NGADM 2024 HAS FINISHED!

1ST PLACE - @CloakedSoup

2ND PLACE - @icantpronouncethis

3RD PLACE - @Solacitude

4TH PLACE - @trixelbit

Discussion Thread: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1536053

NG Audio Pub Discord: https://discord.gg/XkTwQJXrN8

HOW DO I ENTER?

To enter NGADM, simply make a post on the Auditions submission thread, and provide a link to a track of yours which you believe represents your best performance. After the auditions have ended, a two-week-long judging period takes place, during which the judges score each entry.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER AUDITIONS?

The top 64 highest scoring auditionees are divided into 16 brackets of four. For this and the following rounds the entrants have two weeks to produce a completely new track, which will go against the other members of the bracket. The entrant who got the highest score will proceed further; the other(s) are eliminated. After round 1 the brackets become one-on-one battles, culminating into grand finals, where the top four contestants battle for 1st and 3rd place.

You can also view the state of the competition visually here:

RULES

1 - GENERAL

1. You must be a scouted user on the Audio Portal or be eligible to be scouted.
2. You must follow all the Newgrounds Audio Guidelines in all your submissions. Take time to familiarize yourself with them, no explicit rules will be written prohibiting that which is already prohibited by the guidelines.
3. You must submit your own work from the Audio Portal. Another user may not submit an entry on your behalf, and linking to Bandcamp, SoundCloud, YouTube etc. will be ignored.
4. You must have published your track on Newgrounds and posted it on the current round’s submission thread before the end of the round’s submission period.
5. You may edit or change your submission for a round before the end of the round’s submission period. You may not do so after the submission period has ended.
6. Only one submission is accepted for a round.
7. You may submit a track which was also submitted to another competition, provided it follows the rules for both competitions.

2 - TEAMING UP

1. You may enter as a team of any size. Every member must actively take part in the creative/technical production of the entry for each round, including the auditions, and no members can join the team halfway during the competition. Tag teaming is not allowed.
2. If a member of the team chooses to drop out of the competition, the rest of the members may continue, but that member may not join the team later.
3. Another user may provide vocals or play an instrument (essentially being in a “featuring” role) for your submission even while not teaming up, but you must still perform all creative and technical (composing, writing, mixing etc.) work outside of singing / playing and recording.

3 - AUDITIONS

1. The track may have been made previously, or for the auditions specifically.
2. The track may be either an original composition or a cover / remix / VIP etc.
3. The track must be a single cohesive piece of music. Albums, DJ sets etc. will be ignored.
4. Machine learning / AI may be used in any fashion the Newgrounds Audio Guidelines permit.

4 - ELIMINATION ROUNDS

1. The track must be a completely new production, with no work having been performed on it before the round for which the track is to be submitted to has begun.
2. The track must be a completely new original composition. No covers / remixes / VIPs etc. are accepted.
3. If a contestant drops out, the highest scoring individual from the last round will take their place, provided that have produced a track which follows all the rules.
4. Machine learning / AI may be utilized, provided that you only use it to render melodies & lyrics that you have written, but you may not use it to generate new melodic and/or lyrical content. Essentially, follow the limitations specified in section 2.3 when using AI. Refer to section 5 for a more encompassing list of allowed use cases for vocals.

5 - AI VOCALS

1. Software like Vocaloid and SynthV (that now integrate AI in their workflows) are allowed.
2. Voice changers provided by online services such as MusicFy and Audimee are allowed as long as the voices used are not based on a public personalities (for example, Drake and Lil Nas X would be declined, while original voices provided by those services such as "Aaron" and "Nate" are allowed).
3. RVC is also allowed as long as it's trained on your own voice, or it is trained on material you have the permission to use.
4. The use of Suno, Udio, and similar services is allowed EXCLUSIVELY for the Audition round.

JUDGING

This year’s entries will be scored by a panel of six judges who are:

@50Steaks - @ADR3-N - @AED-4 - @Everratic - @Spadezer - @Tangerine - @X3LL3N

Each judge will score the entries based on a set of criteria of their own choosing, encompassing a range of technical and creative aspects such as mixing, mastering, sound design, arrangement, atmosphere and originality.

