FAQs Competition Rules & Guide

The ScoreLive Competition is part of our GEMS music educational program, open to every composer of any age, nationality and country of residence, who feel they can take on the creative challenge to tell a passionate and original story through music.

If you want to connect with the heart of Hollywood and share your music with an award winning composer during a mentor session, then this is for you.

If you want to hear your music played live and recorded by a professional world class orchestra, then this is for you.

If you want to sing your own song together with an orchestra, whilst it is being played live for you by the orchestra, then this is for you.

If you want to meet an agent, a manager or learn about the music business, then this is for you

If you want to be standing in the same place as some of the best award winning film composers in the world have stood, then this is for you.

If you are ready, then this ScoreLive Competition is for you.

SPACE CHALLENGE VIDEO COMPETITION

WINNER

• The 2025 ScoreLive WINNER Space Challenge Composer Award

• A full scholarship to attend the 2026 GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program which includes:

• 61 Piece Orchestral Recording of your composition

• All classes, programs, events, mentoring and more.

FINALIST

12 composers will win the FINALIST PRIZE, for their original Space Challenge and will receive the following prizes:

• The 2025 ScoreLive FINALIST Space Challenge Composer Award

• A 25% scholarship to the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program

• 61 Piece Orchestral Recording of your composition

• All classes, programs, events, mentoring and more.

RUNNER UP

All Runner Up composers will each receive the following prizes:

• A 10% scholarship to the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program

• 61 Piece Orchestral Recording of your composition

• All classes, programs, events, mentoring and more.

Visit the GEMS website for the full summer program details here

MAIN TITLE COMPETITION

The Main Title Winner will receive the following prizes

WINNER

• The 2025 ScoreLive WINNER Film Composer Main Title Award

• Full scholarship to the 2025 GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program Spain.

• 61 Piece Orchestral Recording of your composition

• All classes, programs, events, mentoring and more.

FINALIST PRIZE

12 composers will win the FINALIST PRIZE for their original Main Title and will receive the following prizes:

• The 2025 ScoreLive FINALIST Film Composer Main Title Award

• A 25% scholarship to the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program including your orchestral recording

• 61 Piece Orchestral Recording of your composition

• All classes, programs, events, mentoring and more.

RUNNER UP PRIZE

All Runner Up composers will each receive the following prizes:

• The ScoreLive RUNNER UP Film Composer Main Title Award

• A 10% scholarship to the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program including your orchestral recording

• 61 Piece Orchestral Recording of your composition

• All classes, programs, events, mentoring and more.

Visit the GEMS website for the full summer program details here

Now in its 8th year, the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program is one of the most popular international film scoring programs in the world, and brings in award winning Hollywood composers, orchestrators, USC tutors, mentoring, music business industry masterclasses, prizes and awards, events, lunches with the maestros and concludes with a professional live orchestral recording. Check it out.

WHAT MUSIC CAN I SUBMIT?

The ScoreLive Competition makes this a real world working experience. It gives you the best possible opportunity to see what you can compose. To show our judges just how well you can write for a big orchestra, or your picture scoring skills and abilities are off the charts!

For the Main Title Competition and the Space Challenge Competition your music must be your own original composition.

SPACE CHALLENGE ENTRY

For the Space Challenge, create a score to the video.

You can submit your Space Challenge as an audio+video file

• Using any library of sounds or real instruments

• We do not require you to add SFX etc, only music

• Your video files comes without an audio track for you to score

MAIN TITLE ENTRY

If you have an original composition you simply love, with a great memorable melody you think would be chosen for its synchronisation potential and would fit perfectly at the top of a movie or series as an iconic main title that's your entry.

You can submit your Main Title as an audio file

• Using any library of sounds or real instruments

So if you are up for the challenge of composing a Main Title or Space Challenge Video then let the composing commence.

Once registered, you will have access to download the video with a start and finishTimecode. You can use these start and finish Timecode points to score between.

• We do not require you to add SFX etc, only music

• The video files comes without an audio track

You can join either competition here

Space Challenge Competition

Main Title Competition

Once on the competition page, go to the registration form, fill in your details, and submit your music or video before the deadline.

Now! Registration is now open

• April 1st 2025 · Registration opens noon (GMT)

• December 1st 2025 · Submission Deadline & Registration close noon (GMT)

• December 24th 2025 · Announcement Day noon (GMT)


You can not submit after the deadline

The deadline can not be extended

We reserve the right to close, postpone or extend the competition deadline.

(Compare GMT with your timezone)

To register you need the following details ready

• your name

• email address

• telephone number with country code

• country of citizenship

• registration fee

• agree to the terms and conditions

Yes.

Once registered, you can submit your music or video anytime before the deadline. Email your music to support@scorelive.london with your name on the audio or video file, or submit your music or video via a file transfer platform to support@scorelive.london

• Registration fee 60 Euros

• plus 5 Euros to cover the PayPal or Credit Card fees.

