TERMS & CONDITIONS

Eligibility dates: To be eligible for consideration for a Music+Sound Award your work must have been first broadcast or released with client approval, or completed, in the case of short films, between July 1st 2025 and June 30th 2026. Unlike other categories, the Rising Star awards consider work from the previous three years, specifically from 30th June 2023 to the present.
Submission format and anonymisation: All work submitted must be in the exact form it was released. All logos, trademarks and copyright notices must be intact, regardless of category. The exception to this is that entries must not contain entrant’s name, or any branding of entrant’s company. These details must be obscured where necessary. In the case of a query by the Board or Jury, the entrant will be required to provide documentary evidence to prove eligibility of the entry.
AI use policy: The Music+Sound Awards celebrate excellence in human creativity, composition and sound design. Submissions must be primarily created by human authors and may not consist of, or be predominantly derived from, AI-generated music or sound. The use of AI-based tools is permitted where they function as part of a broader human-led creative process (such as technical assistance, optimisation, or workflow support), but AI must not significantly determine the musical or sonic content of the final work. The Awards reserve the right to request disclosure of AI usage and to deem entries ineligible where AI has materially replaced human creative authorship. Eligibility should be judged on the basis that removing any AI tools used would not fundamentally alter the creative identity of the work.
Time-code guidance (where necessary): Where only a portion of a submitted video is relevant for Jury consideration (for example, where an entrant’s synced composition is featured in addition to other music), time-codes must be specified in the Further Project Information field of the entry form.
Judging and Awards discretion: In the event that the Jury feel there is not a clear winner for any given category, an award will not be issued and entry fees will not be refunded.
Judging integrity and conflict of interest: The Music+Sound Awards utilises a peer-review system. Entrants acknowledge that jurors are active industry professionals and may be direct competitors. To ensure fairness, a minimum of six jurors is assigned per category. Any juror with a direct professional link to an entry must recuse themselves from scoring that specific entry. The organisers monitor all data for tactical scoring or statistical anomalies and reserve the right to void any scores that do not meet our standards of professional objectivity. In the event of a recusal, the entry’s final score will be determined by the average of the remaining independent jurors.
Refunds: There will be no refunds for withdrawals by entrants after the official entries deadline. We reserve the right to disqualify entries or close categories. When it is necessary to close a category any entries will be fully refunded.
Entry completion: Entries will not be considered complete until the media has been uploaded online, the corresponding materials have been added and full payment has been made.
Category movement: We reserve the right to move entries to more appropriate categories if we feel the work has been entered incorrectly.
Category over-subscription rules: Where necessary for categories that are over-subscribed, the Board and chair people will judge an initial round in preparation for final judging, with the same rules as the judging process.
Acceptance of rules: All entrants will observe the rules of the competition. Completion of entries and sending of payment indicates full acceptance by each entrant of the rules.
Right to use submitted work for promotion: By entering the Awards, entrants grant Music+Sound Awards Ltd a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use, reproduce, display and communicate submitted materials (including audio, video and stills) for the purposes of judging, promotion, publicity, archiving and reporting of the Awards, across all media, worldwide. Where entrants wish to place specific restrictions on such usage, this must be agreed in writing with the organisers in advance of submission. Entrants consent to the use of their name, company name, professional credits and award status in connection with publicity, marketing and promotional activities relating to the Awards.
Warranties, authority and indemnity: Each entrant warrants and confirms that they have the legal right to enter the Awards and that the submission does not breach any applicable laws or infringe the rights of any third party, including intellectual property rights, anywhere in the world. In particular, entrants confirm that all rights in the music and sound have been cleared for use in the context of the work and for PR and Awards activity. Each entrant agrees to indemnify the organisers against all liability, loss or damage arising from any breach of these warranties or of these rules.
Force majeure: The organisers shall not be liable for any failure or delay in the performance of the Awards caused by events beyond their reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of God, government restrictions, technical failures or other unforeseen circumstances.
Finality of decisions: The decisions of the organisers in all matters relating to the Awards shall be final and binding.
Privacy policy: Music and Sound Awards Ltd is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement. Information we collect: name; contact information including email address.
Use and control of personal information: We collect and process personal information to administer and promote the Awards and to provide a better service to entrants. This includes internal record keeping, improving our products and services, contacting entrants for Awards-related communications, market research, and sending promotional emails about relevant offers or information. We process personal data on the lawful basis of legitimate interests and, where required, on the basis of consent. We will not sell, distribute or lease personal information to third parties unless we have permission or are required to do so by law. Entrants may request details of the personal information we hold about them, request corrections, or obtain a copy of their data in accordance with UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 by contacting hello@masawards.com. We will not share information with any third party and we do not store credit or debit card information.
Governing law and jurisdiction: The rules of the competition shall be governed by and construed according to English law and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.