While the Challenge cannot be considered a purely “amateur” contest, the goal of the Challenge is to seek out the best-undiscovered Blues band and the best-undiscovered solo/duo Blues performer in the United States and beyond. To maintain this focus, IBC includes entry restrictions designed to afford the opportunity for discovery to musicians that are truly unknown and unsigned.

THE INTERNATIONAL BLUES CHALLENGE IS RESTRICTED TO ACTS REPRESENTING AN AFFILIATED ORGANIZATION OF THE BLUES FOUNDATION. For a complete list of Blues Foundation affiliates, visit Affiliate Organizations.

The IBC adheres to the following criteria for what constitutes a band and what constitutes a solo/duo act.

Band- any act with three or more musicians. Vocalists are counted as musicians for the purpose of this competition. Both electric and acoustic instruments are allowed.

Solo/Duo- any act with one or two musicians. Vocalists are counted as musicians for the purpose of this competition. Both electric and acoustic instruments are allowed.

GUIDELINES FOR AFFILIATES:

1. Each of The Blues Foundation’s 167 Affiliated Organizations has the right (but not the obligation) to enter a contestant in the IBC. (If your society is not an affiliate, contact Jay Sieleman at jay@blues.org).

2. An Affiliate's representative may be chosen by any means the organization sees fit, whether through a regional competition (highly recommended) or by appointment (see restriction below).

3. Each Affiliate may enter a Band in the Band Division AND a Solo/Duo act in the Solo/Duo Division to compete in the 24th IBC in 2008.

4. An Affiliate's entrant is considered a representative of that Affiliate in every capacity. Thus, the Affiliate remains liable for any problems created by its representative.

5. All registration requirements for IBC are the responsibility of the Affiliate, NOT THE ENTRANT.

6. The Blues Foundation will stand as the final arbiter of any eligibility disputes. Any Band found at any time to have been ineligible at the time of the competition will be stripped of its award(s) and the Affiliate may be liable for financial restitution of cash and other prizes to The Blues Foundation.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Restrictions:
--Any artist whose name has appeared on a final Handy/Blues Music Award ballot is ineligible. All other musicians who have had peripheral and/or professional contact through performance with a Handy/Blues Music Award nominee, including but not limited to touring band members and studio musicians, are deemed eligible for the IBC

--An individual may not compete in more than one act in any capacity.

--A musician cannot compete in the Band Division and the Solo/Duo Division, even if that musician represents a different Affiliate in each.

--If an affiliate does not conduct a competition to determine who it will sponsor but instead appoints a representative, that representative may not include a board member or officer.

No other entry restrictions apply. This means that management contracts, booking agent contracts, recording contracts, performance contracts (even those that include regular television or radio broadcast) and nationally distributed recordings have no bearing on eligibility.

THE ELIGIBILITY PACKET

As a condition of eligibility, each Affiliate is required to submit a digital application through Sonicbids website before November 30, 2007. Any Affiliate not submitting the online application by the deadline may have its entrant disqualified from the competition. If your competition is not scheduled in time to meet this deadline, please email joe@blues.org.

Scoring Criteria

The Blues Foundation recommends that all Affiliated Organizations in their competition use our established scoring criteria. Categories include Talent, Blues Content, Stage Presence and Originality.

1. Blues Content: Everyone has his or her own interpretation of what is and is not Blues. Thus, any given three-judge panel will include members with varying opinions of Blues, covering the spectrum of Blues whenever possible, from the most traditional to soul/blues and rock/blues. Bands should pick material carefully. At the Memphis semi-finals and finals, the judges are Blues professionals, not a bar crowd, and are likely to be unimpressed with song selections that are uninspired. (Call this--with all due respect to Sir Mack Rice and Wilson Pickett--the "no Mustang Sally rule.")

2. Talent: This category is self-explanatory--the act's vocal and/or instrumental skills.

3. Originality: Original work is encouraged. Cover tunes are allowed but playing the recorded rendition lick by lick is discouraged; will not be looked upon favorably by the judges; and will be reflected in scoring.

4. Stage Presence: Over the years, the quality of talent has risen so dramatically that we no longer consider this an "amateur" competition. Most contestants have performed on stage enough to know that they are not simply playing music, but putting on a show. This category rates how "sellable" a band may be.