SCHEDULE

Unless otherwise mentioned, all timeframes begin at 12:00 AM EST, and end at 11:59 PM EST. Please do note that the dates may be changed due to any possible delays.

• JUL 01 - JUL 21 - Round 0: Auditions
• JUL 22 - AUG 06* - Round 0 Judging Period
• AUG 07* - AUG 20* - Round 1: Group Stage
• AUG 21* - AUG 25 - Round 1 Judging Period
• AUG 26 - SEP 08 - Round 2: Round of 16
• SEP 09 - SEP 15 - Round 2 Judging Period
• SEP 16 - SEP 29 - Round 3: Quarterfinals
• SEP 30 - OCT 06 - Round 3 Judging Period
• OCT 07 - OCT 20 - Round 4: Semifinals
• OCT 21 - OCT 27 - Round 4 Judging Period
• OCT 28 - NOV 10 - Round 5: Finals
• NOV 11 - NOV 17 - Round 5 Judging Period
• NOV 18 - Final Results Announced

*Adjusted forwards by 2 days from the original schedule

PRIZES

Prizes will be awarded to all contestants who reached the final round and submitted an entry.

1st Place:

• FL Studio All Plugins Edition by Image-Line
• Versilian Studios Chamber Orchestra 2 Professional Edition (VSCO2 Pro)
• Panbox Effect Plugin by JD Factory
• ARVerb Effect Plugin
• An Interview with @TheInterviewer
• 50% of the Prize Pot

2nd Place:

• FL Studio Producer Edition by Image-Line
• $100 Gift Card for Versilian Studios Products
• RoomWidener Effect Plugin by JD Factory
• Mixing Modern Orchestral Music by Joël Dollié
• ARVerb Effect Plugin
• 25% of the Prize Pot

3rd Place:

• FL Studio Producer Edition by Image-Line
• $60 Gift Card for Versilian Studios Products
• Mixing Modern Orchestral Music by Joël Dollié
• ARVerb Effect Plugin
• 12.5% of the Prize Pot

4th Place:

• FL Studio Producer Edition by Image-Line
• Mixing Modern Orchestral Music by Joël Dollié
• ARVerb Effect Plugin
• 12.5% of the Prize Pot

If you would like to contribute to the prize pot, simply make a donation on the supporter page and send @TomFulp a private message mentioning that you’d like it to go towards NGADM. If you would like to sponsor prizes other than contributing to the pool, please contact me (@AED-4) via a private message.

There is no age-limit for prizes, but in the case of underage contestants making it to the finals, an equivalently priced alternative will be arranged for them in place of a cash prize.

ADDITIONAL INFO

If you have any questions, feel free to ask them below in the comments, or message me (@AED-4) here on Newgrounds or over on Discord in the NG Audio Pub!

The rules for this year are heavily based on previous rules made by @LD-W (host of 2022 NGADM) and @TaintedLogic (host of 2023 NGADM), who have also helped me with the technical preparation this year, big thank you to both of you! Thanks to @MukkyWaffle as well for the banner image!

NGMT 24 has finished!

1st place - @Carboluka

2nd place - @Jernemies

3rd place - @Aedr

Full results here!

After over eight long years, the time has come to wake Newgrounds Music Triathlon from hibernation for its 2024 incarnation!

What is NGMT?

Newgrounds Music Triathlon (NGMT in short) is a contest where, just like in a real triathlon, there are three different phases, each testing a different aspect of one’s auditory prowess. Each two-week phase has a theme for contestants to follow in addition to certain restrictions on instrumentation and effects. After each phase there is a one-week-long voting period, during which you vote anonymously on submissions made by the other contestants, awarding three of them 4, 2 and 1 points. Points awarded are kept between phases, and in the end, the contestant with the most points in total wins the triathlon!

How do I enter?

First of all, join the Newgrounds Audio Pub discord server, as that is where you will be able to listen to the submissions.

And here’s the part where this event differs quite a lot from others. To enter NGMT, you must not publish your submission publicly! Instead, upload it privately on a file hosting service of your choice, for example Newgrounds’ dumping grounds, and send a download link to me using Newgrounds private messages.

