So … with my new epiphany in mind - the one I wrote about in my last blog entry - I have thrown myself into yet another contest.

Guitar Center has a singer/songwriter competition, in search of the next great American songwriter! The grand prize of this contest includes:

• 4-song EP with Don Was
• Mentoring / songwriting session with Colbie Caillat
• Performance on Jimmy Kimmel LIVE!
• $25,000 Cash Prize
• New gear from Acoustic, Avid, Bose, Casio, D'Addario, Gibson, GoPro, Martin, Shure, TC-Group
• and more!

Pretty awesome grand prize!

In order to progress to the next round, I have to stay rated in the top 100 of views. Right now, I am sitting at 66 out of more than 7,700 artists, and I’m climbing. Sure, popularity doesn’t mean a whole lot, but once I make it through this round, my music actually goes to a panel of judges, and regardless of my standing, my work will be evaluated by industry professionals, and, hopefully, I will be a prize winner! The top five artists all take home amazing prizes. I may or may not win, but, like the Utah Music Awards, being among the finalists gives me exposure in the industry and legitimizes my work. So we are hoping for great things!

My husband and family are working overtime to keep my ratings high, but you can help, too! How?? All you have to do is click on this link:

http://songwriter.amplifiertv.com/channel/CathyFordMusic

Then watch the videos. You can do this several times throughout the day, and I get points every time. We have figured out that it will count views from the same device every 2-3 hours, provided that you close out the window and start over every time. You don’t have to register or enter any information in order to help with points. But it helps me out tremendously! And really, it takes only a second to click on the link, and I get credit every time. The first round of the competition runs from now until November 8th, so we have our work cut out for us to keep me in the running until then.

So help me out, friends!! Let’s see how crazy far this ride can take us!

And THANKS … for making me a REAL Musician.