COMPETITIONS

For Year 9-11 students, this competition invites songs on the theme "Threads of Who We Are," encouraging young songwriters to explore identity, connection, and the experiences that shape them.

Enter the competition by submitting your details, a recording of your song and the lyric sheet. This year's competition will be judged by a panel of judges. The recording and performance quality of the entry is not taken into account in the judging process.

1st place receives a 1:1 mentor session with one of our competition judges and a $500 Rockshop gift card.

ALL finalists will have their song recorded in a professional recording studio (one day to the value of $800 plus gst) to go on the 2025 Junior Songwriting Competition digital album.

Enter this competition by submitting your details, a recording of your song and the lyric sheet.

The theme of peace and non-violence is open to broad interpretation—from personal inner peace, peace at home, to unity among people around the world. We invite young songwriters to explore what peace means to them. The lyrics are the heart of each entry, and there’s no need for the song title to be 'The Peace Song.'

Enter the competition by submitting your details, a recording of your song and the lyric sheet. This year's competition will be judged by a panel of judges. The recording and performance quality of the entry is not taken into account in the judging process.

1st place receives a 1:1 mentor session with one of our competition judges and a $1,000 gift card from the Rockshop.

All finalists will have their song recorded in a professional recording studio (one day to the value of $800 plus gst) to go on the 2025 Peace Song digital album.

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Write a song on any theme and in any language. Open to New Zealand secondary students Years 9-13, this flagship competition encourages creativity across genres and styles.

Enter the competition by submitting your details, a recording of your song and the lyric sheet. This year's competition will be judged by a panel of judges. The recording and performance quality of the entry is not taken into account in the judging process.

1st place receives a 1:1 mentor session with one of our competition judges and a $1,000 gift card from the Rockshop.

The prize for all finalist songs chosen is a day in a professional recording studio (one day to the value of $800 plus gst) to go on the 2025 National Songwriting Competition digital album plus a $50 Rockshop voucher.

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‍Bring your reo rangatira to life through waiata. This competition is open to all secondary school-aged students (Years 9-13) to celebrate and share your kōrero with the world. The waiata must incorporate te reo Māori—whether it’s a few kupu (words) or the entire waiata.

Enter the competition by submitting your details, a recording of your song and the lyric sheet. This year's competition will be judged by a panel of judges. The recording and performance quality of the entry is not taken into account in the judging process.

1st place receives a 1:1 mentor session with one of our competition judges and a $500 Rockshop gift card

ALL winners will have their song recorded in a professional recording studio (one day to the value of $800 plus gst) to go on the 2025 Waiata Reo Māori Competition digital album.

Play It Strange presents an album cover art competitionfor secondary school creatives. Design the album cover art for one or more ofour annual songwriting competitions. The design must be in a square-formatdesign, with space for logos and titles. You can submit more than one artwork.

This competition seeks artwork for the front cover of the annual Play It Strange competitions. You submission could feature as the cover art for our Year 9-11 Songwriting competition, Peace Song Competition, Year 9 - 13 Songwriting Competition or the Te Reo Māori Songwriting Competition.

This competition is open to anyone aged 13 - 19. Enter the competition by submitting your details and a digital file of your artwork. Artwork should be in a square format, with space for logos and the album title.

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