What is How Sweet the Sound?
How Sweet the Sound is a nationwide search for the best church choirs in America. The goal of the program is to celebrate music and create a lasting impact on churches and communities across the country.

Who can participate?

• Any Choir that is or is affiliated with a church or church organization with a tax-exempt ID number and a mailing address within the zip codes of the 11 Regions. Click here for a list of the 11 Regions.
• Each Choir must have between 6 to 100 members performing on stage.
• Each participant must be 18 years of age or older.
• For more information please review the official rules and regulations. Click here for the rules and regulations.

How long has How Sweet the Sound been in existence?
A pilot program was held in Memphis, TN on October 6, 2007. The success of this event drove the expansion of How Sweet the Sound into 11 markets including a grand finale.

Where are the Regional Round events held, and what time?
Click here for a list of Regional Round cities, dates and times.

Is there a fee to register?
There is no registration fee.

How can I obtain a participant registration form?
Click here to download the registration form for St. Louis, Atlanta, New York and Detroit Regions or the registration form for Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Chicago, Memphis, Houston, San Francisco/Oakland and Los Angeles Regions. Click here for the Release Form. Both forms must be submitted with an audition Video or an audition Audio Recording no longer than 5 minutes in length in order to be eligible.

What are the registration deadlines?
Registration for Choirs in the St. Louis, Atlanta, New York and Detroit Regions ends at 11:59 pm ET on Monday, August 18, 2008. Registration for Choirs in the Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Chicago, Memphis, Houston, San Francisco/Oakland and Los Angeles Regions ends at 11:59 pm ET on Monday, September 1, 2008. By these respective deadlines, all Videos/Audio Recordings must be submitted online or received by mail. Click here for more information on Video/Audio Recording format requirements and for instructions on submission.

How do I submit an Audio File?
If your audio file is under 10MB, please email it to audio@howsweetthesound.com. If it is larger, please print out the registration form, fill out all of the required fields and mail it to:

How Sweet The Sound
c/o Erwin-Penland
125 E. Broad Street
Greenville, SC 29601
800-230-0053

How do I submit a Video by mail?
To submit your video by mail, please print out the registration form, fill out all of the required fields, and mail the form in with your video to:

How Sweet The Sound
c/o Erwin-Penland
125 E. Broad Street
Greenville, SC 29601
800-230-0053

When (How) will I know if my Choir is selected to participate in the Online Round?
All eligible Videos/Audio Recordings for Choirs in the St. Louis, Atlanta, New York and Detroit Regions will be posted on the www.howsweetthesound.com Website on or about Friday, August 22, 2008. All eligible Videos/Audio Recordings for Choirs in the Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Chicago, Memphis, Houston, San Francisco/Oakland and Los Angeles Regions will be posted on the Website on or about Friday, September 5, 2008.

When can I vote online?
Online voting for Choirs in the St. Louis, Atlanta, New York and Detroit Regions will last for 3 days beginning at 12:01 am ET on Friday, August 22, 2008 and ending at 11:59 pm ET on Sunday, August 24, 2008. Online voting for Choirs in the Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Chicago, Memphis, Houston, San Francisco/Oakland and Los Angeles Regions will last for 3 days beginning at 12:01 am ET on Friday, September 5, 2008 and ending at 11:59 pm ET on Sunday, September 7, 2008.

How does online voting work?
All eligible Videos/Audio Recordings will be posted online for visitors to view and vote for. Consumers can view the judging criteria that they should use when casting their vote. These votes will be used in combination with the Round 1 judges’ scores to identify up to 4 Choirs in each Category (Small/Medium or Large) in each Region that may advance to participate in Round 2 (Regional Round).

Who can I vote for and how often?
Visitors to the Website who follow all instructions on the Website to register as voters, will be permitted to vote for the posted Videos/Audio Recordings of their choice for the St. Louis, Atlanta, New York and Detroit Regions beginning at 12:01 am ET on Friday, August 22, 2008 and ending at 11:59 pm ET on Sunday, August 24, 2008. Visitors to the Website who follow all instructions on the Website to register as voters, will be permitted to vote for the posted Videos/Audio Recordings of their choice for the Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Chicago, Memphis, Houston, San Francisco/Oakland and Los Angeles Regions beginning at 12:01 am ET on Friday, September 5, 2008 and ending at 11:59 pm ET on Sunday, September 7, 2008. Online voters will be permitted to vote for one Choir/Video/Audio Recording per Category (Small/Medium and Large) per Region per Day as their favorite.

When (How) will I know if my Choir is selected to participate in the Regional Round?
Choirs in the St. Louis, Atlanta, New York and Detroit Regions selected to participate in the Regional Rounds will be notified after approximately Tuesday, August 26, 2008 via email & phone. Choirs in the Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Chicago, Memphis, Houston, San Francisco/Oakland and Los Angeles Regions selected to participate in the Regional Rounds will be notified after approximately Tuesday, September 9, 2008. Click here for information on how Choirs are selected. Each Choir representative will then have 24 hours to accept the invitation to participate in the Regional Round.

