“1st Global Hakka Music Awards” Guidelines
1. Purpose:
To expand and promote Hakka pop music, lead new trends of pop music, and search for the future star of Hakka pop music, hope that throughout the design classes and fostering, new talents can walkinto the pop music industry.
2. Organizer:
Organized by: Hakka Affairs Council of Taiwan
Co-organized by: Ministry of Culture、Overseas Community Affairs Council
Implemented by: New Vision Integrated Marketing Communication Co., Ltd.
3. Qualification:
Participation are open to all nationalities, ages, and those that are interested in Hakka culture, music composition, and singing.
4. Contest Schedule:
(1) Deadline for Preliminary Registration: From March 21 to May 31, 2022.
(2) Announcement date for Semi-Finalists: June 15, 2022.
(3) Professional Training for Semi-Finalists: End of June 2022.
(4) Semi-final Schedule: 1 P.M. (Saturday), July 9, 2022. Venue: Taipei Xinyi Chianti Avenue Plaza
(5) Professional Training for Finalists: August, 2022.
(6) Finals and Award Presentation Ceremony: 1 P.M. (Saturday), August 20, 2022. Venue: Legacy Taipei
5. Contest Category:
This competition are divided into “Composition Category” and “Singing Category.”
6. Registration:
Online registration only.
(1) Registration for Composition Category
A. Open to individuals, teams, and bands. However, the main members of the compositions may not overlap with members of other registration or register concurrently through other categories.
B. The songs that are registered to perform must be original song. Each person (category) can register up to 3 songs (including joint composition). Different artists of lyrics or music should be applied for contest registration along with the performer.
C. For registration, please complete the application form from the main website, upload the audio file of the entries, photo (full-faced and high-resolution half-length or full-length photo), and other information before completing the registration procedures (Photo specification: JPEG file with the size of at least 1MB; Audio file format: WAV、MP4)
(2) Registration for Singing Category
A. The singing category may be performed through solo, ensemble, or chorus, without the restriction of mode. However, the main members of the compositions may not overlap with members of other registration or register concurrently through other categories.
B. The songs that are registered for performance must be Hakka pop Music ( at least per person one ). The preliminary round requires mostly the audio of cappella.
C. For registration, please send out the application form to the main website, upload the audio of the cappella work, photos (full-faced and high-resolution half-length of full-length photo), and other information before completing the registration procedures. (Photo specification: JPEG file with the size of at least 1MB. Please provide the YouTube link for the registration video).
7. Form of contest music:
(1) Composition Category Music
A. Music must be an original song. The definition of original song includes the lyrics and music composition, the original song concurrently registered under the same category. The lyrics or music can be composed by a different person from the team.
B. All entries works must be companied by the introduction and description of the lyrics.
C. The content and musical style of the entries are not limited. However, the entries must include Hakka elements and the length of song limit is about 3~6minutes the most.
D. The original song for the competition should not have won awards in other public competitions or have been digitally/physically distributed.
(2) Singing Category Music
A pop song of your choice, which must cover Hakka lyrics or Hakka music elements, etc. The length of a cappella is limited to 2-3 minutes.
8. Instruction for overseas contestants:
(1) Foreign finalists refer to those with foreign nationality who live abroad (other than Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu).
(2) Online registration is only for preliminary rounds and the registration for the contest is the same as the way in Clause 6.
(3) Overseas teams for semi-final or finals must comply with the arrival control measures and anti-pandemic requirement of Taiwan during that period. Apart from the relevant funding for overseas semi-finalists and finalists as described in Clause 11, such overseas contestants shall pay for other expenses at their own expense.
(4) For those shortlisted for the semi-finals and finalists, if they cannot come to Taiwan due to the pandemic, they can choose to participate in the form of films. The participating film must provide a shooting plan before the shoot and comply with the following requirement:
A. The shooting venue for semi finalist may be in the local rehearsal room or LIVE HOUSE. The film for finals must be produced in local LIVE HOUSE only.
B. All entries film must be produced in HD high-resolution One Take, including audio and video, no editing, post-production, etc. Violators may be deemed as a waiver of the contest.
C. Send the link of the entries film to the designated email within 7 days prior to the contest. Registration will be completed by email confirmation.
D. Compliance with conditions subject to the latest official announcement.
9. Judgement:
(1) The organizer shall select professionals to form a judging team who is responsible for the evaluation. The evaluation process includes the preliminary, semi-finals, and finals. The entries are reviewed for the following content:
A. Preliminary: The music entries provided by the contestant for registration shall be used as a scoring basis. The composition category includes lyrics, music, arrangement, performance, and musical richness.
