[gtranslate]
News

Happy Mag’s Needle in the Hay vinyl competition is open now!

Want your music pressed to vinyl? It’s time to enter Needle in the Hay, Australia’s largest independent music competition.

Every year, Happy Mag has the pleasure of conducting Needle in the Hay, a music competition with a grand prize of having your single pressed to vinyl. Today, we’re stoked to share that Needle in the Hay 2022 early bird entries are officially open!

So if you have a killer single in the demo phase, or you’ve just released something red hot, we want to hear about it.

NEEDLE in the HAY 2022
Photo: Dani Hansen

The grand prize of Needle in the Hay is, as always, having your winning single pressed to 7-inch vinyl by the legends at Zenith Records, Melbourne. But there’s more! Over $30,000 in runner-up prizes are yet to be announced, so stay tuned for more info there soon.

Needle in the Hay 2022 will be judged by a selection of Australian and New Zealand industry figureheads stretching across the disciplines of music making, radio, media, and live events. To better represent the growing diversity of artists entering their music into Needle in the Hay, the judging panel has more than doubled in size compared to previous competitions.

And for the first time ever, four Needle in the Hay 2022 finalists will be selected to take part in a one-on-one mentorship program with a selection of Australia and New Zealand’s most esteemed songwriters and producers. Check out the full list of judges and mentors below.

Needle in the Hay 2022: Judges

Benjamin Law
FlexMami
Georgia Mooney
Jeff Apter
Kieran Llama (Spacey Jane)
Marieke Hardy
Ngaiire
Stephen Ferris
Zach Stevenson (Hockey Dad)

Needle in the Hay 2022: Mentors

Andy Bull
Lawrence Arabia
Lenka
Tom Iansek

Needle in the Hay is now in its sixth year running, growing bigger and bigger with new instalments. The winners of Needle in the Hay 2022 will join a list of competition alumni including Tones and I, Spacey Jane, Haiku Hands, The Buoys, and so many more.

Early bird entries are open now. Head here to submit your single into Needle in the Hay 2022.