Oumou Sangaré named International Songwriting Competition jury member

Now in its 20th year, the ISC was created to recognise great songwriters and to provide a platform to be heard. The competition is open to both professional and amateur songwriters, signed or unsigned, and offers a valuable opportunity for songwriters to get more recognition for their music. 

Sangaré goes by the nickname ‘The Songbird of Wassoulou‘ and is behind eight solo albums. She has appeared on multiple collaborative projects including Beyoncé’s 2017 album The Lion King: The Gift. She joins a host of international musicians and record label executives who will select some 70 winners in 23 categories this year. The winners will share more than $150 000 in cash and prizes, of which $25 000 is reserved for the grand prize.

In honour of its 20th anniversary, the ISC recently announced the Founder’s Choice Award, which will be given to an artist as selected by the competition’s founder and the ISC listening committee. The $10 000 cash award will be given in addition to the $25 000 grand prize recipient selected by the judges. 

“In addition to cash and merchandise prizes, winners benefit from a multilateral promotional campaign designed to give international exposure and attention to their songwriting achievements,” the ISC said. 

Past ISC winners include Tones and I, Illenium, Vance Joy, Faouzia, Gotye, Passenger, and The Teskey Brothers, among many others. 

Earlier in August, the competition announced this year’s finalists who include African artists Kojau (Uganda/R&B-Hip Hop category), LiveFAST (Botswana/R&B-Hip Hop category), Maffymiller (Nigeria/R&B-Hip Hop category), Tarrah (Nigeria/Screenshot category), Daraa Tribes (Morocco/World Music category), King B-Fine and Afrikaya Band (Sierra Leone/World Music category), M6Day (Guinea/World Music category), Mikahely (Madagascar/World Music category), Orobosa Phil (Nigeria/World Music category) and Vaughn Prangley (South Africa/Teen category).

Public voting is ongoing here.