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Fantastic Scholastic Recording Competition 3

2007 FANTASTIC SCHOLASTIC COMPETITION WINNER ANNOUNCED
Congratulations to the team from the Music Production and Engineering Department at The Berklee College of Music , this year's winner of the Shure Fantastic Scholastic Recording Competition 3.

The five-member team of Kevin Brewer, Ian Kagey, Mike Laglia, Miquel Lara, and Jorge Velasco, with faculty advisor, Professor Rob Jaczko, won this year's contest with an original composition by Farah Siraj entitled "Pienso En Ti" (copyright Farah Siraj, arrangement Jorge Velasco & Andres Rothistrovsky).

Read the Press Release for more information

Fantastic Scholastic 3 - Recording Competition Winner

Download this year's winning project (7 MB pdf) 
Download Pienso En Ti - copyright Farah Siraj (5.5 MB 192kbps mp3)

Shure is committed to supporting emerging musicians and recording engineers. This is why we launched the Fantastic Scholastic Recording Competition for students enrolled in four-year, degreed audio education programs.

Fantastic Scholastic 3 Poster

Download a copy of this year's Fantastic Scholastic Poster (3.5 MB pdf) 

PRIZES

The school represented by the winning team takes ownership of the entire Microphone Locker, consisting of:

The school represented by the winning team also receives a donation of $3000.00 towards a scholarship fund for that school. Each individual member of the winning student team (no more than five members) receives a KSM27/SL large single-diaphragm microphone of retail value $575.00. 
 

COMPETITORS

Thanks again to the student and faculty participants for all their hard work throughout the competition. 
Below are the ten schools selected by random drawing to participate in last year's contest. Stay tuned for details regarding next year's contest.

JUDGES

Shure would like to thank our 2007 Fantastic Scholastic Recording Competition judges, Chuck Ainlay, Steve Albini, Mike Fraser, Ryan Hewitt, and Trina Shoemaker for all the time and energy they contributed to judging the contest. Stay tuned for details regarding next year's competition.

Last year's judges:

Chuck Ainlay is an acclaimed audio engineer whose long and successful career has allowed him to work with many of the world's finest artists, musicians and producers; developing a diverse list of clients that ranges from George Strait to Dire Straits. He has received multiple T.E.C. and Grammy Award nominations as well as a winning one of each in 2006 and 2005, respectively, for Best Surround Album (Brothers in Arms; Dire Straits).

Steve Albini is an influential singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He has recorded albums for Nirvana, PJ Harvey, the Breeders, the Pixies, Helmet, Cheap Trick, Jesus Lizard, The Frames, Bush, and "about 1000+ bands you've never heard of.” In addition to having performed with bands such as Big Black, Rapeman, and Shellac, he is also founder and owner of Electrical Audio Studios in Chicago.

Mike Fraser is a world-class mix engineer who has worked with the likes of legendary producers Bruce Fairbairn and Bob Rock, and bands such as Aerosmith, AC/DC, Metallica, Rush, Satriani and Motley Crue. Fraser continues to push the limits of his craft with recording projects for Hedley, Hinder, Tal Bachman, Scotland’s Biffy Clyro and others. He recently expanded his repertoire to include country music, and has enjoyed success in Nashville working with producer Garth Fundis and bands Big and Rich, Emerson Drive and Terri Clark.

Ryan Hewitt was practically born in a recording studio. Apprenticing with his father David Hewitt since the age of 13 and assisting at Sony Studios in New York and Cello Studios in Los Angeles, Ryan was fortunate to receive an education in audio from some of the best engineers and producers in the business. He has since gone on to record and mix records for bands such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, blink-182 and the Alkaline Trio.

Trina Shoemaker is a T.E.C. Award and multi-Grammy Award winning record producer, mixer and sound engineer responsible for producing/engineering and/or mixing records for popular bands including Queens of the Stone Age, Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Something for Kate, Nanci Griffith and many more.

SHURE FANTASTIC SCHOLASTIC RECORDING COMPETITION
OFFICIAL COMPETITION RULES 2007

1. HOW TO ENTER: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.
   
   ELIGIBILITY / SELECTION OF PARTICIPANTS IN THE COMPETITION
   
   Ten (10) entries will be chosen from all eligible entries in a random drawing (a "Drawing" as defined below) to participate in the 2007 Shure Fantastic Scholastic Recording Competition (the "Competition"). The Competition is open to teams of students enrolled at a college, university or institution of higher learning located within the fifty United States or the District of Columbia who are pursuing a bachelor's degree program with a focus or concentration in fields related to Audio Engineering, for example, Music Production, Audio Recording or Engineering, Electronic Media, Sound Recording, or a similar program (each such educational institution is referred to as a "School" and a team of students at a School is referred to as a "Team"). Each Team may be comprised of no more than five students and must have a faculty advisor (who serves on the teaching faculty in a music or related department at the same School as the Students) who serves as the Contact Person (defined below) for the Team in connection with the Competition. Only one entry per School is permitted for consideration in the Drawing (as defined below). In the event that multiple entries are received from a School, Shure will conduct a random drawing from among all entries received from a particular School prior to the Drawing so that only one entry from each School is entered into the Drawing. Failure to abide by these Official Competition Rules ("Official Rules") will result in disqualification.
   