The registration fee is payable via our website, using PayPal or Credit Card. To avoid disappointment, we recommend payment in advance, before the deadline. We reserve the right to close entry before the competition deadline.

We will announce competition winners and finalists on our ScoreLive Facebook page and our ScoreLive Website and notified you via your registered email, on December 24th 2025.

Yes!

If you win, are a finalist or a runner up and attend the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program, you can record a different composition with the orchestra, other than your competition entry. It must be your own original piece.

July 2026

The Gems Film Scoring Summer Program is in Valencia

The Orchestral Recording is in Madrid

Check out the GEMS website for full details

We would love to welcome you to the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program, either online or in person, so you WIN you get to reap the rewards of the competition and benefit from the full GEMS summer program experience, including the orchestral recording. It’s just great having the winning composer with us and sharing the program with you.

Whilst we understand there may be professional or personal circumstances that prevent you from attending, in order for us to organise your winning place on the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program we would need a commitment from you to attend most or all of the program, either online or in person, to allow us to plan your classes, score reviews, mentor sessions, recordings, events etc.

• Submit your music as an audio file.

• Submit the video with your music embedded as a .mov or .mp4 file

• Title your audio or video file with your full name and track title (this will be removed before judged)

• Use the same email address you used to register when you submit your audio or video file

• Alternatively, send your audio or video file to our email address support@scorelive.london using a file transfer platform such as WeTransfer, Dropbox etc

• In the message section on the file transfer platform, add your full name you used when you registered

We will send you an acknowledgement email once we have successfully received your audio or video file


(No click tracks are required on the video)

For the Main Title

• A minimum of 2:00 minutes

• A maximum of 3:00 minutes

• And anywhere in between

For the Space Challenge

• You can use the start and finish Timecode points to score between. The video is 2:50 minutes

For both the Main Title and the Space Challenge Competition, you can use any orchestral instruments from your DAW sound library, including effects, also voice/s, live instruments, a live band, group or musicians, etc.

No! It’s your choice which instruments you use for your Space Challenge or your Main Title composition. This is your opportunity to create a fantastic composition, so go for it!

The Main Title Winner and Space Challenge Winner can bring their score and parts to the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program for review by our orchestrators who will help prepare the score and parts for your orchestral recording.

If you have been advised to make orchestration or arrangement changes to your composition during your score review sessions on the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program and you chose not to make those changes, this may effect the quality, time and playability of your composition, which could result in an incomplete performance, or not having your piece played at the orchestral recording.

We will work our hardest to ensure your music is performable. ScoreLive reserves the right to cancel the performance of your piece, if it is deemed unplayable by our orchestrator or the director of the orchestra.

We look for the best!

All registered composers submissions will be individually submitted for review and placed in ranking order. The top ranking composer, for each competition, will be announced as the overall winner, followed by the finalists. All composers music is randomised and anonymous when sent to the judges and are graded on the following criteria.

SPACE CHALLENGE COMPETITION

• Demonstrated ability to create an effective score for the video

• Melody & Harmony, Orchestration Skills

• Counterpoint Techniques, Texture Variety

• Spotting

• Originality

MAIN TITLE COMPETITION

• Demonstrated the ability to create an effective piece of music that has Synchronisation Potential and a memorable melody which could be used as a main title in a series or movie

• Demonstrate an understanding of playability for an orchestra (Orchestration)


• Demonstrate Composition 


• Demonstrate Texture Variety



• Demonstrate Melody & Harmony

ScoreLive will provide written feedback for only the winner and if available, for the finalists.

Yes. You keep full ownership and all the authors rights to your music you submitted. Anyone who accepts a prize from the competition agrees to provide a non-exclusive perpetual license to ScoreLive Competition, GEMS Film Scorings Summer Program and founder Nigel Ashley Lees, to share, perform, and promote all or a parts of their work created for the ScoreLive Competition including including your orchestral recording.

You can publish your music you submitted and record with the orchestra for personal use and non commercial purposes. If you wish to publish your music for commercial or professional use, you will need to contact the orchestra and studio for a licence.

No. Publishing, broadcasting, distributing nor sharing of the video in any way with or without your music attached, is not permitted. Please respect the owners rights who made this amazing opportunity available to our composer community.

The videos will be published on the ScoreLive webpage where you can get a link to embed it in to your website.

See FAQ 30

• Be prepared to have an amazing time, ask questions, learn, be yourself, and have fun

• Be punctual and on time for your classes, events and recording

• Remain respectful towards fellow participants, technicians, staff, tutors and musicians

• Attend classes


The winner, finalists and runner ups, who accept the prizes, agree to provide ScoreLive Competition and GEMS full ownership of the any or all audio, video, digital content of them or that includes them, created on, during or for the ScoreLive Competition or GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program, to use in our promotions, marketing and admissions campaign across our social media and websites. Digital content will be shared with all participants for them to use as well.

