Hey there!
Welcome to the auditions thread of the NEWGROUNDS AUDIO DEATH MATCH 2013! You should definitely read the entirety of this post if you want to take part, because it has all the important details to avoid you making a fool of yourself.
An Audio Deathmatch? What's that?
The NGADM (Newgrounds Audio Death Match) is one of the largest competitions on the website. It's run by Step and I, and is an annual competition that started five years ago. The basic idea is that a number of participants get paired up each round, battle to the death (via music), and then proceed to the next round if they win their pairing. Simple, right? The winner of the final round gets various prizes (see below), including a sum of store credit!
OK, so what should I do?
To take part, simply post what you think is your best song (the one which you feel best represents your talents) in this thread. It may be an old song, a new song, one that's not done yet, or even one that you haven't started. Remember to post only one song - if you change your mind about your best song, then just post again in this thread saying clearly that you've changed your mind. Songs posted elsewhere will not be considered.
Once we've reached the deadline, a team of carefully hand-picked judges will listen to each of your submissions, then professionally and thoroughly procrastinate a lot and eventually hand in their nominations. Don't worry about feeling like you're not good enough to make it in; you should post your audition here anyway, you've really got nothing to lose, and you never know what might happen!
Is there a deadline for auditions?
Yep! You've got till the 15th of July to submit your audition in this thread. After that, no further auditions will be accepted and a five day judging period will start. The competition itself starts on the 20th of July.
What happens after the auditions?
Once the auditions phase is over and the top 64 have been selected, the competition starts instan-
Wait, what? Did you just say top 64?
Yes. This year, unlike in previous years, we're accepting double the amount of participants!
Dayum...
Yeah. As I was going to say before you rudely interrupted me, the 64 finalists will be paired up randomly, and then have 2 weeks to compose a piece they can pit against their opponent's. After these 2 weeks, the judging period will start.
This year, judging will be handled a bit differently. Each judge will still be giving a score for each piece, and an average of all the judges' scores will still be being taken, but due to the huge number of participants, the reviewing workload will be split. In round 1, the 64 pieces will be split amongst the judges evenly, meaning that you won't necessarily be getting a review from each judge.
The number of reviews you get each round will slowly increase as the rounds progress, meaning that getting to the later rounds has the added incentive of getting you more reviews on your track. Also, we encourage you to review each others' tracks and let your competitors know what you think!
Every round of the knockout will have a separate thread (like this one), and all the competitors will be kept up to date via PM. The schedule for the rounds can be found here, along with links to all the different threads as the competition progresses.
There aren't any rules right?
Although the title "deathmatch" might indicate otherwise, this competition is actually very professional and civilised. Mostly.
So yes, there are some rules. Rules for the auditions phase are:
1.) You are allowed to post a track that you've made from scratch for the auditions, or a track that you've made in the past.
2.) The audition track may be a cover/arrangement, but unless you're entering as a team, the track cannot be a collaborative effort.
3.) If you posted your audition track but change your mind and wish to change it, state CLEARLY in the thread.
4.) If you're entering as a team of two, your audition can be a collaborative effort between you and your collab partner, or a track by any one of you individually. Remember, though, that the prize will have to be split between both of you!
5.) Auditions posted after the deadline will not be accepted unless it's for a ridiculously good reason.
Aside from that, we've also got general rules for the knockout competition if you make it through. You can read those here.
What about judges?
So far, the confirmed judges are Step, alternativesolution, bassfiddlejones, Back-From-Purgatory, and myself. Backup judges are being searched for, so if you're interested, send Step a PM.
You said something about prizes?
I sure did! Like every year, we've got a set of prizes, as follows:
1st place:
1.) A 1st place NGADM '13 forum signature.
2.) $75 Newgrounds Store Credit.
3.) The option of a frontpage of one of your songs of your choice.
4.) An audience with the Music Gods.
2nd place:
1.) A 2nd place NGADM '13 forum signature.
2.) $50 Newgrounds Store Credit.
3.) The option of a frontpage of one of your songs of your choice.
4.) A sloppy, wet kiss on the cheek.
3rd place:
1.) A 3rd place NGADM '13 forum signature.
2.) $25 Newgrounds Store Credit.
3.) The option of a frontpage of one of your songs of your choice.
4.) An awkward hug.
Anything else?
Nope! Remember that so far the contest hasn't started. These are just auditions, so nothing's entirely official yet. This means we're open to suggestions, and the stuff above may be altered slightly. We'll be reposting all the updated rules, procedures, etc in the NG Audio Deathmatch thread when the contest starts on the 20th July.
If you're interested, simply post a link to your best submission in this thread before 15th July and you're all set. If you have any problems, or if you wish to express your undying adoration, feel free to send me a PM, or contact me in any way.
So that's that! Let the auditions begin!
