National selection rules for "Eurovision Song Contest 2012"

Pursuant to the Rules of the Eurovision Song Contest, these provisions specify the procedure for National Selection of Azerbaijan’s participant for the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. 

Upon the victory at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany, Azerbaijan won the right to host the following contest.

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 will be held in Baku on May 22, 24 and 26, 2012.

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 (hereinafter referred to as ESC-2012) is a TV product broadly recognized throughout the world. Pursuant to the Contest terms, the contest constitutes a musical competition among representatives of the countries actively involved in activities of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

İctimai TV of Azerbaijan (hereinafter referred to as The Organizedr) is an agency responsible for the arrangement and broadcast of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, as well as for the selection of Azerbaijan’s representative and the song to be performed at the ESC-2012.

 

In its capacity of the organizer of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, İctimai TV of Azerbaijan is responsible for the preparation to the ESC-2012 and  selection of the national representative in compliance with the requirements of the EBU and ESC-2012.

With a view to conducting preparation to the ESC-2012 the Organizer shall create the Organizing Committee comprising local (and/or) foreign representatives. The Organizing Committee is the agency responsible for the arrangement of the national selection contest. While conducting their activities, the Organizer and the Organizing Committee may invite local physical and legal persons as experts and advisers.

Information regarding the selection contest, as well as the Jury’s decisions and the news regarding the outcomes of the selection may be broadcast through any media outlet expressing its willingness to report, as well as through the Internet.

Website of the İctimai TV (www.itv.az) and its page dedicated to Azerbaijan’s engagement in the ESC-2012 shall constitute the major source of information concerning the ESC-2012 participation. The web-site in question shall present reports and other data regarding the contest. Access to the information will be also provided through the official ESC-2012 website (www.eurovision.tv). 

2.1 As the broadcaster and participant of the ESC-2012, the Organizer shall enjoy full independence in identifying the performer to represent Azerbaijan in the said event, as well as language of the song to be performed.

2.2 With a view to selecting the national representative for the ESC-2012, the Organizer shall form the Jury comprising experts in TV, stenography, vocal art and show business administration, as well as renown figures in culture and art in Azerbaijan and throughout the world.  

The Jury Panel shall include 7 members and 1 voting secretary. The Director General of İctimai TV shall chair the Jury Panel. Secretary of the Panel shall have no right to vote.

   

Each member of the Jury Panel shall evaluate each song immediately upon its presentation (on 1-10 grade scale). The grade shall be then written down on a blank form and passed over to the Secretary of the Jury Panel for secret ballot.

The Secretary of the Jury Panel shall be responsible for the calculation of votes and each participant’s placement.

With a view to preventing outside pressure on the Jury members, names of the panelists  shall not be publicly disclosed until the final round of the national selection process. No payment shall be foreseen for the Jury. Members of the Jury Panel shall enjoy equal rights. Each Panel member shall have one vote only. Decisions are taken by simple majority.

• At the initial stage, the Organizing Committee shall announce the collection of documents. Azerbaijani nationals and foreign citizens above the age of 16 are invited to partake in the process of presenting documents.

• During the second phase, first hearings of those presenting the documents shall be held. The Jury identifies the participants of the first round of the national selection. Up to 100 participants may be selected through a simple majority of votes for further competition to represent the country at the ESC-2012.

• During the third phase, the contestants are divided into groups not exceeding 15 persons. Each group shall make weekly performances to be broadcast live by İctimai TV. On each given day of the week, the contestants shall present worldwide famous hits, Azerbaijani variety pieces, Eurovision hits, folk songs and dances. Winners of the weekly contest shall move to the following round. The selection shall be made by TV vote (through SMS or ground telephone lines) and vote by the members of the Jury Panel. SMS and ground lines of the participants shall be constantly communicated throughout the week.

Participants shall be notified in due course regarding the date of each round mentioned above.

The song to be performed by the Azerbaijani representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 shall be identified through the Jury’s vote by March 1, 2012.

The Organizer or its representative shall sign the contract on cooperation with the winner of the national selection procedure specifying relations in the framework of the preparation to Azerbaijan’s participation in the Eurovision-2012.

