Submission Licence Agreement

Version 1.0

Introduction

This Submission Licence Agreement ("Agreement") explains the rights granted to The Meridian Awards Ltd ("Meridian", "we", "our" or "us") when an Entrant submits a Submission to the Awards.

Meridian believes that creators should retain ownership of their work. This Agreement exists solely to define the limited permissions Meridian requires to administer, judge, recognise, promote, document and archive the Awards.

By submitting a Submission to the Awards, the Entrant agrees to grant Meridian the rights described in this Agreement.

This Agreement forms part of the Awards Entry Terms and Conditions. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and the Awards Entry Terms and Conditions, the Awards Entry Terms and Conditions shall prevail unless this Agreement expressly states otherwise.

1. Definitions

For the purposes of this Agreement:

Awards means The Meridian Awards programme, including all award categories, competitions, initiatives, ceremonies and associated activities organised by Meridian.

Entrant means any individual or organisation that submits, or intends to submit, a Submission to the Awards.

Judge means an individual authorised by Meridian to assess eligible Submissions.

Meridian, we, our or us means The Meridian Awards Ltd, a company incorporated in England and Wales under company number 17298148.

Submission means any information, recording, musical work, audiovisual work, image, artwork, photograph, biography, lyric, document, metadata, declaration or other material submitted to Meridian in connection with the Awards.

Website means www.themeridianawards.com, together with any associated subdomains, web pages, online portals, judging platforms and digital services owned or operated by Meridian.

You or your means any individual or organisation acting as an Entrant or otherwise submitting a Submission to the Awards.

2. Ownership of Submissions

The Entrant retains all copyright, neighbouring rights, publishing rights, performer rights, trademark rights, moral rights and all other intellectual property rights in the Submission.

Submission to the Awards does not transfer ownership of any Submission to Meridian.

Nothing in this Agreement gives Meridian ownership of:

  • musical works; 
  • sound recordings; 
  • music videos; 
  • lyrics;  
  • artwork;  
  • artist photographs; 
  • logos;  
  • biographies;  
  • social media handles; 
  • Dolby Atmos or immersive audio versions; 
  • promotional materials; 
  • any other intellectual property contained within a Submission. 

Meridian receives only the limited licence described in this Agreement.

3. Licence Granted to Meridian

By submitting a Submission to the Awards, the Entrant grants Meridian a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use the Submission solely for purposes connected with the administration, judging, promotion, documentation and historical record of the Awards.

This licence allows Meridian to use submitted materials for Awards-related purposes only.

The licence is:

  • worldwide, so Meridian may operate and promote the Awards internationally; 
  • non-exclusive, meaning the Entrant remains free to use, license, release, promote and exploit the Submission elsewhere; 
  • royalty-free, meaning Meridian is not required to pay royalties for the permitted uses described in this Agreement; 
  • limited, meaning Meridian may only use the Submission for the purposes set out in this Agreement; 
  • non-transferable, except where Meridian permits authorised third parties to use or access the Submission solely on Meridian's behalf and in accordance with this Agreement. 

4. Permitted Uses

Meridian may use Submissions for the following purposes:

  • administering the Awards; 
  • verifying eligibility; 
  • processing and reviewing entries; 
  • making Submissions available to authorised Judges; 
  • assessing Submissions as part of the judging process; 
  • announcing shortlisted Entrants, finalists and winners; 
  • creating finalist and winner profiles; 
  • publishing Awards results; 
  • producing digital recognition materials; 
  • producing certificates, trophies or other official Awards materials; 
  • creating press releases and media announcements; 
  • promoting the Awards on the Website; 
  • promoting the Awards on social media; 
  • promoting the Awards through newsletters and email communications; 
  • promoting the Awards through printed or digital marketing materials; 
  • producing event materials, including programmes, visuals, presentations and ceremony content; 
  • creating editorial or educational content directly connected to the Awards; 
  • maintaining Meridian's institutional archive and historical record; 
  • documenting the history, finalists, winners and development of the Awards. 

