SAE University College and BayFM have expanded the BaySounds songwriting competition with a new youth category, as the local competition returns for a second year.
The competition will showcase the talents of emerging musicians in the Northern Rivers region with an open category and a new youth category targeted at under-18s.
The youth category is open to locals aged 12 to 17 years old and the adult category to everyone aged 18 and over. Entrants must reside within a catchment area encompassing the Byron Shire, Tweed, Richmond Valley, Lismore, Clarence Valley, Kyogle and Ballina.
The competition opens on Monday 24 March and invites musos to submit their original composition on the SAE website by midnight on Sunday 22 June.
The winning artists will have their songs professionally recorded, mixed and mastered at the world-class recording studios at SAE Byron Bay by an SAE audio lecturer and final year students, while receiving rotational airplay on BayFM.
A live performance with a guaranteed audience is also on offer for the winners, who will perform the winning entries at SAE’s Open Day in August. The performances will be played live on BayFM who will be doing a live broadcast from SAE on the day.
The competition is being judged by SAE Senior Lecturer, Dirk Terrill; BayFM broadcaster, Ange Kent; and BayFM broadcaster and musician, Nathan Kaye.
Last year the inaugural competition’s first prize went to Lismore local Levi Maxwell for his moving song Dear Richmond, which was inspired by the Lismore floods of 2022.
Dirk Terrill said SAE University College is committed to uplifting talent in the lcoal area with initiatives like BaySounds.
“Our region has so many talented artists and SAE University College is committed to improving opportunities for their artistic development,” he said.
“This competition is about bringing people out of our community who may not have the opportunity to be heard or seen and then bringing them exposure and prizes. It also makes them finalise their work, which is often the hardest part.”
BayFM’s Ange Kent agreed the songwriting competition came about as a way to unearth hidden talent in the region.
“It’s very much geared at unsigned, original songwriters of all genres, and aims to give them an opportunity to be heard and showcased and to have a judge listen to their music,” she said.
“Throughout the competition we will be playing song submissions from local artists on the programs. BayFM and SAE are both passionate about the music industry and our local community, and helping it grow.
Dirk said the prizes are geared towards helping an emerging artists establish themselves in the industry.
“They receive a recording and mix down of their work, but they also work with our faculty who show them how the production process works – it is so educational,” he said.
“We want to help them understand how to self-promote, how to submit and finish work, and if they’re successful, bringing them into a studio situation where they’re learning about the process of professionally recording.”
Ange added that even just submitting a song encourages young musos to get their work out in the public eye.
“A lot of our entrants are recording in their bedrooms on Garage Band,” she said.
“This competition gets them out of the bedroom, it gives them experience working with someone like Dirk Terrill who’s an established engineer, producer and composer and musician.”
After a large volume of submissions in 2024, the judges decided to expand the competition with the youth category.
“Last year we had a lot of youth entries, and we thought it best to provide them their own place and offer both winners the recording package,” Dirk said.
Following the success of the inaugural competition in 2024, Ange said BaySounds is testament to the value in a partnership between SAE and BayFM.
“We’re both local and long term in the Northern Rivers,” she said.
“The combination of SAE, a University College which offers sound engineering expertise, and BayFM, an award-winning radio station celebrating 35 years supporting our local musicians, is a perfect collaboration for a songwriting competition.”
SAE General Manager Luke McMillan said it was a point of pride to see the competition’s second year get underway.
“As leaders in creative media education, SAE is proud to have produced graduates who have made a name for themselves in the music industry like Sampa the Great, and studio experts who have won Grammy awards while working alongside iconic artists like Drake, Justin Bieber, and Hans Zimmer,” he said.
“BaySounds represents a shared commitment by SAE and BayFM to foster local talent and support the growth of the music industry in our community.”
