Rules of the Chummervision Song Contest

The rules of the Chummervision Song Contest are as follows. All countries must abide by these rules when choosing their representative songs. Failure to do so can result in disqualification of the song and pressure from the CBU to the said country to choose another song in time, and ultimately could even result in disqualification of the country itself.

=Rules=

Originality
Songs entered must be completely original. They cannot:
 * Be a cover version of another song
 * Be a new version of a song older than 13/14 months
 * Directly sample another song (including the melody or lyrics of said song)
 * Be a parody version of another song
 * Be a song that was entered in a previous Chummervision Song Contest
 * Be a song entered by another country in the same contest

Explicit Content
Songs must not contain any explicit language. Any country that enters a song containing explicit language will be required to provide a clean version of the song with all expletives removed in time for the contest. Failure to do so will result in the disqualification of the song and the country will be asked to provide another song with no expletives. If they continue to fail to provide a clean representative song, this will result in the disqualification of said country with no questions asked.

Length
Songs must not exceed 4 minutes 30 seconds in length. This was brought about after the winter edition of the 2012 Chummervision Song Contest ran overtime due to several songs being over 5 minutes in length. As opposed to this, song must also be no shorter than 2 minutes. They must be properly structured songs that run long enough for the juries and public to make a fair decision.

Age
Typically songs must not be older than 13/14 months. This means they cannot have been publicly released via the internet, radio or as a physical/digital single before 13/14 months on the date of the contest. This does not include the timespan of which the song was written or recorded. In the Winter contest, songs cannot be older than January 1st of the previous year. In the Summer contest, songs cannot be older than June 1st of the previous year.


 * Winter Contests:
 * The cut-off date for songs in Winter contests is December 31st 20XX (e.g. for the Winter 2013 contest, this date would be December 31st 2011), which means all songs publicly released on or before this date are not allowed. The general guidelines of this are:
 * Songs must not have been physically/digitally released on or before December 31st 20XX
 * Songs must not be from an album released on or before December 31st 20XX
 * Songs must not have been performed live in public by the artist on or before December 31st 20XX
 * Songs must not have been publicly released online via any streaming sites (such as YouTube) by the artist themself on or before December 31st 20XX
 * Summer Contests:
 * The cut-off date for songs in Summer contests is May 31st 20XX (e.g. for the Summer 2013 contest, this date would be May 31st 2012), which means all songs publicly released on or before this date are not allowed. The general guidelines of this are:
 * Songs must not have been physically/digitally released on or before May 31st 20XX
 * Songs must not be from an album released on or before May 31st 20XX
 * Songs must not have been performed live in public by the artist on or before May 31st 20XX
 * Songs must not have been publicly released online via any streaming sites (such as YouTube) by the artist themself on or before May 31st 20XX
 * Songs must not have been physically/digitally released on or before May 31st 20XX
 * Songs must not be from an album released on or before May 31st 20XX
 * Songs must not have been performed live in public by the artist on or before May 31st 20XX
 * Songs must not have been publicly released online via any streaming sites (such as YouTube) by the artist themself on or before May 31st 20XX
 * Songs must not have been publicly released online via any streaming sites (such as YouTube) by the artist themself on or before May 31st 20XX

Lyrical Content
Songs cannot be purely instrumental. They must also contain a full set of lyrics, as opposed to only one word every few minutes in the song sandwiched between mostly instrumental. This is at the discretion of the CBU; if they find a song contains fewer lyrics than anticipated, the song may be disqualified. In addition to this, the lyrics of the songs cannot contain any commercial references.

Age
There is no specific age restrictions on the performers of the songs. However it is advised that they are over the age of 16 due to the time of the performances.

Quantity
The quantity of members in the performing act must not exceed the stage. This means singing choirs are strictly prohibited.

Submission Deadline
Usually there are no strict deadlines on the submission of songs. However, as of the Summer 2012 Contest, it will be required that all countries submit their songs by the 1st day of the month of the contest. In addition to this, countries must also confirm their participation in the contest 2 months before the upcoming contest takes place.