B. Semi-Finals: Must be performed through Live Band. The live Band of composition category is not confined to any arrangement and form while the singing category will be arranged with the music director to assist in arranging every entries song into a liver performance version. The director also plans the pre-rehearsal and band practice. Musicians will accompany the contestant on performance day. The score is based on the completeness of the performance, including lyrics, music, arrangement, singing, live stage performance, costume modeling and other extra props. Each team is limited to 3~6 minutes of performance time. Those without reaching or exceeding the specified time limit shall be deducted for points according to the resolution of the judging team.
C. Finals: Must be performed through Live Band. The competition format of the composition category and the singing category are the same as that of the semi-finals. In addition to the judging team, 20 representatives from the industry will be invited to form the observation team. The members include representatives of industries in radio stations, TV, online media, and the music industry, who will join the evaluation through their acuity to the market. The proportion of scoring includes 70% from professional judges and 30% from the observation team.
D. The semi-finalists of each category are limited to 10 teams, with each category of finalists limited to 6 teams in general. The actual number of teams shall be determined by the judges.
10. Awards, Places and Prizes pool:
(1) Composition Category
A. One 1st Place: Prize pool of NTD300,000, a Trophy, a Certificate of Merit, an Award-winning song recording and MV, and professional training for winning contestants.
B. One 2nd Place: Prize pool of NTD200,000, a Trophy, a Certificate of Merit, an Award-winning song recording and MV, and professional training for winning contestants.
C. One 3rd Place: Prize pool of NTD100,000, a Trophy, a Certificate of Merit, an Award-winning song recording and MV, and professional training for winning contestants.
D. Three Honorable Mention: Prize pool of NTD50,000 and a Certificate of Merit.
(2) Singing Category
A. One 1st Place: Prize pool of NTD150,000, a Trophy, and a Certificate of Merit.
B. One 2nd Place: Prize pool of NTD100,000, a Trophy, and a Certificate of Merit.
C. One 3rd Place: Prize pool of NTD50,000, a Trophy, and a Certificate of Merit.
(3) The award prize should be determined by the co-winners at their own discretion.
(4) This competition may increase or decrease the number of awards there for depending on the entries.
11. Regulation governing funding for semi-finalists or finalists living outside of Taipei City/New Taipei City or overseas:
(1) Living outside of Taipei City/New Taipei City:
A. Semi-finalists or finalists may apply the funding for transportation and accommodation.
B. Submit the application via email within 2 weeks prior to the date of semi-final or final, fill out the application form (as shown in the appendix). The number of applications are limited to the number of performers that filled out for registration.
C. The flight ticket for economy class, high-speed railway ticket, vessel, Taiwan Railway, bus, and other transportations, as well as funding for accommodation (3 days and 2 nights) for each round of the contest will be provided for completion of the application. The reimbursement of an accommodation for per person per night is limited to NTD2,000, with the submission of invoices.
D. Those who drove or rode themselves shall be reimbursed with the transportation fees equivalent to the highest class of fare for the public bus on the same road section, with the submission of proof of fare price. The applicant may not receive reimbursement for gasoline, road (bridge) tokens, and parking fees.
E. For reimbursement, enclose the stubs of transportation mode taken and receipt/invoice of accommodation as well as other supporting documents along with the copy of the applicant’s bank remittance account to submit in 15 days after the end of the activity for review later.
(2) Foreign finalists:
A. Semi-finalists or finalists may apply the funding for transportation and accommodation.
B. Submit the application via email within 2 weeks prior to the semi-final or final date and fill out the application form (as shown in the appendix). The number of applications are limited to the number of performers that filled out for registration.
C. The flight ticket for economy class, high-speed railway ticket, vessel, Taiwan Railway, bus, and other transportation modes, as well as funding for accommodation (4 days and 3 nights) for each of the contest will be provided for completion of the application. The reimbursement of an accommodation for per person per night is limited to NTD2,000, with the submission of invoices.
D. For reimbursement, enclose the stubs of boarding pass and receipt/invoice of accommodation as well as other supporting documents along with the copy of the applicant’s bank remittance account to submit in 15 days after the end of the activity for review later.
E. Semi-finalists and finalists who could not come to Taiwan due to the pandemic situation may apply the funding of entries film with the submission of venue leasing and film shooting-related receipts. Up to NTD50,000 may be funded to each semi-finalist team and up to NTD80,000 to each finalist team.
12. Notice:
(1) The contest entries and registration-related documents will not be returned.
