The submission deadline for the 9th Annual Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) Song Contest has been extended to Dec. 10.  The contest, open to aspiring songwriters in all music genres, is presented by CMT.  NSAI members may enter for $35 per song, while the per-song fee for others is $45.

The grand prize winner, one CMT Listeners’ Choice winner and four finalists will receive a single-song publishing contract from one of a half-dozen major Music Row publishers.  Bart Harbison, NSAI’s executive director, believes this will “create an opportunity for the aspiring songwriter to build relationships with top-notch songwriters, publishers and music industry executives that would normally take years to establish.”  Other prizes include hour-long mentoring sessions from top songwriters, a three-day trip to Nashville and a private tour of the CMT studios.

Ten runners-up and 40 honorable mentions also will be named, while all songs entered will receive a judging report from the music industry executives, professional songwriters and NSAI board members.  Songs will be evaluated based on lyrics, melody and composition; performance and production will not be evaluated.  In addition, fans logging onto www.nsai.cmt.com will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite song from among the 15 finalists between Jan. 20-Feb. 28, 2009.

Complete contest rules, prize information and an entry form also may be accessed at the above Web address, while entries may be submitted online via broadjam.com.