Another important thing to keep in mind is that you do not need to compete in all phases. You can drop off simply by not submitting anything to a phase, and you can also enter for any phase, even if you hadn’t submitted anything for previous phases.

You can also pair up with one other person. To match the flexible nature of this contest, you can form and break your pairing freely for each phase separately. You both will be awarded half the points your submission gets, but you and your pair will also be treated as a separate "contestant", who gets awarded full points from all phases where you worked together.

How are the submissions judged?

As mentioned previously, NGMT does not have specific appointed judges. Instead, the judging is an anonymous peer effort, done by you, the contestants.

When the one-week voting period begins, submissions are stripped of all metadata, and they are given a generic filename, such as TRACK-A-05. The tracks are put up in the Newgrounds Audio Pub discord server, in the channel #ngmt24-submissions where they can be listened to. You then listen to the submissions made by other contestants, and pick three of them that you think execute the theme and challenge the best and are the most well-made overall. Your first pick gets awarded 4 points, your second 2 points, and your third 1 point. Cast your votes by sending me a private message on Newgrounds, on which you state which is your first, second, and third pick. Make sure to vote, as you can only be awarded points that phase if you voted!

If you participated in an earlier phase, you are allowed to vote in all following phases, even if you did not submit anything, although your votes will only grant half the points.

If you entered as a pair, both of you may vote, in which case your votes will grant half the points as well. Alternatively, you can pick your top three together, in which case only one of you needs to send me your votes, and they will grant full points. Please mention in your message whether you are voting separately or as one.

Does this mean I need to listen to all entries?

By default, yes. However, some precautions are put in place in case the number of submissions grows larger than expected. In case there are more than 19 submissions in a phase, the contestants are divided into groups simply titled A, B, C etc. Groups are populated randomly, and each will have at least 10 members and at most 18, with the least number of groups prioritized. When voting, the groups vote each other in order, so that in case of 3 groups, A votes on B, B votes on C, and C votes on A.

If you skipped a phase but participated earlier, you are allowed to vote on any group you wish. You are however highly encouraged to listen to most if not all of the entries, which may be a long list.

Submission rules & guidelines

• Only start working on your submission for a phase after the discussion thread has been started for that phase.
• Your submission may not be a remix / vip / cover etc. of an existing song.
• If the submission is clearly not trying to follow the challenge, it will be rejected.
• Following the theme is not a hard requirement, but failing to do so will likely affect your score.
• Only one submission is allowed per contestant / pair for each phase.
• Do not upload your submission publicly until voting period has concluded. This also means no asking for feedback on WIPs on public chats.
• Try to keep the length of your submission reasonable, as too long submissions might tempt voters to skim through it. 2 to 4 minutes is a good ballpark where to aim for.
• And as this is Newgrounds Music Triathlon, your submission must abide by Newgrounds Audio Guidelines, even if you are not planning on publicly releasing it here.

Voting rules & guidelines

• Be open to varying interpretations of the themes, they are designed to allow for multiple ways to tackle them.
• With the above in mind, when voting think how well the submission fits the theme, how well it is executed in context of the challenge, and how well made it is overall.
• Send your votes to me (AED-4) using Newgrounds private messages. Votes sent using Discord, WhatsApp, SMS, by telegraph or any other communication method will be ignored.
• You must vote on three entries. No more, no less.
• To avoid misunderstandings, clearly indicate the order of your votes, preferably explicitly stating which is your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice.
• Remember, 1st choice = most points given.

Schedule

The schedule for NGMT 24 is as follows:

• Phase 1: Jan 24 00:00 AM – Feb 06 11:59 PM
• Voting 1: Feb 07 01:00 AM – Feb 13 05:59 PM
• Phase 2: Feb 14 00:00 AM – Feb 27 11:59 PM
• Voting 2: Feb 29 01:00 AM – Mar 05 05:59 PM
• Phase 3: Mar 06 00:00 AM – Mar 19 11:59 PM
• Voting 3: Mar 20 01:00 AM – Mar 26 05:59 PM
• Results : Mar 27 00:00 AM

Times before 10th of March are expressed in Eastern Standard Time (EST).

