Terms & Conditions

  • 1. The name of the competition is the Sound of Summer.
  • 2. All members of the band/ act must be at least 18 years old before first local competition and must be free of contract to play at all events. All band members must provide age verification as required by each Venue Manager. Failure to provide satisfactory age verification will result in disqualification.
  • 3. Bands can have no more than 6 members.
  • 4. All band members must be UK residents throughout the competition period.
  • 5. The competition is not open to:
    • employees of the Promoter or its holding or subsidiary companies (or subsidiaries of its holding company);
    • employees of agents or suppliers of the Promoter or its holding or subsidiary companies (or subsidiaries of its holding company), who are professionally connected with the competition or its administration; or
    • members of the immediate families or households of the above two categories.
  • 6. Entrants must sign up to the competition via the Sound of Summer website. A list of participating venues can be seen on the Sound of Summer website. You will be required to select a venue at which to compete in the first stage of the competition.
  • 7. All entries must be received either online or to the relevant participating Venue Manager no later than midnight on 30th April 2018. All competition entries received after the closing date are automatically disqualified.
  • 8. First stage local competitions will take place between 6th May-9th June at the participating Venues. A limited number of places will be available at each participating venue for the initial local competition.
  • 9. The Venue Manager will select which entrants will participate in the initial local competition for that venue based on, among other things, any video or other social media submitted in support of the band’s entry, a live trial (if requested by the Venue Manager), and the quality and appropriateness of the band and its music style to the particular venue. The Venue Manager’s decision will be final and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into. The local competition winners will be voted for by the public present in the venue at the time of the event
  • 10. One winner per venue from the local competition stage will progress to regional semi-finals which will take place between 12th July – 9th August at venues to be notified. One winner per regional semi-final will progress to the national final which will take place at O’Neill’s Wardour Street, London. The regional winner will be decided by a judging panel, by majority vote. The judges’ decision will be final and binding and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into.
  • 11. The winner of the Sound of Summer competition will be announced on the night of the final. The regional semi-finals and national final winners will be chosen by a panel of judges, by majority vote. The judges’ decision will be final and binding and no correspondence or discussion will be entered into. A list of names of the judges can be viewed at the offices of the Promoter set out in condition 32 from the day after the national final for a period of seven days.
  • 12. Entrants’ participation at each stage will be confirmed via the communication details provided on the relevant entry form. As much notice of the event dates and times will be given. By submitting an entry, each band confirms that it will be available throughout the competition period to participate in the competition as required.
  • 13. Each band is allowed to perform 3 songs during all competitions, and only cover 1 song is permitted, everything else must be original material. The band is responsible for obtaining appropriate licences if it is not the owner of the material being performed.
  • 14. The winning band will be entitled to perform at a festival, on a date, time, and venue to be advised by the Promoter or its agent.
  • 15. The winning band must return to play a gig at O’Neill’s, on a date, time, and venue to be notified by the Promoter.
  • 16. The Promoter reserves all rights to disqualify entrants if their conduct is contrary to the spirit or intention of the competition. The Promoter may at its discretion refuse entry to, or remove competitors from, each participating venue, and disqualify entrants.
  • 17. Entrants will be required to supply their own equipment and must pay for all their own travel and any expenses incurred throughout the competition.
  • 19. The Promoter will not accept: responsibility for competition entries that are lost, mislaid, damaged or delayed in transit, regardless of cause, including, for example, as a result of any postal failure, equipment failure, technical malfunction, systems, satellite, network, server, computer hardware or software failure of any kind; or proof of posting or transmission as proof of receipt of entry to the competition.
  • 20. The Promoter will not accept competition entries that are:
    • automatically generated by computer;
    • completed by third parties or in bulk;
    • illegible, have been altered, reconstructed, forged or tampered with;
    • photocopies and not originals; or
    • incomplete
  • 21. All competition entries and accompanying material submitted to the Promoter will become the property of the Promoter on receipt and will not be returned. By agreeing to the terms and conditions entrants acknowledge they will be filmed performing and videos of their performances will be shared across the Sound of Summer website, and across the Promoter’s (and its affiliates’, suppliers’ and distributors’) websites and social media.
  • 22. Entrants agree that the Promoter may, but is not required to, make such recordings available as set out above and on any other media, whether now known or invented in the future, and in connection with any publicity of the competition. Each entrant agrees to grant the Promoter a non-exclusive, worldwide, irrevocable licence, for the full period of any intellectual property rights in the competition entry and any accompanying materials, and any recordings and photographs of any performance, to use, display, publish, transmit, copy, edit, alter, store, re-format and sub-licence such materials for such purposes.
  • 23. If you are the winners of the competition, you agree that the Promoter may use your names, image and town or county of residence to announce the winners of this competition and for any other reasonable and related promotional purposes. Where required by the Promoter the entrants agree to participate in such publicity and promotional events as the Promoter shall reasonably require.
  • 24. The Promoter reserves the right to amend the voting and judging processes outlined above before each competition stage or event takes place.
  • 25. The winner agrees to the passing on of their contact details and to be contacted by the Promoter (or its agent or suppliers) to receive their prize. The Promoter does not accept any responsibility if the winning band is not able to take up its prize or if it cannot be contacted by the communication method provided within a reasonable time to claim or arrange the prize.
  • 26. The prizes are non-transferable and cannot be sold or auctioned. No cash or alternative prize will be offered. The Promoter reserves the right to replace the prize with an alternative prize of equal or higher value if circumstances beyond the Promoter's control makes it necessary to do so.
  • 27. The name of the winning entry can be viewed at the offices of the Promoter set out in condition 32 from the day after the national final for a period of seven days.
  • 28. Insofar as is permitted by law, the Promoter, its affiliated companies, agents or distributors will not in any circumstances be responsible or liable to compensate the winners or accept any liability for any loss, damage, personal injury or death occurring as a result of taking up the prize except where it is caused by the negligence of the Promoter, its agents or distributors or that of their employees. The winners’ statutory rights are not affected.
  • 29. By entering this competition entrants will be deemed to have accepted and will be bound by these terms and conditions.
  • 30. The Promoter reserves the right to hold void, suspend, cancel, or amend the competition where it becomes necessary to do so.
  • 31. These terms and conditions shall be governed by English law, and the parties submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
  • 32. The promoter of the competition is Mitchells & Butlers Leisure Retail Limited, 27 Fleet Street, Birmingham, B3 1JP.