Lubbock
Music Now

The Project

We compile an album every year made up entirely of locally-produced music. Submitted tracks are narrowed down anonymously by members of Civic Lubbock’s Entertainment Lubbock Committee.  Each member receives a judging scoresheet and ranks each song on five dimensions (see below) on a scale of 1 to 5.  Scores are then compiled and averaged. Finalists are chosen by rank and then sent to former and/or current members of the Texas branch of The Recording Academy (Texas Grammy Board). The top ranked tracks are selected for inclusion on the album.

Judges rank each dimension on a scale from 1 to 5. For instrumentals, vocals are marked N/A.

1. Overall Appeal
2. Vocals
3. Instrumentation
4. Lyrics/Melody
5. Sound/Production Quality

Get Involved

Fill out the application and make sure you meet all the requirements. You’ll submit one song in digital format (.wav file) to a designated online account. No hard copies. (See below for application instructions) 

Artists’ Benefits

• Winning entries will receive a $200 prize and five free copies of the album
• Winning artists will have the ability to opt-in to be on the Lubbock Airport’s Live Music Roster and/or perform on the Fox34 Lubbock Music NOW TV Special after the album is released.
• Inclusion in an elite group of local artists judged by past and present members of the Texas branch of The Recording Academy (Texas Grammy Board)
• Publicity: Your music gets out to the public in a unique way and your web site/social media account info will be promoted on our website.

Requirements

• One song per artist. A band will count as one artist, but if a member of that band has their own solo project, they may also submit an entry as an individual artist.
• Artists may not already have a record deal in place or be signed with a label.
• Artists must be affiliated with one of the music licensing organizations i.e. ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC. (To affiliate, visit the ASCAP, BMI or SESAC websites)
• All songs must be original–no covers. Only professionally recorded masters from studios or live performances are accepted. Songs may not exceed 6 minutes in length and MUST be submitted as a .wav file.
• Artists must live within 100 miles of the Lubbock city limits.
• Artists must have played two paying gigs in Lubbock within the last year and/or actively writing and recording songs.
• Artists will sign an agreement (the application) stipulating no royalties will be received from sales of the album. (All proceeds from the album sales will be used to produce future editions of Lubbock Music NOW)
• Artists selected for the album will agree to promote the Lubbock Music NOW project on their website/social media platforms.
• Artists not chosen for the current year may re-apply; artists who made the previous year’s album may submit a different song for the next album.

Deadline

Applications must be submitted no later than June 30 each year to be considered for the next album. Either save your application form and email it to [email protected] or print it out and mail the completed and signed application to:

Civic Lubbock, Inc.
Attn: Lubbock Music NOW Project
1501 Mac Davis Ln
Lubbock, TX 79401

Once your application is approved, you will be sent a link to upload your song submission in digital format (MUST be a .wav file) to a Dropbox account for the judges to consider.

The release of the 2025 album is expected to occur February 1, 2025.