To reflect the relative importance of each category in the success of a band, a band's score in each category is weighted. Raw scores for Blues Content is multiplied by four, Talent by three and Originality and Stage Presence are multiplied by two. The total in each category represents the Weighted Score for that category. Total possible weighted score is 110.

Penalty Points

A Band is penalized one point from its Total Weighted Score (see below) for each ten seconds that it runs overtime. There is no penalty for using less than the allotted time.

At the producing organization's discretion, a policy of penalty for excessive time loading-in and out will also be applied.

The weighted multipliers will be Blues content (4); talent (3);originality (2) and stage presence (2).

In addition, IBC participants can lose points for non-compliance with administrative aspects of the competition.
Point deductions for 1-6 below would be factored in while tabulating the semis (actually, 1-3 will be entered prior to the event.) Once the act has won their venue and advanced to the finals, their slate is wiped clean and they only have to worry about 7 and 8.

1-3 Data entered pre-event
4-6 Entered during Event
7-8 Finals

1) Online application was filled out completely and accurately. __ yes __no

2) Act photo was supplied by the deadline and in the jpeg format as requested . __yes __ no

3) Act bio was supplied by the deadline and in the manner requested. __yes __no

4) Act checked in at Band Check-In on first day of event. __yes __no

5) Act checked in with Venue Coordinator at their venue at the required time.
(Thursday) __ yes __ no (Friday) __ yes __ no

6) Act was in the right venue at the proper time and ready to perform.***
(Thursday) __yes ___no (Friday) __yes __no

7) Act showed up and on time to Finals orientation. __ yes __ no

8) Act ready to perform at proper time in finals. __ yes __ no

***Venue Coordinators have the authority to act on behalf of The Blues Foundation to insure that the event goes smoothly in their designated venue. In the event that a band scheduled to play in a specific slot is not able to perform for whatever reason, the VC will have the authority to deduct a point from the band's overall weighted score for that night's competition. The next band scheduled to play will be asked to step into that slot. Should that band, for whatever reason, not be able to perform when asked, the VC has the authority to deduct a point from that band, and so on. With that in mind, The Blues Foundation strongly suggests that after a band has met with their VC for their required check-in, that they stay in the venue and are available to perform at the VC's direction, regardless of which slot they are scheduled to play. Bands that have missed their designated slot will be allowed to perform later in the night but will still suffer the loss of a point on the weighted score.

These items demonstrate professionalism and seriousness about the competition or the business side of the blues.

SCORING SYSTEM FOR JUDGES

Here is the scoring procedure for 2008 IBC.
1. All categories and weightings are as previously stated.

2. Each judge will indicate his or her Raw Score (a whole number between 1 and 10) in each category and turn that information over to the scorekeeper.

3. The scorekeeper will multiply the Raw Score in each category by the established multiplier to get each judge's Weighted Score in each category for each act.

4. The Weighted Scores from each category for an act are added together to determine the acts' Total Weighted Score for each judge.

5. Any penalty points will then be deducted to obtain the act's Net Weighted Score for each judge.

6. After all acts have been judged and each act's Net Weighted Score for each judge calculated, each act will then be ranked for each judge based on that judge's order of scores, with the act receiving the judge's highest Net Weighted Score being given a ranking of 1, and so on for that judge. So, in a competition with five acts, for example, each judge ends up with the acts ranked 1 - 5 based on each judge's personal scoring habits. This results in the acts' Final Ranking Number for each judge.

7. Next, the scorer totals the Final Ranking Number from all judges for each act to determine the Gross Final Ranking. That figure is averaged (divided by the total number of judges) to Achieve the Aggregate Act Ranking. For the semi-finals the act in each venue with the best two- day total of Aggregate Act Ranking will advance to the finals. For the finals, the act with the best Aggregate Act Ranking is the top finisher.

8. In the case of a tie, the scorer shall calculate the sum of all Total Weighted Scores from all judges for the tied acts. The band with the higher sum of Total Weighted Scores wins.

Notes for Competitors on the Memphis End

Band Check-in

Band check-in time will be 10 am - 2:30 pm Thursday, January 31, 2008 at the Double Tree Hotel.

