LET THE PEOPLES SING RULES FOR THE 2019 EDITION 2019 SCHEDULE/INFORMATION Dates of the Event 12-13 October 2019 Place and date of the Semi-Finals Geneva EBU Headquarters December 2018 (exact date to be announced) Date of the Finals 13 October 2019 Venue Hosting Organization Host City and Host Country of the Finals Deadline for registering the Choruses in the Competition "Submission Deadline" Period during which the EBU Music Group shall appoint the members and the Chairman of the Finals Jury "Finals Jury Appointment Date" Deadline for Entrants to send the Recordings and other Registration Material to the EBU "Materials Deadline" Deadline for the EBU to inform the Individual Choruses whether they can take part in the Semi-Finals "Individual Chorus Notification Deadline" Date after which the Recording must have been produced "Recording Date" Date by which the EBU shall post on the EBU Competition website the names of the Finalists to take part in the Finals "Finalist Announcement Date" Date by which the Recordings of the Semi-Finals shall be released by the EBU/Euroradio in the Euroradio SM category "Euroradio Release Date" Deadline for the Choruses to confirm the Finals programme "Finals Registration Deadline" EBU Contact Person and e-mail address for Submission Palau de la Música Catalana, Barcelona Catalunya Ràdio Barcelona, Spain 1 November 2018 Autumn 2018 15 November 2018 30 November 2018 1 January 2018 21 December 2018 25 January 2019 30 August 2019 Virginie Robineau Euroradio Project Manager ltps@ebu.ch 1
1. LET THE PEOPLES SING 1.1 Organization The Let the Peoples Sing Euroradio Choral Competition (the "Competition") is an international competition which takes place every two years, and which is organized under the auspices of the European Broadcasting Union as part of its Euroradio activities (the "EBU/Euroradio") and hosted by a public broadcaster organization Member of the EBU (the "Hosting Organization"). 1.2 Purposes The purposes of the Competition are: to stimulate interest in music performed by amateur choruses; to enable the best amateur choruses to perform before the widest possible audience; to allow the EBU to provide multiplatform choral music programming by organizing major music events. The Competition aims to honour, to stimulate production, and to promote to an international audience through broadcasts on various radio networks, amateur choruses complying with the criteria mentioned below under Article 1.5 (the "Chorus(es)"). 1.3 Eligible Participants a) Choruses can be entered in the Competition by any broadcasting organizations which belong to the EBU (collectively referred hereafter to as the "Eligible Organizations") either as: Members Associates Approved Participants b) If there is no Eligible Organization in a given country or if the Eligible Organization does not wish to participate in the Competition, a Chorus may apply on its own direct via the EBU Competition website [ebu.ch/let-the-peoples-sing] (referred to hereafter as the "Individual Chorus(es)"). c) Eligible Organizations and Individual Choruses, by the mere fact of submitting their application for (a) Chorus(es) via the EBU Competition website, shall be deemed to have accepted irrevocably to comply with, and abide by, the present Rules and shall be collectively designated hereafter as the "Entrants". d) More than one Entrant in a given country may take part in the Competition and present Choruses. e) By entering the Competition, the Entrant guarantees that the Choruses will participate in the Finals at their own expense (see more under item 6). 1.4 Delegates Each Entrant shall appoint (a) designated delegate(s) (the "Delegate(s)"), who shall a) represent its Eligible Organization or Individual Chorus in the Competition; b) act as the point of contact with the EBU; c) be responsible for ensuring the proper follow-up of the participation of its Chorus in the Competition (including being responsible for its delegation if selected for the Finals). 2
1.5 Eligible Choruses a) Status of amateurs Any amateur Chorus is eligible to be entered in the Competition. By amateur is meant that no singer shall receive any remuneration for singing in a Chorus entered in the Competition. No singer shall have singing as his or her main profession. This shall not be taken to mean music students or others who earn small fees for singing, for instance, in a church choir or a similar ensemble. The directors of the Choruses may be professionally remunerated for this function. b) Categories There are three Categories in which Choruses can be entered: (i) (iii) Children and Youth Choruses (equal or mixed voices), none of whose members shall be over the age of 25 at 1 January 2019; minimum 8 members. For members of these Choruses who are minors, the EBU shall be provided with a formal parental authorization to take part in the Competition. Adult Choruses (equal or mixed voices); minimum 8 members (no age restriction). Open Category, for choruses and vocal ensembles who perform exclusively music of particular cultural traditions or styles (e.g. folksong, gospel, barbershop, jazz, early music, traditional music, etc.); minimum 4 members (no age restriction). c) Admission (i) (iii) (iv) Choruses having won a prize in the previous Let the Peoples Sing Competition shall not be allowed to take part in this Competition. A Chorus may be entered only in one Category. Each Eligible Organization shall be entitled to present as many Choruses as it wishes in each of the above Categories. Any Chorus which does not meet the criteria of eligibility listed hereunder shall not be entitled to take part in the Competition. 2. SUBMISSION PROCESS 2.1 Application a) Each Entrant is responsible for ensuring that its Chorus(es) correspond exactly to the Eligibility criteria mentioned above. b) Each Chorus needs to be submitted by the Entrants via the EBU Competition website (ebu.ch/letthe-peoples-sing) by the Submission Deadline. 2.2 Registration a) Registration Material to enter the Choruses in the Competition must be sent by each Entrant by the Materials Deadline to the EBU Contact Person at the e-mail address mentioned on the cover page of the present Regulations. b) Registration Material shall consist of: 3
