Official Contest Rules

The Contest is sponsored by MixxMedia LLC, 704 Ardonia Terrace, Suite 102, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774-8981 (the “Sponsor”). Questions may be sent to info@songbattle.co.

• Open to independent and unsigned musical artists who are legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia.
• Void where prohibited. Due to state promotion laws, the Contest is currently not open to residents of Florida, New York, and Rhode Island (these may be added once any required registration or bonding is completed).
• Entrants must be at least 18 years old, or have a parent or legal guardian enter on their behalf and agree to these Rules.
• Employees, contractors, officers, and immediate family or household members of the Sponsor are not eligible to win.
• One artist identity per person. Operating multiple identities to enter or vote more than allowed is grounds for disqualification.

Each Contest runs for the period shown on the leaderboard and entry pages, ending on the date displayed there (the “Contest Period”). The Sponsor’s clock is the official timekeeper. The Sponsor may run consecutive Contests; each is governed by these Rules as in effect when that Contest opens.

• Submit an entry on the Enter page with your artist name, a song title, the genre, a link to your music video, a short bio, and (optionally) your social links and a profile photo.
• If an entry fee is in effect for the current Contest, it is shown on the Enter page and must be paid for the entry to be eligible.
• Entries are reviewed by the Sponsor before going live; the Sponsor may reject any entry that does not comply with these Rules.
• Limit on the number of entries per artist per Contest is as stated on the Enter page.
• Entries that are incomplete, late, illegible, or that violate these Rules are void.

No purchase or payment is necessary to enter or win. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning. Where an entry fee is in effect for a Contest, you may obtain one (1) free alternate entry per Contest by sending the following by U.S. mail on a piece of plain 3″×5″ paper to the Sponsor’s address listed in Section 1:

• Your full legal name, date of birth, and complete mailing address;
• Your artist name and song title;
• A publicly accessible URL to your music video (YouTube link);
• A short artist bio (200 characters max);
• The words "SongBattle Free Entry" and the name of the Contest you are entering for.

Alternatively, you may request a free alternate entry by emailing the same information to info@songbattle.co with the subject line “Free Entry Request”. Free alternate entries must be received before the Contest Period ends, must satisfy the same eligibility and content requirements as paid entries, and are subject to verification. Limit one (1) free alternate entry per artist per Contest. Free entries have an equal chance of winning as paid entries; winners are determined solely by verified vote totals.

By entering, you represent and warrant that:

• You own or control all rights to the music, video, lyrics, beats, samples, performances, and footage in your entry, or have all licenses and permissions necessary to submit and have it published.
• Your entry does not infringe any third party's copyright, trademark, right of publicity, privacy, or other rights.
• Your entry is your own original work and genuinely performed by you, and you have truthfully answered the AI-disclosure question on the entry form.
• Your entry contains no unlawful, defamatory, hateful, harassing, or sexually explicit content, and nothing involving minors.

AI disclosure. The entry form asks whether AI was used to create any part of the song (vocals, instrumentals, or lyrics). Your answer is a legally binding representation to the Sponsor. An entrant who answers “No” and is later found to have used AI-generated material in the song will be disqualified, forfeits any prize, and — if a prize has already been paid — is required to return it in full. Entrants who truthfully answer “Yes” remain eligible; the song will simply carry an “AI-assisted” badge on the artist’s profile so voters can decide accordingly. The Sponsor does not independently verify AI use and relies on entrants’ disclosures in good faith; see the Terms of Service for the full allocation of risk on AI content.

You retain ownership of your entry. By entering, you grant the Sponsor a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, sublicensable license to host, reproduce, display, stream, and promote your entry, and to use your artist name, likeness, photo, and the entry, in connection with operating and promoting the Contest and the Sponsor’s services (including on social media), without additional compensation, except where prohibited by law. Winners may be required to sign a separate publicity release confirming this.

• Winners are determined by the number of verified fan votes received during the Contest Period — a skill/popularity measure, not chance.
• Voting is free and subject to the rules on the Vote page (including the number of artists per ballot and one ballot per device per round).
• Each ballot must include the number of different artists shown on the Vote page; ballots that do not are void.
• The artist with the highest verified vote total at the end of the Contest Period wins. In the event of a tie, the prize is divided equally among the tied artists, or the Sponsor may use a reasonable tie-breaker announced in advance.

