The NSAI Song Contest opens for entries with cash prizes up to 5,000 dollars

The NSAI Song Contest opens to entries on Sept. 1 at 12 p.m. CST, the annual competition run by the Nashville Songwriters Association International. The submission portal stays open until 5 p.m. CST on Oct. 31, and there is no limit on how many songs or lyrics a writer can send in.

Entry costs 35 dollars per song or lyric for NSAI members and 45 dollars for everyone else. Thirteen songwriters will place across the contest, with up to 10 further entries recognised as honourable mentions.

The prize table leans toward access rather than cash alone. Winners and runners-up can receive mentor sessions with Trisha Yearwood, Matthew West or Jenn Schott, industry meetings, a cash prize of up to 5,000 dollars, a curated Music Row experience, a Taylor Gold Label 712e guitar, a complete home studio recording package from Custom House at Guitar Center, a place at the 10th annual Nashville Songwriter Awards at The Ryman in 2027, and an evening at the Bluebird Cafe.

The Song Category winner gets more than that. That prize adds performances of the winning song at both the Bluebird Cafe and the Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival, along with an offer of a one-year single-song contract from SMACKSongs, which is the closest thing in the package to an actual publishing foothold.

Judging runs in four phases. Every entry is first analysed by an industry professional, and each judge's highest-scoring songs and lyrics move forward. The last round names the Lyric Category grand prize winner and runners-up, then judges the Song Category top 10 a final time to pick the grand prize winner. All judging is due to finish no later than February 2027.

For unsigned country writers, a contest like this is one of the few doors into Nashville rooms that does not require a publisher first. The city's formal recognition sits further up the same ladder, where Taylor Swift joined the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame class of 2026.