ScoreLive Competition reserves the right to disqualify, without refund of any or all registration fees, any participant who fails to submit their music by the stated deadline.

By submitting your music, you, the participant agree, that your composition is an original score, song or composition composed only by you.

You cannot submit your entry after the deadline. The deadline cannot be extended for participants. ScoreLive reserves the right to close entry before the competition deadline or extend the deadline.

If sufficient registrations are not met, the ScoreLive Competition may be closed, extended for a new deadline or postponed. All registration fees will be refunded.

Participants hold the competition organisers harmless and will indemnify against any costs or damages or liabilities incurred by breach or alleged breach of this representation.

ScoreLive Competition is under no obligation to provide comments or feedback regarding the submitted composition or the decision process. ScoreLive will provide written feedback for only the winner and if possible the finalists.

ScoreLive Competition deny any responsibility for, and will not be held responsible or liable for, the contents of any internal comments or feedback regarding any score.

If you are under 18, and win, it is exclusively your responsibility to attend the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program in line with any and all legal parental or guardian consent and supervision. ScoreLive will not be held responsible.

Prizes are not transferable to another person nor another date.

Scholarship awards are deducted from the full tuition fee from the GEMS Film Scorings Summer Program. See the GEMS full tuition fees here. The awards will reduce the tuition fee by the percentage won. Tuition fee payments can be paid in instalments.

ScoreLive Competition scholarships are nullified should the competition not run. Your ScoreLive Competition scholarship will be nullified if you decline or do not attend the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program. It will be offered to the next available composer below in the ranking list. If you cannot attend the program what so ever, your prize will be offered to the next available composer below in the ranking list. To ensure someone benefits from the prize.

Whilst we understand there may be professional or personal circumstances that prevent you from attending some or all the program, if the winner can only attend some of the program, online or in person, we will discuss your availability and make a decision, before committing to and awarding the winning prize. Our aim is to make it work for you, be flexible and open to supporting your availability, as best we can, and share this amazing experience with you. If the winners agreed attendance diminishes during the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program, your orchestral recording will be cancelled.

We will refund and return your registration fee within 7 days after registration, before you access the video download page, if applicable, deducting all bank, credit card or PayPal transfer charges we incur upon receipt. Any return fee charges incurred by ourselves or the recipient will not be included. Registration fees will be returned via the same platform from which they were issued.

We will publish your submitted music on our ScoreLive website or our GEMS Youtube channel once the competition has finished. From either of these sites, you can link or embed your music to your personal websites.

ScoreLive reserve the right to make changes to the competition, add updates without notice, change the prizes, delay, extend, postpone, reschedule and cancel the competition. If the ScoreLive Competition is cancelled, registration refunds will be made. Deadlines may be extended for individual cases whom have experienced technical issues, illness, accidents, covid, displacement or war apply. All the ScoreLive Competition details are subject to change.

ScoreLive and GEMS reserves the right to make changes to GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program and add updates without notice and cancel the program. If the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program is cancelled for what ever reason, GEMS and ScoreLive can decide whether to allow the winner, finalists, runner ups to pass on their ScoreLive Competition prizes to the following years GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program or replace them with a cash prize on July 1st 2025, 500€ for the winner, 200€ for the finalists, no runners up cash prize.

The ScoreLive Competition prizes are to attend the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program, in what ever form and content the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program takes.

ScoreLive and GEMS are not responsible for any technical issues from third party providers during the orchestral recording caused by the orchestra, the venue, or video production company.

The published date for the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program, may be subject to change, due to coronavirus pandemic, international travel restrictions, or for any other reason. We advise all bookings should be made once GEMS have confirmed the program will go ahead. Participants are fully responsible for any cancelation or costs for their own travel and accommodation arrangements.

Once registered, the Space Challenge video which will be sent to you, is only for the Scorelive competition. Publishing, broadcasting, distributing, licensed, sold, nor sharing of the Space Challenge video or the images, audio, dialogue within the Space Challenge video in any way with or without your music attached, are not permitted. Not in broadcast, print, online, mobile, internet; other means of publication, both electronic and non-electronic, nor promotional, publicity, teaching, training opportunities on any new, existing or any known digital or terrestrial platform.

By registering for any ScoreLive Competition, you agree to all of the ScoreLive competition terms of use and conditions listed on this FAQ page. Failure to comply to their terms of use could result in action against you from any of our collaborators.

Please respect the image and IP owners rights who make these amazing opportunity available to our composer community.

Due to the current global coronavirus health situation, and the recurrence of coronavirus, the form and content of the GEMS Film Scoring Summer Program may change.

All decisions by the Jury and ScoreLive Competition are final.

If you still need help, don’t hesitate, don't wait, email us support@scorelive.london