In modern times, The Blues Music Award is considered the highest award a blues artist can receive for excellence in their craft. Artists whose names have appeared on a final ballot for the Blues Music Awards (and formerly the W.C. Handy Awards) have achieved a level of notoriety within the blues world that sets them apart from all other blues artists. It is one of the measuring sticks by which a successful career in the blues industry can be gauged. For the purpose of the IBC, being named on a final ballot for the Blues Music Awards (formerly the W.C. Handy Awards) will be considered the only measuring stick of success with regard to determining eligibility.

Therefore, the only artists who are deemed ineligible to even be considered for entry in the International Blues Challenge are artists whose names have appeared on a final ballot in the 29 year history of the Blues Music Awards. All other traditional gauges of success are moot in determining eligibility for the IBC.

THE INTERNATIONAL BLUES CHALLENGE IS RESTRICTED TO ACTS REPRESENTING AN AFFILIATED ORGANIZATION OF THE BLUES FOUNDATION.A complete list of Blues Foundation Affiliated Organizations is available here.


The IBC adheres to the following criteria for what constitutes a band and what constitutes a solo/duo act.

Band- any act with three or more musicians. Vocalists are counted as musicians for the purpose of this competition. Both electric and acoustic instruments are allowed.

Solo/Duo- any act with one or two musicians. Vocalists are counted as musicians for the purpose of this competition. Both electric and acoustic instruments are allowed.

GUIDELINES FOR AFFILIATES:
1. Each of The Blues Foundation's over 170 Affiliated Organizations has the right (but not the obligation) to enter a contestant in the IBC. (If your society is not an affiliate, contact Jay Sieleman at jay@blues.org).
2. An Affiliate's representative may be chosen by any means the organization sees fit, whether through a regional competition (recommended) or by appointment. If an affiliate does not conduct a competition to determine who it will sponsor but instead appoints a representative, that representative may not include a board member or officer.

3. Each Affiliate may enter a Band in the Band Divison AND a Solo/Duo act in the Solo/Duo Division to compete in the 25th IBC in 2009.
4. If the Band and/or Solo/Duo act is appointed rather than selected through a regional competition, the Affiliate must demonstrate through official organization meeting minutes that the organization has adopted this band and/or this solo/duo act as its official representative(s).
5. An Affiliate's entrant is considered a representative of that Affiliate in every capacity. Thus, the Affiliate remains liable for any problems created by its representative.
6. All digital applications, as well as findings of eligibility and registration requirements for IBC are the responsibility of the Affiliate, NOT THE ENTRANT.
7. The Blues Foundation will stand as the final arbiter of any eligibility disputes. All contestants will have to have a copy of the affidavit on file with The Blues Foundation before competing in IBC. Any Band found at any time to have been ineligible at the time of the competition will be stripped of its award(s) and the Affiliate may be liable for financial restitution of cash and other prizes to The Blues Foundation.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
Restrictions:
--Any artist whose name has appeared on a final Blues Music Award(Handy) ballot is ineligible. All other musicians who have had peripheral and/or professional contact through performance with a Handy nominee, including but not limited to touring band members and studio musicians, are deemed eligible for the IBC
--An individual may not compete in more than one act in any capacity.
--A musician cannot compete in the Band Division and the Solo/Duo Division, even if that musician represents a different Affiliate in each.
No other entry restrictions apply. This means that management contracts, booking agent contracts, recording contracts, performance contracts (even those that include regular television or radio broadcast) and nationally distributed recordings have no bearing on eligibility.

If you still have questions, ask Joe Whitmer at joe@blues.org.