Vote verification methodology. The Sponsor verifies votes using a combination of automated and manual checks, including device fingerprinting, hashed-IP rate limiting, CAPTCHA challenges, watch-time gating (voters must watch a portion of an artist’s video before that artist becomes eligible to vote for), pattern analysis to detect coordinated or bot-driven voting, and review of any votes flagged by these systems before they are counted. Votes the Sponsor determines, in its reasonable judgment, to be fraudulent, automated, purchased, incentivized in exchange for value, sourced from disposable or VPN/proxy IPs used to evade per-device limits, or otherwise illegitimate are removed and do not count toward an artist’s total. The Sponsor may apply these checks and remove votes before, during, or after the Contest, including after a preliminary winner has been announced; the official winner is the artist with the highest verified vote total after all anti-fraud removals.

Sponsor’s decisions are final. All decisions of the Sponsor regarding eligibility, entry acceptance, vote validity, disqualification, tie-breaking, and selection of winners are final and binding on all entrants and voters, and are not subject to challenge or appeal except as expressly provided in these Rules or as required by law.

• The prize for the current Contest is the amount shown on the Site (the prize pool, or a fixed announced prize). The Approximate Retail Value (ARV) of the prize is the dollar amount displayed on the Site at the close of the Contest Period. No cash equivalent or transfer except at the Sponsor's discretion. The Sponsor may substitute a prize of equal or greater value if the advertised prize becomes unavailable.
• Only one grand-prize winner per Contest unless otherwise stated.
• Odds of winning depend on the total number of eligible entries received and the number of verified votes each entry receives during the Contest Period. Because winners are chosen by vote totals (not random draw), the Sponsor cannot calculate a fixed probability of winning in advance.
• All applicable federal, state, and local taxes on any prize are the sole responsibility of the winner (see Section 9).

• Potential winners must verify their identity and eligibility and may be required to sign an affidavit of eligibility, a liability/publicity release, and tax forms before any prize is awarded.
• Winners must provide a completed IRS Form W-9.
• Under U.S. tax law, the Sponsor is generally required to report prize payments of $600 or more in a calendar year to the IRS on Form 1099-MISC, and may be required to withhold federal income tax in certain circumstances. By accepting a prize, you authorize the Sponsor to make any required reporting and withholding.
• Winners are solely responsible for all federal, state, and local taxes — including income, gift, and any other applicable taxes — owed on the value of the prize, and for any reporting they personally must make.
• Prizes are paid by ACH, PayPal, or another mutually agreed method, normally within fourteen (14) days after the winner has completed all required verification and tax documentation.
• If a potential winner cannot be contacted within a reasonable time of the Sponsor's first attempt, fails to complete the required documents within the time the Sponsor specifies (typically 14 days), is found ineligible, or declines the prize, the prize may be forfeited and the Sponsor may, in its discretion, award the prize to the next eligible entrant in vote order.

Nothing in these Rules is tax advice. If you have questions about the tax treatment of a prize, consult a qualified tax advisor.

The Sponsor may disqualify any entrant who, in the Sponsor’s sole judgment: tampers with the entry or voting process; uses bots, scripts, or purchased votes; submits infringing or ineligible content; provides false information; harasses other participants or the Sponsor; or otherwise violates these Rules. Chargebacks or payment disputes initiated without first contacting the Sponsor may also result in disqualification.

By entering, you release the Sponsor and its operators from any liability for any loss, harm, or damage arising from participation in the Contest or acceptance, use, or misuse of any prize, to the maximum extent permitted by law. See the Terms of Service for additional disclaimers and limitations of liability that also apply to the Contest.

If the Contest cannot run as planned — including due to fraud, technical failures, or any cause beyond the Sponsor’s reasonable control (force majeure) — the Sponsor may modify, suspend, or cancel the Contest and award any prize among eligible entrants in a fair manner.

These Rules are governed by the laws of Maryland and applicable U.S. federal law, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. Any dispute relating to the Contest is subject to the dispute resolution provisions of the Terms of Service.

The name of each Contest’s winner is posted on the leaderboard. You may also request the winner’s name by emailing info@songbattle.co within 30 days after a Contest ends.