Awards Rules

1. Mission Statement

Mission Statement

The Apulia Soundtrack Awards (ASA) is an international community of screen composers, industry professionals, and local cultural associations that supports the art of the soundtrack through cultural, educational, promotional, and professional activities.

ASA promotes emerging as well as established Italian and international film composers by recognizing outstanding achievements and other promotional activities. It actively contributes to the education and study of this art form through the organization of film music seminars, master classes, and workshops.

ASA also develops initiatives that offer a platform for emerging film music talent as well as networking activities for creative and industry professionals.

Award Categories

The ASA is a new organization that will offer an expanding list of soundtrack awards over the next four years at its annual ceremony in June.

Award for Best Original Composition by an emerging Composer.

Composer - Discovery of the Year - Both film and television projects may be considered.

Lifetime Achievement Award - Award presented for an extraordinary body of work and career in film music.

Major Contribution to the Art of Film Music and Sound - Award presented for special achievements, such as creative use of existing material in a soundtrack.

2. Executive and Honorary Board

ASA Executive Board

ASA’s Executive Board will manage the Apulia Soundtrack Awards. It is responsible for the program and the organization of the annual award events. These key members are actively involved in the activities of the ASA and the film music industry in general. ASA’s Advisory Board adheres to the following rules:

• ASA’s Advisory Board consists of a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 7 members, coming from all over the world. Its members either represent themselves or an organization.

• Membership on the Executive Board is valid for a two-year term. After two years, membership can be renewed. There will be no limitation on renewals.

• If seats are vacant, both the Executive Board and the Advisory Board can nominate new members. If they are not yet part of the ASA, the nominees first need to join the organization.

ASA Ambassadors

The ASA Board of Directors also invites ambassadors from the world of cinema and music. These film and/or music experts are consulted whenever necessary.

Recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award are automatically onboarded as ASA Ambassadors.

3. Award Definitions

Award definitions

The Apulia Soundtrack Awards shall be presented annually to mark and celebrate outstanding achievements in scoring music for motion pictures and television and to honor other achievements.
ASA honorees are awarded trophies at an annual ceremony in June. Additional awards will be given out each successive year according to the following schedule.

1) Award for Best Original Composition by an emerging Composer. -  This award will be presented to local and International emerging composers.

2) Composer - Discovery of the Year (Film or television) - This award will be presented to an emerging talent for a specific film score produced in the previous 12 months preceding May 1 of the award year.

3) Lifetime Achievement Award - This award will be presented for an extraordinary body of work and career in film music.

4) Major Contribution to the Art of Film Music and Sound - This award will be presented for special achievements, such as creative use of existing material in a soundtrack or music contribution.

4. Eligibility

Eligibility

a) An “original score and song” is defined as a substantial work of original music in the form of dramatic underscoring of the film or TV series and/or as the first song of the end credits.

b) For the “Award for Best Original Composition by an emerging Composer.”, original scores and songs produced in the last three years are eligible. The music must have been commissioned for a film or television project (i.e. no library music). A maximum of three tracks will be considered for the award.

c) In the event they have composed multiple original scores during the qualifying period, candidates may only submit one score for the “Young Composer” award each year.

d) For all other awards (e.g. “Discovery of the Year”), scores and songs will qualify as eligible if the motion picture or TV series for which the score or song was composed has had its world premiere screening or initial theatrical release before May 1st of the award year. For judging purposes, ASA only will evaluate the audio recording of the soundtrack, not the film in which it appears.

e) Only the principal composer(s) or songwriter(s) responsible for the conception and execution of the work as a whole shall be eligible for the award.

f) Scores for television series or miniseries will only be eligible if they are used in a dramatic episodic series that had its world premiere on a public network, on pay television or on streaming TV services that commission original content.

g) A musical work only can be nominated for a single ASA award, not multiple categories.

Submission & Selection Process

Emerging Composer Award

1/ Registration:
All candidates for the “Emerging talent” award need to register at:
https://apuliasoundtrack.com
https://apuliasoundtrack.com/register/

An administrative fee, for processing and consulting costs, of 35€ will have to be paid in order to successfully register to the contest. This fee is not refundable.

2/ Submission Dates:
All candidates will submit their work to a designated ASA email address: info@apuliasoundtrack.com

The submission period for the 2023 awards will be from March 15th to May 31st.

If a composer is nominated as one of the 20 finalists, he/she will be requested to deliver a good resolution material of their work.

Additionally, nominees will need to submit a professional bio and a hi-resolution photograph that will be used in the promotional & publicity material of the event.

3/ What music should I send:
This year’s contest is different than last year. We will always strive to reinvent it every year, and find new ways to invite and meet new talent and emerging composers.

Specifically, for this year you must send us - at the email info@apuliasoundtrack.com - what you consider to be your THREE (3) best film scoring compositions, from previous films you worked on (i.e. either long, short or documentary). It is advisable, when sending the files to us, to write a short message explaining “why” you chose those three works of yours, as if you were trying to pitch them to a filmmaker.

It can be just an mp3 audio file but it is always preferable to send something within context. If you have already a film, please send that also, along with the mp3 file, as a low-resolution video file (quick time) or as a YouTube/Vimeo link.

4/ Selection of the Candidates
After the initial round of submissions, the ASA Executive Board with commence the selection of the 20 finalists-candidates on May 1st and conclude it on June 1st.

After the selection is done, we will have a video call with each composer to give them insights about the contest and a first professional guidance.

During the festival, the attending candidates will continue receiving this guidance from our guests-industry professionals, as part of the masterclasses, roundtables and evening events. You’ll be able to meet various industry professionals, such as agents, publishers, labels and other established composers.

After the festival, we will continue to maintain a contact and answer any further questions you may have.

5/ When and where:
Apulia Soundtrack Awards – Film Music Festival is scheduled for July 6/7/8 at the Castle of Carovigno in Puglia (south Italy).

The 20 candidates will be welcome to join the roundtables, the masterclasses and the concerts during the festival.

This year we will have 2 Guests of Honor, musicians and 5 awards to offer on stage or on screen. The emerging talent winner will be attending the award ceremony.

Like in 2022, the festival will open wildcards to composers who are not selected but who want to follow the festival.

6/ The winner is...

The final awards ceremony will show the work of the 3 best emerging talents. Those 3 will be called on stage. Number 2 & 3 will receive a mention and the winner a special award.

The winner will be declared during the closing ceremony on July 8, 2023 at the Castle of Carovigno, in presence of the Guests of Honor and the public.

7/ Notes:
Note 1:
The festival website is not fully updated since the exact guests and awards for 2023 haven’t been announced yet.

Note 2:
Besides the program and the awards, the festival doesn’t have the capacity yet to welcome every candidate. However, like in the previous year, we encourage all candidates (and the wildcard) to attend the event if possible, by covering the relative expenses of transfer and accommodation in Carovigno, in order for them to benefit by their attendance the festival’s events (i.e. masterclasses, roundtables, concerts).

Note 3:
We call of the “Apulia Soundtrack Awards”, “ASA”, so it is good to start becoming familiar to this abbreviation!

THANK YOU ALL! And Welcome!

“Discovery of the Year” & other awards

For Discovery of the Year (and other awards in later years like Lifetime Achievement and Major Contribution to the Art of Film Music and Sound), the Executive Board will convene to vote and choose the winner. The result will only be valid if a majority of board members have voted.

The online submission form will include an upload link for a maximum selection of three cues (with a combined TRT of less than 15 minutes) that are representative of the submitted score.

Apulia Soundtrack Awards