Lyrics in the composition category must be “Hakka Chinese Character” for the use of Hakka words. For Hakka Chinese characters, please refer to the Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Hakka (website:
https://hakkadict.moe.edu.tw/) and use the “Hakka Pingyin Plan” from the Ministry of Education for Hakka pinyin. The same procedures apply to the disclosed information of subsequent promotion (including MV, joint production, and publication) of the winning entries. The organizer reserves the right to make the correction without notice.
(2) Participant/team must participate in the training, rehearsal, and group practice according to the time and venue specified by the organizer. The participant/team may not change or cancel the participation without authorization. The organizer reserves the right to disqualify the contest from the final round if the participant/group is absent without a proper reason.
(3) Do not change the member initially registered upon completion. Violators may be excluded from contest scoring. For any special circumstance, submit the application to the organizer in advance for approval.
(4) The order of performance on the day of the semi-finals and finals is determined by drawing lots. The results will be published on the official website and the event.
(5) The works for the composition category must be composed by the contestant without prior award winning and digital/physical publication. The entries may not infringe the copyright of a third party will be disqualification from award winning and the entrants will be responsible for the relevant legal responsibilities. Contestants will be required to return the prize and bear the relevant legal liability solely. The organizer may also claim for any correction, publication, and disposal fees for the winning entries albums from the winners. The winners shall return the prize, trophy, and certificate of merits immediately.
(6) The prizes awarded by this activity will be withheld 10% as income tax according to the Income Tax Act and 20% for foreigners.
13. Authorization and Obligation of Promotion:
(1) For the extensive completion of promotion and series reporting, all contestants registering shall be deemed as consent for the organizer to authorize assigned media or platform for the use of the contestant’s name, portrait, video publication, and audit publication, for public broadcasting and transmission in relevant activity promotion materials, report publication and radio station, TV and internet media for free.
(2) After announcing the finalists, they shall cooperate with the organizer about the disclosure and promotion of important information related to the final performance (including but not subject to the use of new media as information release, information re-post/forward, and acceptance of media interview).
(3) The winners shall agree on free authorization to the organizer under the duration of copyright for the winning song. For the purpose of non-commercial and commercial digital publication, the organizer or authorized third party may reproduce, arrange, publish and republish the winning works, including but not limited to the lyrics and music. The organizer or authorized third party may also record the songs in CD albums and music videos (MV) to reproduce, distribute, alter, arrange, and perform to public in Taiwan or abroad; in addition to broadcast to public and transmit throughout wireless, cabled, satellite analog and digital TV channels, radio stations, movie theaters, assembly venue, and computer network.
(4) The winners shall attend an award giving ceremony held by the organizer and record an CD album of their winning song, and participate in other promotional campaigns. However, if the organizer agrees on the winner could not participate in person themselves with a good reasons, they will be assigning to a third party to perform the winning enties of their own to the public for free.
(5) The winners shall participate in training courses and promotional activities that are arranged by the organizer.
(6) The organizer shall assign a specialist to record some clips and take photos. The teams can’t oppose.
14. Pandemic Prevention Rules:
(1) Level 2 Alert:
A. The teams taking off masks during performance or rehearsal need to submit the COVID-19 Self-Test and COVID-19 Vaccination Record to the organization with a list of people within 3 days prior to the rehearsal, in cooperation with the pandemic prevention plan at the venue.
B. Conduct name registration: All participants and the public shall take the conduct name registration before admission. The number of people for control is subject to the announcement from the Central Epidemic Command Center.
C. Facial Mask: All personnel at the activity site are required to wear facial masks, except for those performing on stage. Those refuse to wear masks will be disqualified or prohibited from admission by the organizer.
D. Body temperature: Contestants with a body temperature over 37.5℃ will be prohibited from admission. If the contestants are arranged for a break in the rest area and take body temperature for the second time still exceeding 37.5℃, the contestants shall be canceled for qualification and guided for medical treatment with assistance.
E. Food and drinks prohibited: Food and drinks are prohibited in the venue.
F. Disinfection by Rubbing Alcohol: Rubbing alcohol will be provided at the activity site for contestants to disinfect their hands. The microphones performed by contestants will be disinfected on a regular basis.
G. All pandemic prevention rules shall comply with the regulations released by the Central Epidemic Command Center and with rolling adjustment in addition to the announcement on the official website.
(2) Level 3 Alert:
All contest rounds will be postponed and re-scheduled with an announcement on the official website.
15. The organizer shall explain any matter of doubts or not mentioned herein. The organizer may also revise or change the activity without notice. All contestants from the activity are deemed as agreeing to the aforementioned terms and conditions.