What are the categories?
Choirs will be placed in one of two categories:

• The Small/Medium Category includes Choirs with 6 – 35 participants
• The Large Category includes Choirs with 36 – 100 participants

What are the prizes for winners?
Regional Round:

• Based on the judges’ scoring, the following prizes will be awarded:
• The Small/Medium Category Winner in each Region will receive $10,000.
• The Large Category Winner in each Region will receive $10,000.
• The judges will select one Regional Winner between the Small/Medium Category Winner and the Large Category Winner in each Region. Only the Regional Winner from each Region will advance to the fourth and final round (Verizon Wireless to provide transportation and accommodations as described more fully in the Official Rules). Additionally each member of the Regional Winner Choir will receive a handset phone and a $50 Verizon Wireless gift card.
• In addition, the Verizon Wireless V CAST People’s Choice Award will be decided by audience members’ texting to vote for their favorite. The award winner in each Region will receive $5,000.
• The Choirs in each Region that advance to the Regional Round that are not selected as either a Small/Medium Category Winner, a Large Category Winner or a Verizon Wireless V CAST People’s Choice Award Winner, will receive $3,000 for participating in the Regional Round.

Grand Finale:

• Based on the judges’ scoring, the Grand Prize Winner will be awarded $25,000.
• Based on the judges’ scoring, the Runner-Up will be awarded $15,000.
• In addition, the Verizon Wireless V CAST National People’s Choice Award will be decided by audience members’ texting to vote for their favorite. The award winner will receive $5,000.

What are the minimum/maximum number of Choir members that can participate?
Each Choir must have at least 6 members on stage, and no more than 100.

How does the judging work?
There are 3 rounds of judged competition in the How Sweet the Sound program:

• Round 1 - Online Round: A panel of judges selected by Verizon Wireless will review the eligible Videos/Audio Recordings submitted and will count for 80% of the vote needed to reach Round 2. The remaining 20% of the vote will comprised of consumer online votes. Up to four Choirs in each Category in each Region will be selected to advance to Round 2.
• Round 2 - Regional Round: During each Regional event, there will be a panel of judges. These judges will be music professionals, radio personalities or gospel celebrities. The judges shall select the following in each Region: a “Large Category Regional Winner,” a “Small/Medium Category Regional Winner” and a “Regional Winner” (which shall be chosen from between the two Category winners).
• Round 3 - Grand Finale Round: The third and final round (Grand Finale Round) will feature nationally recognized judges in the music and entertainment industry. The Regional Winner from each Region will advance to the Grand Finale Round where the judges will select 1 “Grand Prize Winner” and 1 “Runner-Up”.
• Click here for a complete listing of judging criteria.

How many instruments can we have on stage?
If requested by the Choir representative, Verizon Wireless will provide one of each of the following instruments: organ, piano, drum kit, guitar amplifier and base amplifier. Regional Finalists may bring two (2) copies of a pre-recorded music (track) in CD or DVD format.

Can we perform any song we choose?

• For the Videos/Audio Recordings to be used in Round 1 (the Online Round), Choirs may perform either (a) a composition from the Song List (b) an entirely original work that is completely owned and/or controlled by the Member(s) of the Choir who composed it, or (c) a composition for which the Choir has obtained all necessary licenses and permissions. No matter which composition/song is used, it may not include any third party samples, interpolations or other third party arrangements or materials.
• For Rounds 2 & 3 (the Regional Round and Grand Finale Round), Verizon Wireless, in its sole discretion, will assign to each Regional Finalist and/or Regional Winner the musical composition it will perform in the applicable Round, taking into consideration (among other factors) the choices on the song choice list submitted by the Choir as part of the registration process for the Contest, and the Choir’s scores from the previous Round. Should a Choir be selected to advance to Round 2 or Round 3, it will not be permitted to perform the musical composition recorded in that Choir’s Video/Audio Recording. Further, Choirs will not be permitted to perform any original composition(s) in Round 2 or Round 3 (or any composition that is not listed in the Song List, but a Choir may be permitted or required, in Verizon Wireless’ sole discretion, to perform the same musical composition from the Song List in both Round 2 and Round 3. As with Round 1, the composition(s) performed in Rounds 2 and 3 may not include any third party samples, interpolations or other third party arrangements or materials.

Where can I obtain sheet music for the songs listed on the Song List?
The following websites may contain the sheet music for the songs on the Song List:
http://www.halleonard.com/
http://www.musicnotes.com/
http://library.timelesstruths.org/search
http://www.pdinfo.com/
http://www.sheetmusicdigital.com/membertitleshymsfull.asp
However, links to other websites are solely for the convenience of the user/participant. Inclusion of such links does not constitute endorsement or approval by Verizon Wireless of any website or the information contained therein. Verizon Wireless has no control over the nature, content and availability of websites linked hereto, and Verizon Wireless in not responsible for any representations made therein, including, without limitation, any representations regarding the availability of any musical arrangement or whether any sheet music is in the public domain.

Is it open to all faiths?
Of course! How Sweet the Sound is the chance to bring people of all religions together to celebrate their faiths as one. No matter what your beliefs, we invite you to join us and be part of the events.

Is there someone I can contact if I have more questions about my choir entry or the program in general?
If you have any questions, please call 1-800-230-0053 for more information. For website assistance email help@howsweetthesound.com.