John Lennon Scholarships

Scholarship Description

Established in 1997 by Yoko Ono in conjunction with the BMI Foundation, this scholarship program honors the memory of one of the preeminent songwriters of the 20th century: John Lennon. Through the generosity of Ono and Gibson Musical Instruments, three scholarships totaling $20,000 are presented annually for the best original songs in any musical genre. Over the past twenty years, more than $400,000 in scholarships has been awarded to talented young musicians from colleges and universities throughout the United States, making this award one of the nation’s most esteemed accolades for emerging songwriters.

1. Applicants may submit only one song to the competition.
2. The submitted work must be an original song with lyrics accompanied by whatever instrumentation is chosen by the applicant. Both lyrics and music must be original and not based on any prior work.
3. The entry must be submitted as a MP3 or MP4a file, which should be named only with the title of the song. One copy of the lyrics must also be submitted as a PDF. Neither of these items may indicate the name of the applicant or their school. Applicants should retain copies of their recordings and lyrics since the Foundation will not undertake to return materials.
4. In the case of a joint or co-written song:
   1. All co-applicants must meet all eligibility requirements.
   2. Such a jointly written work will be considered as a single entry.
   3. Should a jointly written work receive any type of award under this contest, the scholarship will be divided equally between applicants.
5. Applicants for all songs must warrant that they have not assigned any rights in the submitted work to a major music publisher or major record label.

Eligibility Requirements

• Aged between 17 and 24 years old
• Type of institution award is open to: two-year college
• Type of institution award is open to: four-year college

Application Requirements

• Application form required

How To Apply