Meridian may use Submissions through any current or future media, platform or communication channel used in connection with the promotion, administration, documentation or historical record of the Awards.

All use must remain directly connected to Meridian, the Awards or the recognition of Entrants, finalists or winners.

5. Submitted Materials Covered by this Agreement

This Agreement applies to any materials submitted to Meridian in connection with the Awards, including:

  • audio recordings; 
  • musical works; 
  • Dolby Atmos or immersive audio files; 
  • music videos; 
  • lyric videos; 
  • live performance videos; 
  • artwork;  
  • artist photographs; 
  • logos;  
  • biographies;  
  • lyrics;  
  • song titles; 
  • release titles; 
  • contributor credits; 
  • social media handles; 
  • website links; 
  • streaming links; 
  • promotional text; 
  • press materials; 
  • declarations;  
  • supporting documentation. 

This Agreement applies only to materials submitted to Meridian by the Entrant, materials supplied with the Entrant's authority, or materials that are publicly available and reasonably necessary for the promotion, administration or documentation of the Awards.

6. Audio and Video Use

Meridian may use full audio recordings, full immersive audio files, full videos and other full creative materials where reasonably necessary for:

  • eligibility review; 
  • judging;  
  • internal administration; 
  • verification;  
  • secure review by authorised Judges. 

For public promotional purposes, Meridian may use reasonable excerpts of submitted audio or video materials.

Unless separately agreed in writing, Meridian will not use more than 60 seconds of any individual submitted audio recording or audiovisual work for public promotional purposes.

Meridian may use shorter excerpts, still images, thumbnails, clips or screenshots where appropriate for Awards-related promotion, editorial content, finalist announcements, winner announcements or historical documentation.

Meridian will not publish or make available a complete submitted song, recording, video or audiovisual work for public consumption unless:

  • the material has already been made publicly available by the Entrant or relevant rights holder; 
  • the use is limited to embedding or linking to an authorised third-party platform; or 
  • the Entrant has provided separate written permission. 

7. Promotional Adaptations and Formatting

The Entrant permits Meridian to make reasonable technical and promotional adaptations to submitted materials where necessary for Awards-related use.

This may include:

  • resizing images; 
  • cropping artwork or photographs; 
  • converting file formats; 
  • compressing files; 
  • creating thumbnails; 
  • adding subtitles or captions; 
  • adding Meridian branding; 
  • incorporating materials into social media graphics; 
  • incorporating materials into event visuals; 
  • editing short promotional clips; 
  • formatting materials for the Website, press, newsletters, presentations or social media. 

Meridian will not knowingly alter a Submission in a way that materially misrepresents the Entrant, the work, the artist, the creative contributors or the meaning of the Submission.

8. Third-Party Access and Service Providers

Meridian may allow authorised third parties to access or use Submissions where reasonably necessary for the operation, administration, promotion or fulfilment of the Awards.

Such third parties may include:

  • Judges;  
  • web developers; 
  • designers;  
  • video editors; 
  • printers;  
  • trophy manufacturers; 
  • marketing agencies; 
  • press or publicity representatives; 
  • event production teams; 
  • technology providers; 
  • storage and hosting providers; 
  • professional advisers. 

Any such access or use must be limited to the relevant Awards-related purpose.

Meridian will take reasonable steps to ensure that third parties acting on its behalf use Submissions only as instructed by Meridian and in a manner consistent with this Agreement.

Nothing in this Agreement permits Meridian to sell, assign or transfer ownership of a Submission to any third party.

9. Social Media and Public Sharing

Meridian may use Submissions and related materials for Awards-related social media activity.

This may include:

  • announcing shortlisted Entrants, finalists and winners; 
  • tagging artists, bands, collaborators or representatives; 
  • reposting public posts made by Entrants about the Awards; 
  • sharing public announcements made by Entrants; 
  • creating Awards-related social media graphics, reels, stories, posts or videos; 
  • linking to publicly available music, videos, interviews or artist profiles. 

