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NEOS × GERYON Album Release Award 2027

Official Terms and Conditions and Legal Disclaimers

By submitting an entry to the NEOS × GERYON Album Release Award (the “Award”), the applicant (“Participant”) fully and unconditionally agrees to be bound by these Official Terms and Conditions (the “Agreement”).

1. Eligibility and Age Limit

1.1. The Award is open to composers of any nationality worldwide.

1.2. Age Restriction: Participants must be thirty-five (35) years of age or younger on the exact date of the submission deadline. Participants who have already reached their 36th birthday on or before the deadline date are ineligible to participate.

1.3. Proof of Age: The organizers reserve the right to request a valid government-issued photo identification (e.g., passport) to verify the Participant’s age prior to the evaluation or awarding of any prize. Failure to provide such proof will result in immediate disqualification.

2. Submission Requirements, Album Readiness, and Quality Assessment

2.1. Participants must submit the complete finished, high-quality audio recordings (private link to SoundCloud, Bandcamp, or a similar service) along with a comprehensive album concept.

2.2. Readiness Warranty: By submitting, the Participant warrants that all recordings required for the complete album can be delivered fully recorded and edited, in professional audio quality and ready for mastering, within the deadlines set by the organizers. Mastering of the selected album will be carried out by Murat Çolak (GERYON) as part of the award.

2.3. Evaluation: All eligible submissions will be evaluated by the jury listed on the Award website on the basis of artistic merit, recording quality, the coherence and strength of the proposed album concept, and overall suitability for professional release on NEOS. Scores, where applicable, may be considered as part of the evaluation but are not the sole basis of assessment. The jury chair will vote only in the event of a tie, casting the deciding vote.

2.4. The organizers reserve the right, at their sole discretion, to anonymize submissions during the jury evaluation process to ensure impartiality, though they are not contractually obligated to do so.

2.5. Album Length: The proposed album must not exceed a total playing time of seventy-five (75) minutes.

2.6. Unreleased Recordings: At least 70% of the proposed album’s total playing time must consist of recordings that have not previously been commercially released.

3. The Prizes (Grants in Kind)

3.1. Main Prize (Full Album Release): The main prize consists of a professional album production and commercial release on the NEOS label (distributed by NEOS Music GmbH). This includes professional audio mastering services provided by GERYON, as well as subsequent public relations (PR), marketing, and both physical CD production and distribution, as well as digital release and distribution on all relevant worldwide digital platforms. The Participant acknowledges that such a production package carries a standard commercial value of up to €8,000. The commercial release is intended to be presented at the start of the Donaueschinger Musiktage.

3.2. Runner-Up Prizes (Digital Compilation): The jury will shortlist ten (10) Participants and select the Main Prize winner from this shortlist. The other nine (9) shortlisted Participants will each be invited to contribute one of their submitted works to a digital compilation released under the NEOS label. For these Participants, the prize consists of mastering by GERYON and the digital release and distribution of the contributed work on all relevant digital platforms. The compilation will be released exclusively in digital format; the prize does not include a full album release for these Participants.

3.3. No Cash Alternative / No Label Royalties: The production, mastering, and release services described above constitute the entire prize for both the Main Prize and the Runner-Up Prizes. No cash prizes or financial advances will be paid by the organizers. NEOS Music GmbH will not pay Participants any direct royalties or shares of revenue from the sale, streaming, or other commercial exploitation of the released recordings.

This does not affect any royalties Participants may receive from collecting societies, such as GEMA, of which they are members. Such royalties are distributed by the relevant collecting society in accordance with its applicable rules and distribution plan.

4. Copyrights, Licensing, and Third-Party Fees

4.1. GEMA Fees: NEOS Music GmbH will clear and cover standard mechanical reproduction and distribution fees with the German collective management organization GEMA for the manufacturing and digital distribution of the winning album and the digital compilation.

4.2. Exclusion of Publishing and Broadcast Fees: The organizers strictly do not assume responsibility for, nor will they pay, any external publishing fees, sub-licensing costs, synchronization fees, or licensing fees demanded by third parties, including but not limited to public or private broadcasting authorities (e.g., Rundfunkanstalten), publishing houses, or external performance rights organizations.

4.3. Participant’s Responsibility: Any such external fees or clearances required to legally utilize, broadcast, or publish the submitted recordings must be fully borne and resolved by the Participant at their own expense.

5. Participant Warranties, Indemnification, and AI Restrictions

5.1. Originality and Rights: The Participant warrants and represents that they are the sole creator and lawful copyright owner of the submitted musical compositions. Applicants must hold, or be able to secure, all necessary recording, performance, publishing, and other rights and permissions required for release.

5.2. No Infringement: The Participant guarantees that the submission does not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, contract rights, or any other intellectual property or proprietary rights of any third party.

5.3. Human Authorship and Performance Requirements: The Participant warrants that the submitted works are the result of human artistic creation and human authorship. While the use of technology, software, and electronic instruments is permitted as part of the creative process (including electronic and electroacoustic music), the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to fully or substantially compose, arrange, or generate the musical substance or audio material is strictly prohibited. Furthermore, all acoustic/traditional instruments featured in the recordings must be performed by human musicians; the automated generation of acoustic instrumental performances via generative AI text-to-audio tools is not permitted.

5.4. Indemnification: The Participant agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless NEOS Music GmbH, GERYON, their affiliates, jury members, and legal representatives from and against any and all third-party claims, damages, liabilities, losses, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or resulting from a breach of these warranties (e.g., in the event of plagiarism, unauthorized sample use, lack of performer clearances, or AI violations).

6.1. Finality of Decisions: The artistic, technical, and qualitative evaluation of submissions and the selection of the shortlisted Participants and the Main Prize winner are the responsibility of the jury listed on the Award website. The jury chair will vote only in the event of a tie, casting the deciding vote. The jury’s decisions are final.

6.2. Limitation: Legal recourse is strictly excluded. No Participant shall have the right to challenge, review, or contest the jury’s decision or the evaluation process in any court of law.

7. Disqualification and Revocation of the Prize

7.1. The organizers reserve the right to disqualify any Participant, revoke a previously announced prize, and select an alternative winner without prior notice if:

  • The submission fails to meet the formal, technical, or deadline criteria.
  • The Participant fails to deliver the recordings for the complete album within the deadline specified by the organizers, or if the delivered material fails to meet the technical or artistic quality standards of the initial submission.
  • The Participant provided false, inaccurate, or misleading information (specifically regarding age, copyright ownership, or album readiness).
  • The Participant engages in conduct that disrupts the integrity or fair operation of the competition.

8. Data Protection

8.1. NEOS Music GmbH processes the personal data provided with the application (such as name, contact details, date of birth, nationality, and artistic biography) solely to receive, review, and judge the application, to administer this competition, and for the eventual album or compilation production. GERYON and the members of the jury, some of whom work outside the European Union, have access to the application to the extent required for its evaluation. The legal bases, storage periods, and the Participant’s rights are set out in the Privacy Policy on the Award website.

8.2. All personal data will be handled in strict accordance with applicable data protection laws, including the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

9. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

9.1. This Agreement and any disputes arising out of or in connection with the Award shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

9.2. The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all legal disputes arising directly or indirectly from this competition shall be Munich, Germany.