   For a chance to participate in the Competition, the Team's Contact Person should complete the official entry form available at the Shure Fantastic Scholastic Recording Competition website at www.shure.com/contest (the "Competition website"). The official entry form requires Entrants (as defined below) to specify all Team members who will participate in the engineering, producing, and recording of the recording that will be submitted in the Competition (the "Recording") if such official entry form is selected in the Drawing detailed below. The official entry form must be completed completely and accurately and submitted during the Registration Period to be eligible to participate in the Competition. The Registration Period begins at 12:00 a.m. Central Standard Time on Tuesday, September 12, 2006 and ends 11:59 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, October 20, 2006. For purposes of the administration of the Competition and award of any prizes, Sponsor will communicate with the faculty advisor listed on the official entry form and such person with be deemed the "Contact Person." Contact Person, on behalf of himself and/or herself and all Team members represents and warrants that he or she and the Team members, as the case may be, have all authority, rights, and permission to submit the Recording in the Competition. Any licenses or permissions required to include the musical compositions embodied in the Recording shall be the sole responsibility of the Entrants. Entrants must use their legal names in connection with their entry in the Competition. Entry in the Competition constitutes each Entrant's consent to receive additional promotional information from Sponsor (as used in these Official Rules, the term "Entrant" refers to the Contact Person and Team members). The Official Rules will be posted at the Competition website for the duration of the Competition.
   
   The Competition is sponsored by Shure Incorporated ("Sponsor"). Sponsor assumes no responsibility for any lost, late, misdirected, illegible or incomplete entries, or for any computer, software, online, telephonic, data entry or technological malfunctions. If for any reason the Competition is not capable of being conducted as contemplated in the Official Rules, including, without limitation, if due to computer virus, bugs, tampering or technical failures which compromise the administration or integrity of the Competition, Sponsor, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to terminate or modify the Competition. All entries become the property of the Sponsor and none will be returned. Sponsor and Competition judges reserve the right to disqualify any Entrant who tampers with or attempts to tamper with the entry procedure or the Competition website or violates these Official Rules.
   
   COMPETITOR SELECTION/RECORDING CRITERIA/RECORDING SUBMISSION
   
   On or about October 24, 2006, ten (10) entries will be selected by random drawing from the pool of entries made on the official entry form and submitted during the Registration Period (the "Drawing"). Subject to eligibility confirmation, the Teams designated in those selected entries will have an opportunity to submit a Recording in the Competition. Any ineligible entries drawn or Entrants than notify Shure on or before October 30, 2006 that they have opted not to submit a Recording will be disqualified in which case additional random drawings will be held until a total of ten valid entries of Teams have been selected.
   
   The Teams selected to submit Recordings in the Competition ("Recording Teams") will be posted at www.shure.com/contest on or about October 30, 2006.
   
   On or about October 30, 2006 Sponsor will send to each Contact Person for the Recording Teams a Shure microphone kit ("Toolkit" as defined below), on a loan basis only, for use in making the Recording. The "Toolkit" is defined as the following Shure products: two KSM27/SL, two KSM32/SL, two KSM44/SL, two KSM141/SL, four SM57-LC, one Beta 52A, one Beta91, three Beta 98D/S, one SM7B, one VP88, and one A27M. The Contact Person agrees to return the Toolkit to Shure no later than Monday, February 12, 2007 whether or not a Recording is submitted.
   
   The recording shall be of a live ensemble (no sequencing, samplers, or line level sources) using only the following Shure microphones provided by Sponsor and no other microphones: KSM44/SL, KSM32/SL, KSM27/SL, KSM141/SL, Beta 52A, Beta91, Beta98D/S, SM7B, SM57-LC, VP88, A27M. The Recording shall not exceed five minutes in length. The musical content is at the discretion of the Recording Teams, subject to the above limitations, as long as the submitted Recording contains at least one vocal track. The production and engineering may only be conducted by Recording Team members.
   
   Completed projects must be received on a single CD by Shure at KSM Student Recording Competition, 5800 W Touhy Ave, Niles IL, 60714 (the "Competition Address") by 11:59 p.m. on February 9, 2007. Recording projects must be delivered in Red Book CD audio format (16 bit, 44.1kHz sample rate). The CD must include the following production notes: A) song name, song composer(s), copyright owner of the musical composition and sound recording; B) performers; C) track list for the finished mix; D) designation of microphone used on each track (source); E) placement for each microphone (approximate distance and angle relative to source); F) polar pattern, sensitivity pad, filters used (if applicable); and G) microphone preamp and signal path from microphone to recording device. In addition to the above information, each team is required to provide digital photographic files sufficient to show microphone placement as well as an electronic project journal (at least five pages in length and in Microsoft Word format) documenting microphone selection, microphone technique, and signal path choice. Each digital photograph must be no larger than 10MB and in TIFF or JPG format.
   
