality reviews -- why would anything different be in the competitions, and then you have the subjectiveness and evaluation to deal with. Nowhere is there enough professionality to warrant monetizing the competitions. The 50/50 raffle comparison is apt -- only with favoritism and e-drama mixed in...

Yeah I don't know about monetizing it. That would only compound the lack of participation in competitions.

Really, though, there are few contests that I've seen that are anything but, "Write something to amuse me." What would you get in return for your investment, even if you don't win? Our reviewers already have enough problems keeping up with presenting quality reviews -- why would anything different be in the competitions, and then you have the subjectiveness and evaluation to deal with. Nowhere is there enough professionality to warrant monetizing the competitions. The 50/50 raffle comparison is apt -- only with favoritism and e-drama mixed in...

You would have a finished work - first and foremost, and that is itself a good thing. Our reviewers really don't have any problems reviewing. We have quite a few who give really good advice to members. Do you expect our reviewers to be composition teachers to ALL of the composers posting works?

I have to say that while I normally like/agree with your ideas, Jason, I don't think this is a great idea for this forum. There are a lot of competitions that you don't have to pay for in the "real" world as well as ones you DO pay for. However, most competitions that are "professional" have guarantees of money in the hundreds of dollars in addition to a performance, recording, etc. I feel that this forum is for learning. The competitions are a fun way to get some experience in a quasi-contest and to motivate members to compose new works. However, there are already plenty of great composition contests out there that have better awards. I feel this should be a learning thing. Now, if once in a while a certain situation arises where a contest can be arranged for a guaranteed performance/recording or even a yearly or twice yearly contest where half the proceeds go to YC, then I think that would be positive. However, having monthly paid contests where participants pay is a little impractical and arguably doesn't encourage composers to spend time on a composition. (a month is a pretty rushed time period for a true quality composition.) Hope you find my points valid.

Ben

I have to say that while I normally like/agree with your ideas, Jason, I don't think this is a great idea for this forum. There are a lot of competitions that you don't have to pay for in the "real" world as well as ones you DO pay for. However, most competitions that are "professional" have guarantees of money in the hundreds of dollars in addition to a performance, recording, etc. I feel that this forum is for learning. The competitions are a fun way to get some experience in a quasi-contest and to motivate members to compose new works. However, there are already plenty of great composition contests out there that have better awards. I feel this should be a learning thing. Now, if once in a while a certain situation arises where a contest can be arranged for a guaranteed performance/recording or even a yearly or twice yearly contest where half the proceeds go to YC, then I think that would be positive. However, having monthly paid contests where participants pay is a little impractical and arguably doesn't encourage composers to spend time on a composition. (a month is a pretty rushed time period for a true quality composition.) Hope you find my points valid.

Ben

LOL! It wasn't my idea, it was Chopins.

Oh. Sorry about that. I'm not upset with the idea, just disagreeing with it. Didn't mean it as a flame surely.

The trick is adjudication. How are works "judged" in the contest? Reviewer and Member votes? A "panel" of sorts? What about aggregate data like views, plays, etc.? Does the composer's job end with paying the entry fee and submitting the work, or can the competitors do more to effect the outcome of the competition?

I think it's also a question of what the market will bare. A young community like this isn't going to be able to fork out $30 for a contest, much less a significant amount of money for a premium membership, if that's a prerequisite or something (not saying it is, but it did cross my mind). I'm working on this concept now. I have a preliminary site up and running at newcomposers.org that I'll need help beta testing for anyone who's interested in helping with feedback. I'm still building the site and functionality, but people who are interested in this concept should be able to register. PM me here if for any reason you can't.

I totally encourage YC to experiment with the concept as well. We can all learn from each other on what works and what doesn't.

I would not buy in for a competition (even though I'll never compete) but as for prize, perhaps 100Mb of upload space? Something small and easy like that.