Recordings for selection in the Semi-Finals as per the criteria listed under 2.2 c) for Individual Choruses and 3.1 a) hereafter; Scanned scores; Biographical notes (500 words maximum) and description of the Choruses, including details on their members; Copy of the ID for each member for the Children and Youth Category as well as a parental authorization for the minors is compulsory for the registration process. c) In the case of Individual Chorus(es), the Recordings will be listened to by a group of selected representatives from radio organizations Members of the EBU so that they can assess whether the Competition's expected artistic level to take part in the Semi-Finals is met. The EBU shall inform each Individual Chorus by the Individual Chorus Notification Deadline whether they have been retained to participate or not in the Semi-Finals. The decision shall be final and binding. No appeal shall be possible. d) By the Finals Registration Deadline at the latest, the Choruses will be asked to update any information about their members, indicate the arrival of new members, provide the EBU with a mandatory copy of the ID of each new member (Children and Youth Category only), etc. and confirm the final programme that will be performed at the Finals. 3. RUNNING OF THE COMPETITION The Competition shall take place in two stages: the Semi-Finals and Finals. 3.1 The Semi-Finals The Semi-Finals shall be organized at the EBU Geneva headquarters during the period indicated in the Schedule, with the on-site presence of an International EBU Jury. a) Recording / Music piece criteria Each Entrant must submit a Recording consisting of at least three contrasting music pieces. At least two pieces must be sung without the use of any instruments at all (body-produced sound effects are allowed). The rest of the Recording may include non-pitch-giving instruments, but these should be played by members of the Chorus. The total duration shall be not less than 10 minutes and not longer than 15 minutes. In both the Adult and Children and Youth categories, the Recording shall include music pieces of at least two different stylistic periods or musical genres/styles. Each music piece must be performed in one take (without interruption), with or without the presence of an audience. There shall be no musical editing of the Recording. The Recording of the music pieces must have been produced after the Recording Date. Choruses are not permitted to use any kind of amplification or other electronic manipulation of the natural choral balance and sound. b) Selection The International EBU Jury reserves the right to move any Chorus into another Category. 4
(i) Composition of the EBU International Jury During the Semi-Finals, an international jury shall listen to all the Recordings selected for the Semi- Finals (the "EBU International Jury"). Evaluation/voting process The EBU International Jury shall evaluate the Recordings submitted by the Entrants with the aim to select on a majority basis at the most the nine best Choruses who shall perform in the Finals (the "Finalists"). There shall not be necessarily the same number of Finalists in each Category. There may not be more than one Chorus from the same country in each Category. The results will be announced on the EBU Competition website on the Finalist Announcement Date. 3.2 The Finals a) Performance The Finals shall be held in the form of a multiplatform public concert that shall be broadcast live. The Finalists must perform live in the Finals, in person. b) Music Criteria (i) For the Children and Youth as well as Adult Categories In the Children and Youth and Adult Categories, each Chorus of this Category shall perform a programme of a maximum of 10 minutes of music. The programme may consist of several works, or a single one. The programme must be different from the one submitted for the Semi-Finals. There shall be no restrictions as to period and style: the programme should simply show the Chorus at its best. The programme must be performed completely acoustically, without any kind of amplification or electronic manipulation of the voices. At least one piece must be sung without the use of any instruments. The rest of the programme may include non-pitch-giving instruments played by members of the Chorus. If the programme consists of only one piece, this must be sung without the use of any instruments (bodyproduced sound effects are allowed). For the Open Category Each Chorus or vocal ensemble shall perform a programme of a maximum of 10 minutes of music. The programme may consist of several works or a single one. The programme must be different from that of the Semi-Finals. There shall be no restrictions as to period and style: the programme should simply show the Chorus at its best. The programme must be performed completely acoustically, without any kind of amplification or electronic manipulation of the voices. At least one piece must be sung without the use of any instruments. The rest of the programme may include up to three instruments of any kind, which must be played by active members of the Chorus or by other amateur musicians. 5
