After building a successful venue for filmmakers to license music for their films, Musicbed got involved with its community via a print magazine called Film + Music. Now, it's entering the world of contests with the Musicbed Film Initiative. With sponsors like Freefly, Zacuto, Kessler, Røde, Blackmagic, and rewards like round-trip flights from JetBlue, they are essentially offering a everything you need to make a film at a professional level.


Anyone over 18 anywhere in the world can submit, and Musicbed leaves all rights to the filmmaker. Hurry! Submissions close April 4th.

Here's what you need to submit:

  • 350-word synopsis of your film (your submission can be a narrative short, feature or documentary film)
  • Upload photos to your story's mood board (make sure the photos can be legally used)
  • Your choice of a Musicbed artist's music that fits your story
  • One award recipient will receive $40,000 in cash and gear
  • Two runner-ups will receive production gear, rentals and licensing credits

In this case, 80% of the prize-pool goes towards one big winner. Here's what that grand prize winner will receive:

  • Musicbed: $10,000 Cash
  • Lens Rentals: One-week RED Epic Camera Rental
  • JetBlue: 4 Roundtrip Flights
  • Freefly: MoVi M10
  • Defacto Sound: Sound Design & Mixing
  • Zacuto: Gratical X + $500 Rental Credit
  • Kessler: $2,500 Gear Credit
  • Westcott: 2x2 LED Flex Panel
  • RØDE: Microphone Package
  • Red Giant: Magic Bullet Suite + PluralEyes4
  • Blackmagic: DaVinci Resolve
  • Frame.io: Free Account For One Year
  • Presonus: E66 Studio Monitors
  • Musicbed: $1,000 License Credit
  • Filmsupply: $1,000 License Credit

The two runner-ups will receive:

  • Kessler: Gear Credit
  • Blackmagic: DaVinci Resolve
  • RØDE: Microphone Package
  • Zacuto: Z-Finder Pro
  • Westcott: LED Flex Panel
  • Musicbed: License Credit
  • Filmsupply: License Credit
  • Presonus: E44 Studio Monitors
  • Red Giant: PluralEyes4
  • Frame.io: Free Account For One Year

In terms of contests, this is one of the more straightforward and accessible ones we've ever seen. You have no excuse not to submit!