In case of any objections by the Organizer, the Organizing Committee, the Jury or the representative to the song to be performed, the song may be changed. The deadline for changing the song is March 20, 2012.

3.1 The song, subject to copyright, shall be presented before October 01, 2011 in one of the following formats:

a) Internet or other audio means (e.g. cassette, compact disk, mini disk, etc.);

b) Radio and TV broadcast, as well as public performances;

3.2 Maximum length of the song shall be 3 minutes.

3.3 Only songs with exclusive copyright for music and lyrics and no prior commercial use reported by the authors shall be eligible for the contest.

3.4 Music and lyrics for the song to be presented for the ESC-2012 may be composed by both local and foreign authors. Authors of lyrics and music shall confirm their copyright and present them on a contractual basis to the contest organizers.

3.5 Lyrics of the song and/or the manner of its performance should not undermine the contest’s credibility. No obscene words, advertisement of political statements shall be voiced.

3.6 Participants of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 shall be no younger that 16 years of age by the time of the Contest (i.e. May 2012). The same requirement holds true to participants of dancing groups accompanying the performance.

3.7 Number of performers on stage shall be restricted to 6.

3.8 Performers shall present their songs live with music recorded on sound track. The sound track accompanying the performance shall contain no vocal elements, including imitation of music instruments by human voice.

3.9 The first and the second winners of the contest, as well as authors of the songs they perform shall comply with certain obligations bound with the songs’ performance. The following rights shall be granted to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU):

a) Right to broadcast, i.e. exclusive international broadcast of the ESC-2012, unlimited  in time, including its unlimited, full or partial broadcast,  live, recorded or through  the Internet;

b) Right to first view, i.e. exclusive right to present the song’s audio and video components, fully or partially, through TV, Internet or wireless media;

c) Right to compile CD-s and DVD-s, i.e. commercial production of  DVD-s (or similar carriers) comprising collections of audio and video records of selected hits of 2012 throughout the world.

d) Right to use fragments, i.e. non-exclusive right to incorporate, fully or partially, audio and video records of the song’s performance at the Eurovision-2012 international contest through any media service throughout the world and with no limitation in time.

e) Right to parts of the national selection round, i.e. non-exclusive right to centralized incorporation on behalf of the EBU of the broadcast of the song’s performance, fully or partially, into any program throughout the world and with no limitation in time.

Besides the rights mentioned above, authors of music and lyrics, as well as legal owners of the song selected, shall grant the following permissions:

a) Lyrics: Authors of the lyrics shall sanction copying and even translation of the lyrics into English, French and other languages of the participant states. E.g. information in the course of the contest shall be used at the EBU free of charge.

b) Permits granted by performers and other owners shall include the following: publishing and broadcast of names, images, voice, photos and CV-s, live broadcast of the Eurovision 2012 contest’s semi-final and final, as well as use of mass media.

c) Karaoke online contest: authors of music and lyrics shall not interfere with the contest participants. They shall agree to non-commercial presentation of audio-visual records to the public at large, as well as to their unlimited broadcast throughout the world in time and quantity, as well as through any technical means available.

4.1 The Organizer shall enjoy the full and exclusive rights to enter into agreements with sponsors, broadcast, as well as the concert’s compilation and preparation.

4.2 The Organizer undertakes the commitment to conduct the process of national selection aiming at identification of the representative to the Eurovision 2012 in strict compliance with the EBU rules and regulations.

4.3 Once the finalist is identified, the Organizing Committee shall arrange for his/her guest performances at the participant states, promotional tours, and provide support in arranging concerts and other events, drafting promotion package, costumes, as well as engage in upgrading the concert number, song, etc.

4.4 Official representative and reserve performer shall sign the contract of cooperation with the project organizer. The contract in question shall be drafted pursuant to the international regulations of the Eurovision Song Contest.

4.5 During the preparation period to the ESC-2012, selected performer shall not enter into any agreement with third parties (e.g. producers, representatives, agencies or persons) with no consent by the Organizing Committee.

4.6 Upon completion of all steps foreseen in the course of the national selection process, an official representative shall be selected. In exceptional cases the official representative may be replaced by the reserve performer.

Decision on this matter shall be passed by the Organizer.