Instruments may be used only as accompaniment and may not play a leading role in the performance. If the programme consists of only one piece, this must be sung without the use of any instruments (bodyproduced sound effects are allowed). c) Selection of the winners (i) Composition of the Finals Jury The Finals Jury shall include experts in choral music representing various choral traditions. The Members and its Chairman shall be appointed by the EBU Music Group by the Finals Jury Appointment Date. The members of the Finals Jury shall be chosen among experts within Members of the EBU and the professional choral milieu which shall include: 1. a representative of the Host Organization; 2. representatives of four other EBU Members or Associates; 3. two high-profile choral personalities. Evaluation/voting process The Finals Jury shall vote after each of the three Categories to determine the winner in each Category. The winner in each category shall be the Chorus which receives the highest number of votes from the Finals Jury. The Finals Jury shall also determine which Chorus shall be awarded the Silver Rose Bowl as the overall winner of the Competition. In awarding the Silver Rose Bowl, the Finals Jury decisions shall be made by consensus. In the event of serious disagreement amongst the Finals Jury members, a vote shall be taken. In the event of an equal number of votes, the vote of the Chairman of the Finals Jury shall count double. The Chairman may transfer this right to other members of the Finals Jury if national or other special interests are at stake. Travel and accommodation costs for the Finals Jury members shall be borne by their respective organization. The costs for Jury members from outside the Euroradio network shall be borne by the EBU. 4. COMPETITION AWARD All Finalists shall receive a diploma prepared by the EBU, mentioning their participation in the Finals. There shall be a prize-winner in each Category. The winner of the Silver Rose Bowl shall be entitled to keep the prize for two years until the winner of the next competition is known and will be invited to perform as a special guest in the next Competition. 5. RIGHTS CLEARANCE 5.1 Authorizations and consents By submitting (an) Entry(ies) in the Competition, each Entrant confirms that it has obtained, or will have obtained by the Submission Deadline, all necessary authorizations and clearances from all relevant 6
composers, authors and any other rights holders in the programme to validly present it at the Competition and offer it for broadcast use by third parties as foreseen under the present Rules. 5.2 Euroradio Offer for the Semi-Finals Recordings By submitting a Recording for the Semi-Finals in the Competition, each Entrant confirms that all materials and performances included in the Recording of the Semi-Finals are fully cleared so as to enable the making available of the programme in the Euroradio SM category for broadcast by Euroradio Members at no cost on any non-downloadable media platform and for an unlimited number of broadcasts and for an unlimited period. The offer will be released by the Euroradio Release Date. 5.3 Exploitation of the Finals By registering in the Competition, each Entrant confirms that it has all rights in order to enable the recording and the live broadcast of the Finals by the Host Organization and to permit the Finals to be transmitted live on a worldwide basis via Euroradio public broadcasters via any means or platforms (including via the EBU Members own Web sites, on the EBU s video platform, Euroradio 2See on a live and deferred basis for an unlimited number of times and for an unlimited period). 5.4 Indemnification By submitting a Chorus in the Competition, each Entrant undertakes to indemnify all organizations concerned and the EBU/Euroradio against any claims whatsoever arising from composers, authors or any other rights holders in respect of any broadcast or other uses of the performances of the Choruses pursuant to the present Rules. 6. MISCELLANEOUS By submitting a Chorus in the Competition, each Entrant acknowledges that: Although the Host Organization will provide the Choruses with support to find hotel accommodation in the Host City, all costs linked to the participation in the Competition (including costs linked to travel, accommodation, food, etc.) shall be borne by the Choruses themselves. No costs shall be reimbursed. During the Finals, the Host Organization will provide transport between the airport and hotel as well as between the hotel and the Venue. The latter applies only in cases where the Chorus is staying in a place that is not within walking distance of the Venue. All decisions of any of the Juries hereunder (including any proceedings or results of the Competition) shall be final and binding. No appeal against the EBU or the Eligible Organizations shall be possible. Participation of minors in the Competition requires the written express consent of the holders of the parental authority over the child; minors under 16 should be accompanied at all times throughout the Event Period by an adult who has been endorsed by the holder of the parental responsibility. Specific additional provisions may be applicable to comply with the national legislation of the Host Country. It shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that its Chorus, should it win the Silver Rose Bowl, be prepared to perform in the next Competition as a Special Guest. Participation in the Competition implies full and complete acceptance of the present Regulations, and the EBU shall have no responsibility with respect to complaints that may be filed by any Chorus. The EBU shall be liable for the proper process of the Individual Choruses' participation in the 7
Competition only. Each Eligible Organization shall remain liable to process the participation of its own Chorus. 8