OFFICIAL RULES OF THE 2026 PUBLIC SONG PROJECT

Official Rules of the 2026 Public Song Project

ELIGIBILITY:

Anyone 18 years of age or older can enter the Contest except employees of New York Public Radio (“NYPR”) and its related organizations, their immediate family or persons living in the same household. Void where prohibited by law.

As of February 27, 2026, and through May 15, 2026, no entrant may have a current recording contract, or otherwise be bound by any obligations to any third party, that would limit the right or ability of the entrant to participate in this contest, or conflict with the rights or interfere with NYPR’s exercise of the rights granted herein in accordance with these Official Rules.

Your entry constitutes your certification that you meet the eligibility requirements set forth in these Official Rules. NYPR reserves the right to verify and confirm each entrant’s age and compliance with other eligibility requirements. An entrant may be required to submit further information to assist in NYPR’s verification of eligibility. Winning a prize is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements set forth herein.

HOW TO ENTER:

No purchase or pledge necessary to enter or win. Entries to the Contest may be made by filling in the submission form and attaching a song of under 7 minutes in length that presents your original performance of a work now in the U.S. public domain, during the entry period from February 27, 2026 at 12 PM E.T. through May 15, 2026 at 11:59 PM P.T:

Submissions must:

• Incorporate a work from the U.S. public domain;
• Be your original musical performance; and
• Be a maximum of 7 minutes in length.

Submissions must not:

• Sample from other songs, recordings, movies, or other bodies of work other than either: (i) works owned by the entrant, or (ii) works in the public domain in the United States. Only sound recordings from 1925 and earlier are in the public domain in the U.S.
• Contain material that violates or infringes another’s rights, including but not limited to, rights of privacy, publicity, or any intellectual property rights; and
• Include third parties who have not expressly authorized you to include their performance, likeness or voice in any submission.

When filling in the submission form, you must provide: your name; your email address; the best way to contact you; the title of the public domain work(s) that your song is based on; any other information about your song and the work you chose that you’d like us to know; a certification that you meet the eligibility and submission requirements and agree to the terms stated in these Official Rules; and a certification that you grant to NYPR and Internet Archive, its partner in this Contest, a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub-licensable right and license to use the submission in any media and in any manner, for any purpose, including the right to edit the submission with other submissions or elements, or to make derivative works. Submissions may be included in a collection or playlist on the Internet Archive’s website, archive.org, for preservation and public access. No other method of submission will be accepted.

PRIZE:

Following the close of the entry period, at least 3 entries will be selected to be played on-air and available for streaming on WNYC’s website, and the creators of the winning entries will be interviewed about their creation.

From time to time, NYPR may choose to promote the Contest by asking the public to vote for their favorite Contest entry from a group of entries selected by NYPR and Internet Archive, at their sole discretion. This may or may not result in the announcement of a “Fan Favorite” chosen from entrants. In such instances, the vote will be for promotional purposes only, and the entry that receives the most votes from such a promotion will not receive any prize or grant of rights from NYPR or Internet Archive.

SELECTION AND NOTIFICATION OF WINNER:

Entries will be judged by a panel of staff members working at NYPR and Internet Archive, music experts, and historians. Winners will be selected in the sole discretion of NYPR and submissions will be judged based on the following criteria:

• 30% Originality and creativity of the entry
• 30% How the entry engages with the history and legacy of the source work and/or its personal significance to the creator
• 20% Demonstrated time, effort, and thought put into the recording
• 20% How the entry conveys the public domain’s usefulness for creators

At least 3 winning entries will be selected based on the above criteria by no later than June 30. Winner(s) will be sent notification by email unless otherwise noted in the submission no later than July 30. If a winner cannot be contacted or the submission is disqualified for any reason, NYPR reserves the right to determine an alternate winner or not to award that winner’s prize, in its sole discretion. A list with the winners’ names will be kept on file at NYPR and will be available by writing WNYC Listener Services, 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013. 

GENERAL:

Limit one (1) entry per person; duplicate, corrupt, untimely, unintelligible or incomplete entries and entries that do not otherwise comply with these Official Rules will be disqualified. No automated entry devices permitted. NYPR reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to determine which entries have satisfied the entry requirements. NYPR is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, or invalid entries, or for technical or administrative issues. An entry is deemed “received” when, as applicable, it is recorded by NYPR’s servers. Proof of submission will not be deemed to be proof of receipt by NYPR.

By participating in the Contest, participants agree to be bound by these Official Rules and by the decisions of NYPR and the judges selected by NYPR on all matters relating to the Contest, and by the Terms of Use of both NYPR and Internet Archive, and that NYPR, Internet Archive, and their agents and employees will have no liability whatsoever for any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind resulting from the prize or a person’s participation in the Contest. Prize is nontransferable and cannot be exchanged or redeemed for cash. There can be no substitutions for a prize. NYPR and Internet Archive may use winners’ names and submissions for publicity purposes without further compensation.

RESTRICTIONS:

Restrictions may apply. Each entrant agrees to be bound by these Official Rules, and by all decisions of NYPR with respect to the administration of the contest and the choice of winners. One entry per person. Multiple entries are not allowed.