Orientation

There will be a 20-minute orientation on Thursday January 31 at 3:00 pm at the Holiday Inn, Grand Ball room. This orientation will review contest rules, introduce key people, and seek to resolve any questions or special problems that contestants may have. Any competitor failing to check in by the orientation without special arrangement will be disqualified.

2008 Blues Challenge format

Band competition-

The band semi-finals are a two-day competition (Thursday & Friday). All bands are required to play both Thursday and Friday at the same venue. One winner from each venue will advance to the finals.

Thursday and Friday semi-final sets will be 25 minutes long. Sets for the final will be 20 minutes long. The Blues Foundation reserves the right to change this format depending on the number of bands and number of venues participating.

Solo/Duo competition-

The solo/duo semi-finals are a two-day competition (Thursday & Friday). All solo/duo acts are required to play both Thursday and Friday at the same venue. One act from each venue will advance to the finals on Saturday afternoon.

Thursday and Friday semi-final sets will be 30 minutes(or less). Sets for the finals on Saturday will be for 20 minutes(or less). The Blues Foundation reserves the right to change this format depending on the number of bands and number of venues participating.

Once the participating Beale Street venues have been assembled and all entry forms received, the number of performing acts in each venue can be finalized. Each act is assigned to a participating venue by a scientific process known as “drawing slips of paper with band names on them out of a hat.” Adjustments may be made in the cases of, for instance, a large band’s being assigned to a club whose stage is simply too small to handle them and their equipment and other production concerns as determined by The Blues Foundation. Semi-Finalists will return to the same clubs as they played the preceding night.

Final Round Structure

Sets will be scored on the same criteria as other rounds. All Final Round judges will not have served on any Semi-Final Round panel, so each band will be performing for a totally new set of ears. Additionally, no judges in the Finals will be members of The Blues Foundation Board or from any Affiliate for maximum impartiality.

Staging and Equipment

The Blues Foundation will provide backline and sound. The setup on stage will include a drum kit with snare drum, amps, and mics. Drummers should bring their own cymbals and kick pedals and Harmonica players should bring their own harp amp. Keyboard players may bring their own keyboards and keyboard amps, and stands will be provided. Effects racks and other auxiliary equipment are permitted. Musicians must include on the Affiliated Organization’s application any additional or special equipment needed.

Competitors are prohibited from bringing their own amplifiers (harp amps and keyboard amps being the only exceptions.)Please bring a DI (if you use one) Every effort will be made to provide suitable equipment. Exceptions to this prohibition may only be granted pursuant to a formal written petition submitted in writing and received via mail, fax, or email by the IBC Rules Committee no less than 60 days prior to the semi-finals competition. Include a request in the act’s on line registration. With the number of bands participating in each venue, it is impossible for us to allow every player to bring an amp – space considerations prohibit it. Thus, any petition for an equipment waiver must include a compelling reason for exclusion.

The Blues Foundation reserves the right to approve or restrict any and all equipment an entrant wishes to bring on stage.

Order of Appearance

As is the case with the assignment of venues, the order of appearance for band in each venue is also random.

Hospitality

Refreshments will be sold at the events and are the responsibility of the consumer. The Blues Foundation will host several receptions for Affiliated Organizations and acts during the course of the weekend. More details will be available on the IBC schedule page of our website and in the event program.

Other Points Of Consideration

The Blues Foundation reserves the right to use any contestant’s name, voices, pictures, visages and other likeness for the purpose of advertising, publishing and promoting the IBC or The Blues Foundation.

The Blues Foundation reserves the right to videotape or otherwise record all IBC performances. The Blues Foundation shall retain total ownership of all recordings and programs, and reserves the right to edit the program, the right to broadcast the program, the right to copyright the program and the right to license others to use these rights.

CONCLUSION

The IBC grows more exciting each year and the competition gets better and better. Currently the Blues Foundation boasts 167 Affiliated Organizations, and more Blues organizations in more areas means that our nationwide search for talent grows more comprehensive each year. If you have questions about the IBC, please do not hesitate to call the Foundation at 901-527-2583 or email joe@blues.org.