Jazz Songwriter wins Lennon Songwriting Contest for First Time

New York, July 21, 2005 -- Brian Rothschild, Executive Director of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, Sony recording artists and stars of their own BET unscripted drama series, Fatty Koo, and Cheryl Severini from JLSC founding sponsor Maxell Corporation, presented the $20,000 check for the 2004 Maxell Song of the Year to Scott Routenberg of Miami, Florida. His song, “Bandwidth," is the first composition in the Jazz category of the Contest to be honored as the Maxell Song of the Year. The writer was noted as a runner-up in last year’s JLSC in the Electronic category and has won numerous awards including the ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Awards (2003 & 2004).

Routenberg is a professional jazz pianist with a Master of Music degree in Jazz Piano Performance and a second MM in Media Writing and Production from the University of Miami. In addition, he teaches Jazz and Popular Music History at Miami-Dade College and is starting the Doctoral program this Fall at UM for his DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts). He has studied with Brazilian pianist Manfredo Fest and modern jazz composer Ron Miller, among others. He was also a composer participant in the 2004 Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles.

The Grand Prize Winners of all 12 musical categories become eligible for the Maxell Song of the Year, the winner of which is selected by a most impressive group of performers and songwriters including Elton John, Carlos Santana, Brooks & Dunn, Black Eyed Peas, Wyclef Jean, Enrique Iglesias, Dave Koz, Amy Grant, Carol Bayer Sager, to name a few.

In its ninth year, the JLSC will distribute over $240,000 in cash and prizes, the largest prize package to date. The Contest now has two sessions, the first from April 15 to August 15, 2005, and the second from August 16 through December 15, 2005. The Contest is open to amateur and professional songwriters who may enter as many songs as they like in any number of categories. Details are available by visiting www.jlsc.com.

The John Lennon Songwriting Contest chose to announce the Maxell Song of the Year winner at the NAMM Summer Session for the third consecutive year to highlight the mutual goals of the JLSC and NAMM, the International Music Products Association, and NAMM’s non-profit affiliate, the American Music Conference (AMC). Both strive to educate and encourage young people to write and play music and to provide options for career opportunities in the business of music. The non-profit John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, the mobile state-of-the-art recording and multimedia studio, travels nationwide throughout the year to schools, conferences, concerts and community centers, and provides free workshops and tours of the facility. JLSC is also a supporter of themusicedge.com, AMC’s free website for teens that provides music news, entertainment, and music making opportunities.

About the John Lennon Songwriting Contest:
The John Lennon Songwriting Contest, in its ninth year, is dedicated to providing opportunities to both professional and amateur songwriters. Winners in 12 categories receive awards and prizes totaling over $240,000. The $20,000 Maxell Song of the Year is selected by a stellar Executive Committee including Elton John, Tim McGraw, Wyclef Jean, Sugar Ray, Carlos Santana, Black Eyed Peas John Legend, Enrique Iglesias, Mary J. Blige, Nick Lachey, and many more. Sponsors of the Contest include Maxell, Roland, Brian Moore Guitars, Audio-Technica, EMI Music Publishing, musiciansfriend.com, and Disc Makers. The John Lennon Songwriting Contest is made possible by an agreement with Yoko Ono Lennon who said “I hope this Contest will encourage, inspire and help the songwriters of the world to share their dreams with us." The Contest spawned the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, a non-profit state-of-the-art mobile recording and multimedia studio that travels the country year-round providing free music and video education programs for young people. These programs are possible through the generosity of Maxell Corporation, Apple Computer, NAMM, EMI Music Publishing, iGuitar, Roland, Sibelius, Elixir Strings, Edirol, Audio-Technica, and many more corporate sponsors.

About Maxell:
Maxell Corporation of America, a technology and marketing leader, is a full-line manufacturer of digital media products for consumer, professional, and data storage applications. Maxell, a recognized brand leader for over 30 years, markets a comprehensive line of digital tape and disc-based recording media products for consumer audio, video, camcorder and data storage applications. The company also manufactures and markets a wide range of consumer battery products, as well as a full line of care and maintenance accessories, headphones and hands-free headsets

About NAMM:
The International Music Products Association, commonly called NAMM in reference to the organization’s popular NAMM trade shows, is the not-for-profit association that unifies, leads and strengthens the $16 billion global musical instruments and products industry. NAMM’s activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages. NAMM is comprised of approximately 8,000 Member companies. For more information about NAMM, interested parties can visit www.namm.com or call 800-767-NAMM (6266)