   
2. ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS
   Sponsor, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotional agencies and the immediate family members of each are not eligible. Any School named the winner of the 2006 Shure Fantastic Scholastic Recording Competition and any participant on such winning team is ineligible to participate in the Competition. Entry in the Competition constitutes the agreement of Entrants to be bound by these Official Rules. Entrants agree to be bound by the decisions of the Competition judges and such decisions shall be final. In the event of a tie, the Competition judges will break the tie by re-judging the tied entries. All decisions of the Competition judges shall be final.
   
   
3. COMPETITION JUDGING/WINNER SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION
   Recordings will be judged by the Competition judges utilizing the following criteria: (a) Clarity of Sound (30%; fidelity, signal to noise ratio and overall clarity of acoustic sources), (b) Microphone Technique (30%; selection and placement of microphones as they contribute to the overall spectral balance and stereo field, consideration given to creative, or unusual use of microphone selection and placement, phase coherence or room acoustics), (c) Mixing Technique (30%; overall sonic balance of the combined acoustic sources and placement of musical elements in the stereo field. Greater consideration will be given to effective and creative placement and relative levels of recorded sources in the stereo field and lesser consideration given to the effective use of equalization, compression and other signal processing of sources to create an engaging mix), and (d) Performance/Production (10%; evaluated on performance characteristics over which the recording engineer has some control. For example, poor intonation of instruments, audible edits or "punch-ins" and inconsistencies within composite takes will grade less well. Especially energetic or dynamic performances, and especially creative arrangements, instrumentation or use of overdubs will grade better).
   
   At the conclusion of the judging, a tentative Grand Prize Winner will be declared, pending confirmation of the eligibility of the applicable Entrant(s) and receipt of an Affidavit of Eligibility, Release of Liability and Publicity Release from such Entrant(s). Announcement of the Grand Prize Winner will take place on or about May 4, 2007. Within fourteen (14) days of attempted notification that a Team is the tentative Grand Prize Winner, the Entrant(s) submitting the Recording designated as the tentative Grand Prize Winner will be required to execute an Affidavit of Eligibility and Liability and Publicity Release. By entering the Competition or by accepting a prize each Entrant agrees that Sponsor, the Competition judges, and their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and the officers, directors, agents and employees of any of the above entities (collectively, "Competition Parties") are not liable for injury, loss, death, or damage of any kind due to or associated with acceptance, possession, use or misuse of the Toolkit and any prize and/or participation in the Competition. Except where prohibited by law, Entrants submitting the Grand Prize Winning Recording further grant to the Sponsor the right to use such Entrants names, photographs, voices, likeness, and city of residence for purposes of advertising, promoting and publicizing the efforts and activities of the Sponsor without further consideration or approval, except where prohibited. Non-compliance or the return of any prize notification as undeliverable may result in disqualification and selection of an alternate Grand Prize Winner.
   
   
4. PRIZES
   The School represented by the Grand Prize Winning Team will take ownership of the Toolkit which the Sponsor has loaned to such school for its Team's participation in the Competition. The approximate combined retail value of the Shure microphones comprising the Toolkit is $12,300. The school represented by the Grand Prize Winning Team will also receive a donation of three thousand dollars ($3000) from the Sponsor towards a scholarship fund for that school. Additionally, each member of the Grand Prize Winning Team will receive a KSM27/SL microphone (approximate retail value $575).
   
   Sponsor reserves the right not to award any prize or prizes, should Competition judges, in their opinion, deem insufficient entries satisfactory to warrant the award of a prize or prizes as the case may be.
   
   
5. GENERAL TERMS/CONDITIONS. GRANT OF LICENSE TO SPONSOR
   All federal, state, and local taxes on prizes awarded in the Competition are the sole responsibility of the recipients. No prize substitutions permitted, except by Sponsor, who may substitute a prize of equal or greater value if advertised prize becomes unavailable. Prize is not transferable.
   
   Entrants should retain at least one copy of the Recording, and hereby release Sponsor from any and all liability for loss of, or damage to, the copy of the Recording submitted. Sponsor may, at its discretion, keep or discard any entry after completion of the judging. Recordings submitted in the Competition may not have won previous awards. Team members must also be amateur engineers. An amateur engineer means that during the twelve-month period preceding the start of the Competition such person did not earn more than $5,000 from recording and/or engineering, including any income earned from royalties and any monies earned from any other recording and/or engineering contests. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel or suspend this Competition should causes beyond the Sponsor's control corrupt the administration, security or proper administration of the Competition.
   
   
6. LIST OF WINNERS
   For the name of the Grand Prize Winner, available after May 18, 2007 and before August 31, 2007, send a self-addressed stamped envelope (except where not required by State law) to: Competition Winner's List at the Competition Address.
   
   
7. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED
   The Competition, including the interpretation of these rules, is governed by the laws of the state of Illinois and is VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.