Theme: “Climbing Higher, Soaring Together”

We believe in the power of music to uplift, unite, and inspire. Whether it’s a soulful ballad, a foot-stomping anthem, a serene instrumental, or an experimental beat that captures the feeling of togetherness—this is your moment to soar through sound.

Create music that reflects the spirit of hope, possibility, community, and transformation. Show us what it means to climb and soar together—through adversity, through joy, through the everyday magic of unity.

Vocal or instrumental, new music or previously published, in any genre or style – submit your entry, and let 120 East State share your music with the world!

This document describes the official requirements and rules of 120 East State’s Music Contest. 

By entering, entrants agree to be bound by these contest rules. 

• 120 East State reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any entrant whose work fails to comply with the above provisions, and any subsequent provisions adopted by 120 East State in order to fairly conduct this contest.

• Contestants must submit address, email, and phone number with submissions. Failure to include information may lead to disqualification. 

• Applications must be signed. Signing the application reflects the applicant’s agreement to be bound by the terms and conditions of the contest.

• If copyright infringement issues happen for any reason, 120 East State reserves the right to remove the entry from the contest. Entrants will be notified by email should this occur.

 The entry must meet all of the following criteria: 

• Audience: all-ages appropriate; contains no profanity, explicit content, hate speech, offensive language or imagery.
• Length: up to 3 minutes.
• All melodies and any lyrics must be fully original to the entrant. 
• If music includes lyrics, text of lyrics must be supplied with entry.
• Music must be submitted via .mp3 format via SoundCloud link. 

Three prizes will be awarded:

• People’s Choice Award, chosen by popular acclaim
• Board’s Choice Award, chosen by 120 East State board 
• Artists’ Choice Award, chosen by a panel of Trenton artists.

• To be eligible, entrants must have a residential address of Trenton or Greater Trenton, defined as Ewing, Hamilton, and Lawrence Townships.
• Entrants under the age of 18 must submit the parent/guardian permission form.  
  • To download the 120 East State Music Contest Parent/Guardian Consent Form, please click here.
• Entrants must be able to submit their music in .mp3 format via SoundCloud link.

1. Submissions must be made through the online submission process during the application window, between Wednesday, June 4 , 2025 and Monday, September 1, 2025
2. Lyrics and melody must be fully original work of the entrants; entrants must represent that the video does not infringe upon the rights of any third party and that it does not violate any copyright. (See Submission Requirements)
3. Submissions must be in .mp3 format via Soundcloud link.
4. Submissions with lyrics must submit text of lyrics.
5. Each entrant may only submit one entry.
6. Winner of the People’s Choice Award will be selected by a community vote. Community voting will occur from  September 7, 2025 – September 12, 2025.
7. Winner of the Artists’ Choice Award will be determined solely by a panel of judges selected by the 120 East State Board of Directors. 
8. Winner of the Board’s Choice Award will be determined solely by the 120 East State Board of Directors. 
9. By submitting, entrant provides 120 East State with consent to publish work on 120 East State’s communications channels, including website, email, and social media profiles owned by the organization, for contest purposes and public listening after the contest.
10. Winning entrants consent to allow 120 East State to post work on 120 East State’s digital channels and platforms and to allow 120 East State to publicize their participation in the contest. 
11. All participants are invited to attend the Artists’ Reception/Public Listening Event on Sunday, September 7, from 4-6pm.
12. Winners will be announced at the award ceremony on Saturday, September 20, 2025 at 3pm. Official award ceremony details will be announced via email no later than August 24, 2025. 
13. Winning entrants  in each category will be notified via email on September 19, 2025.
14. First place prizes will be: 
    1. People’s Choice Award: $1,000
    2. Board’s Choice Award: $1,000
    3. Artists’ Choice Award: $1,000
15. 120 East State will recognize second and third place runners up at the awards ceremony on September 20, and will feature their entries on the 120 East State’s website. 
16. Contact information provided by participants will be added to 120 East State’s contact database. 
17. Any personal information collected will only be used for the purposes of conducting this video contest. 120 East State will not sell or share any personal information with any third parties. 
18. 120 East State is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, incomplete, illegible, or otherwise unusable entries, including entries that are lost or unusable due to computer, internet, or electronic problems. 
19. Failure to submit a signed, completed application is grounds for disqualification. Entrants under 18 must have their parent or guardians sign their application. Failure to have a parent or guardian sign the application is grounds for disqualification.
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