Meridian may use publicly available social media handles, artist names, project names, artwork, photographs and approved promotional materials where reasonably necessary to promote the Awards or recognise Entrants, finalists and winners.

Nothing in this Agreement requires an Entrant to endorse Meridian, any sponsor, any partner or any third-party product or service.

10. Attribution

Meridian will make reasonable efforts to credit Entrants, artists, bands or projects when using Submissions publicly.

Attribution may include, where appropriate:

  • artist or band name; 
  • project name; 
  • song or release title; 
  • category;  
  • finalist or winner status; 
  • publicly provided credits; 
  • social media handle; 
  • website or streaming link. 

Meridian is not liable for accidental omission, formatting limitations, platform restrictions or minor errors in attribution, provided that Meridian takes reasonable steps to correct significant errors once notified.

11. Historical Archive

Meridian may retain and use materials relating to finalists, winners and official Awards recognition indefinitely as part of its institutional archive and historical record.

This may include:

  • finalist and winner names; 
  • artist or project names; 
  • category placements; 
  • award results; 
  • artwork;  
  • photographs;  
  • biographies;  
  • excerpts;  
  • press materials; 
  • public announcements; 
  • event materials; 
  • ceremony materials; 
  • digital recognition assets. 

This archival licence is necessary to preserve the history and credibility of the Awards.

Unsuccessful Submissions will be retained in accordance with Meridian's Privacy Policy, Awards Entry Terms and Conditions and applicable retention policies.

12. No AI Training or Machine Learning Use

Meridian will not use Submissions, and will not knowingly permit Submissions to be used, for the training, development, testing or improvement of artificial intelligence, machine learning systems or generative AI models without the Entrant's separate express written consent.

This restriction applies to submitted audio, video, lyrics, artwork, images, biographies, metadata and any other creative or personal materials included in a Submission.

For the avoidance of doubt, Meridian may use ordinary administrative, storage, search, security or technical tools where reasonably necessary to operate the Awards, provided such use does not involve training generative AI models on Submissions.

13. No Commercial Exploitation of Submissions

Meridian will not sell, license, commercially exploit or otherwise monetise any Submission outside the operation, promotion, documentation or historical record of the Awards without the Entrant's separate written permission.

Meridian will not, without separate written permission from the Entrant or relevant rights holder:

  • sell an Entrant's music; 
  • license an Entrant's music to film, television, advertising, games or other media;  
  • release commercial compilations containing submitted works; 
  • monetise full recordings or videos as standalone commercial products; 
  • grant commercial sync licences; 
  • transfer exploitation rights to sponsors or partners. 

Nothing in this clause prevents Meridian from using Submissions for legitimate Awards-related promotion, publicity, event presentation, editorial coverage, finalist announcements, winner announcements, sponsor-supported Awards activity or historical archive purposes, provided such use remains consistent with this Agreement.

14. No Endorsement

Nothing in this Agreement permits Meridian to state or imply that an Entrant endorses any sponsor, commercial partner, product, service, campaign or organisation unless the Entrant has separately agreed to such endorsement in writing.

Meridian may identify sponsors, partners or supporters of the Awards in proximity to Awards-related content, provided this does not falsely imply personal endorsement by an Entrant.

Meridian may truthfully state that an Entrant has been shortlisted, nominated, recognised or awarded by Meridian where applicable.

15. Duration of the Licence

The licence granted under this Agreement begins when the Submission is submitted to Meridian.

For Submissions that do not become finalists or winners, the licence continues for as long as reasonably necessary to administer the relevant Awards cycle, complete judging, resolve disputes, comply with legal obligations and maintain ordinary business records.

For finalists, winners and other officially recognised Entrants, the licence continues indefinitely for purposes connected with:

  • public recognition; 
  • Awards history; 
  • institutional archive; 
  • editorial record; 
  • press record; 
  • promotional reference; 
  • verification of past results. 