Times after 10th of March are expressed in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

What happens if I win?

The overall top three will get cool forum signatures to boast their achievement with, and I will personally gift the top three a year-long supporter status as well.

TL;DR

• Follow the challenge and theme for each phase.
• Send your submissions privately to me.
• Vote on 3 favorite submissions by privately messaging me on Newgrounds.

If you have any further questions, please ask below, in the active phase thread, or in the #ngmt24-discussion channel on the Newgrounds Audio Pub discord server.

Well, it has been a minute since I submitted anything here, someone told me that summer 2019 was 4 and a half years ago but I think they're trying to pull a fast one on me...

This is update is mostly meant for those who have known me on some level back when I had my old name, but here's some deep lore to anyone who stumbles upon my page.

I decided to retire the name EverReverb for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it really had no connection to me in any way, it really did originate just from me learning what reverb plugins were :D I'll leave the meaning(s) behind AED-4 up to anyone's guess, but there are some indeed. Secondly, since it has been so long since my last activity, I figured now if ever would be a good time to put on a new coat of paint to better reflect my current aesthetic sensibilities. But I will always cherish the memories I made as EverReverb.

Looking back I had quite the journey, starting from someone who didn't know what stereo panning was, becoming into someone who knows even what stereo separation is. From 2015 to 2019 I made steady progress with almost each submission, much thanks to NGUAC and CHIPS competitions. It still kinda amazes me that if we discount competitions and game soundtracks, I made 5 tracks, 2 of them collabs :p

So what happened? Well, it would be easier to say what didn't :p In the fall of 2019 I started my university studies and moved out from my parent's place into a different city, so there was quite a lot on top of my plate. Add some light seasonal depression and starting a job to the mix and yeah composing wasn't high on the list of things I have energy to do do.

But on December last year I got an acute case of nostalgy. And considering that this year has some special meaning to me (just look at my profile picture), I thought it would be a good time to break the mold and actually compose something, and here we are :p

Still you really shouldn't expect more activity from me in regards to submissions :p I'll hang around the BBS and NGAP Discord, but 2024 is shaping up to be perhaps my busiest year yet.

PS. As some may know I will be hosting Newgrounds Music Triathlon soon, starting on 24th of January. But I'll be writing wholly another blog post then to detail what it's all about!

I just hit 30 fans, so I deemed that this would be good time to write an update.

First of all, thank you ^^! 30 may seem small to some people, but for me it's a huge milestone :)

My activity around here has been a bit... quiet. Apart from NGUAC and having the privilege of doing a collab with @TMM43 , there hasn't been a lot going on this year. But I should be able upload some stuff around the 6th of next month if all goes well.

I also came to the realization that the last track I have made that wasn't made for something specifially was over 2 years ago, when I made Across Universes :P

First of all, I should probably apologize for my inactivity. I haven't really felt like producing in the past months.

@Johnfn's contest NGCHIPS really helped me to break my block and I actually finished a track! Thank you for that ^^

I will not make any promises of trying to make more frequent uploads because when I do... Well the opposite happens.

I'll however try to enter every future NGCHIPS contest, so maybe there is hope after all!

Nary is going to be relsed on second of August!

As seen, it features original soundtrack produced by me and @MysteriousPresence

So if you wish, make sure to get a copy when it comes available :)

First of all: sorry for my inactiviness during these past months.

I have been working on a soundtrack for a game currently in steam greenlight, developed by @Khud0. It is an 'endless runner' style platformer.

I have made the soundtrack for the levels while @MysteriousPresence has produced the soundtrack for shops and menu.

I will eventually upload the level music on newgrounds too. There will be seven different songs in total: four unique and three alternate versions.

And if you wish, vote for us in greenlight ^^

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=681351244

In other news; I have also been working on other stuff, which you will hopefully be able to see one day!

Everyone :D

It's been wonderful here. All the support I've got is amazing, and people overall have been very friendly :) I feel that 2016 will a be a great year.

I also got my hands on Komplete 10 ^^

Now back to work and hoping I finish my piece for the final round of NGMT in time...