Masterclass: Bruno Morelli (Director of promotions at Virgin EMI)

The Rhythm Studio Foundation is delighted to announce the inaugural Josh Davies Songwriting Prize, a competition open to young people aged 8-18 years who are current students at The Rhythm Studio, or those who have taken part in Rhythm Studio activities during the past 2 years.

To encourage as many applications as possible, there are two categories:

Students in school years 4 to 11 (8-15 year-olds)
Students in school years 12 and 13 (16-18 year-olds)

Competition guidelines

Your song should have a title and feature original lyrics and music.
Your song should be no longer than four minutes in length.
Your song may be arranged in a DAW (e.g. Logic Pro X, Garageband) and submitted as a bounced MP3 audio file, or recorded as a live performance video submitted as a MP4 video file.
Your song must not infringe any copyrights, any rights of any third parties or be generated by AI. Producers may use samples, but any sample used must be copyright free.
Applicants under the age of 16 must obtain adult permission to enter.
If a song is co-written with a friend, please list both writers in your application.

Prizes in each category

First Prize - £150 music store voucher
Runner Up - £100 music store voucher

Key dates

The competition opens for entries on 7th November 2026 and closes on Friday 18th December at midday.

Shortlisted songs will be announced the week commencing 11th January 2027, with the shortlisted songwriters invited to the Josh Davies Songwriting Award Showcase on 19th/20th January / 26th 27th January 2026.

About the Josh Davies Foundation

We are a charitable foundation set up in memory of Josh Davies. Josh tragically died while travelling with friends in 2025 a few days short of his 26th birthday. Josh lived life to the full, relentlessly positive and taking advantage of every opportunity. This applied to all areas of his life - professional, sport, travel, even in the kitchen. He loved a challenge and went about achieving his goals with rigour and discipline. Josh was devoted to his family and friends. He had an extraordinary empathy and sought to deeply understand people, their perspectives and motivations.

We aim to combine this discipline, positivity and empathy to guide us as we build his legacy through the foundation. To encourage and nurture young people in possession of determination and perseverance, supporting them to achieve previously unimagined goals. Through carefully selected charity partners, the foundation will develop targeted programmes, bursaries and scholarships designed to help young people build confidence across a range of activities reflecting Josh’s interests and strengths. These include music, sport, writing and travel, amongst others. In addition to financial support we aim to offer the opportunity to Josh’s family and friends of active engagement through programme participation and mentorship, establishing a framework for long-term development.

The foundation is not only a way of remembering Josh, but of building a lasting legacy in his name, one that will continue to create opportunities, inspire young people and positively impact lives for years to come.