The award's aim is to encourage musicians and performers to write material meaningful to working-class people and communities
The Award is now open for submissions, this year it will focus on five themes: Climate Emergency, Our Culture, More Than Profit, Workers’ Lives and Global Solidarity.
The new Award is a practical example of cultural democracy, with the aim of encouraging musicians and performers to write material meaningful to working-class people and communities, and to encourage those communities to develop and practice their creativity.
Entry is free and there is a £100 cash prize for each of the top five entries. The judges will be drawn from practising performers, the CWU, the MU, and members of Culture Matters.
Ron Brown, MU Regional Committee and Judge 2019, said:
“The Bread and Roses Award is a fantastic opportunity for voices of the working class to be heard through song and poetry. The MU is very pleased to be supporting the Award again this time round.
“As one of the judges for the 2019 Award, it was a pleasure to listen to the very high quality of work submitted by the entrants, and I am very much looking forward to hearing all the entries submitted for the 2020 Award and once again being part of the judging panel.
“Submit your work and be heard!”
How to enter
Entry is open to all, regardless of trade union membership. The submission guidelines are as follows:
- Entries should cover one or more of the following broad themes: Climate Emergency; Our Culture; More Than Profit; Workers' Lives; and Global Solidarity.
- Entries can be from solo or bands of artists/performers, and are actively encouraged from grassroots, younger and emerging performers.
- Entries should be one song or performance of original material, in English, either unpublished or previously published after 1 January 2019.
- Entries should be submitted as audio or live/pre-recorded video files (MP3/4 format or video) via email. All entries will be judged equally, but some video entries may be also selected to feature on the Culture Matters YouTube channel.
- Entry is free and is open to all residents of Great Britain, regardless of trade union membership. Culture Matters will fund five prizes of £100 each.
- All entries will remain the copyright of the entrant, but CWU and Culture Matters will have the right to publish them online and in other media.
- The organisers accept no responsibility for entries that are incorrectly submitted or not delivered due to technical faults.
- By entering the Award, entrants agree to accept and be bound by the rules of the Award and the decisions of the judges.
- Due to the likely volume of entries, the organisers regret that they cannot enter into correspondence with individual entrants.
Entries should be sent via email to: entriesculturematters@gmail.com
The deadline for receipt of submissions is midnight on December 14 2019. When emailing submissions, please provide your full name, chosen theme, postal address and phone number.