This continuing licence is necessary to preserve the integrity, credibility and historical record of the Awards.

16. Withdrawal and Revocation

An Entrant may request withdrawal of a Submission before the relevant submission deadline, subject to the Awards Entry Terms and Conditions and any published withdrawal rules.

Withdrawal of a Submission does not automatically entitle the Entrant to a refund.

Once a Submission has been shortlisted, selected as a finalist, announced publicly, recognised or awarded, the Entrant may not revoke the licence granted to Meridian for historical, archival, publicity or record-keeping purposes.

Meridian may, at its discretion, consider reasonable requests to correct, update or remove specific materials where appropriate, but is not required to remove historical references to finalists, winners, Awards results or official recognition.

Nothing in this clause limits rights that an individual may have under applicable data protection legislation in relation to their Personal Data. Such rights are addressed in Meridian's Privacy Policy.

17. Moral Rights and Integrity of the Work

Entrants retain any moral rights they may hold in a Submission.

By submitting a Submission, the Entrant consents to Meridian making reasonable formatting, technical and promotional adaptations permitted by this Agreement, including cropping, resizing, excerpting, captioning, branding and editing for Awards-related purposes.

Meridian will not knowingly use a Submission in a manner that is derogatory, misleading or materially prejudicial to the Entrant's honour, reputation or professional standing.

18. Entrant Warranties

By submitting a Submission, the Entrant represents and warrants that:

  • they have the authority to grant the licence described in this Agreement; 
  • they own or control the rights necessary to submit the Submission; 
  • they have obtained all permissions required from collaborators, performers, producers, labels, publishers, managers, photographers, videographers, designers and other relevant rights holders; 
  • Meridian's permitted use of the Submission under this Agreement will not infringe the rights of any third party; 
  • all submitted materials are accurate and authorised for submission; 
  • the Submission complies with the Awards Entry Terms and Conditions and all applicable Meridian policies. 

The Entrant accepts responsibility for any claims, disputes or losses arising from a breach of these warranties.

19. Relationship with Other Meridian Documents

This Agreement should be read together with Meridian's:

  • Awards Entry Terms and Conditions; 
  • Privacy Policy; 
  • AI Submission Policy; 
  • Judging and Confidentiality Policy; 
  • Website Terms and Conditions; 
  • Cookie Policy. 

The Awards Entry Terms and Conditions govern participation in the Awards generally.

This Agreement governs the rights granted to Meridian in relation to Submissions.

The Privacy Policy governs the processing of Personal Data.

The AI Submission Policy governs the use and disclosure of artificial intelligence or AI-assisted technologies in Submissions.

20. Changes to this Agreement

Meridian may update this Agreement from time to time to reflect changes in legislation, technology, operational requirements or the continued development of the Awards.

The most recent version will always be published on the Website, together with its version number and effective date.

Where reasonably practicable, material changes affecting current Entrants will be published on the Website or otherwise communicated by Meridian.

Continued participation in, or Submission to, the Awards following publication of an updated Agreement constitutes acceptance of the revised Agreement.

21. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.

Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this Agreement shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

22. Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding this Submission Licence Agreement, please contact:

The Meridian Awards Ltd

71 to 75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom

Email: support@themeridianawards.com 

Closing Statement

Meridian believes that recognising artistic excellence should never require creators to surrender ownership of their work.

This Agreement reflects Meridian's commitment to respecting the rights of artists while providing the limited permissions necessary to administer the Awards, celebrate achievement and preserve the historical record of recognised creative work.

The Entrant keeps ownership. Meridian receives only the permissions needed to operate, promote, document and honour the Awards with fairness, clarity and respect.

Document Information

Document: Submission Licence Agreement

Version: 1.0

Effective Date: 1 July 2026

Last Updated: 1 July 2026

Document Owner: The Meridian Awards Ltd