[2023 banner artwork by @AhWham - for details on new artwork, keep reading!]

WHAT IS THIS?

This is the second annual Newgrounds Christmas in July collaboration album!

You can listen to the first one here:

We will be making instrumental covers (that means no lyrics) of public domain Christmas songs to release as a royalty free album for free streaming and free download on Newgrounds, as well as the dedicated Christmas in July Bandcamp and YouTube pages. Did I mention free?

HOW DO I JOIN?

Linked here is a spreadsheet of the songs that are still available to cover. Private message me on Newgrounds (@MasterHand4444) to claim a song!

When claiming a song, please include the following (submissions that do not include the following will either be asked to supply any additional needed information or will be ignored):

• Why you’d like to join the collab
• Three examples of your best work (preferably on Newgrounds)
• The song you’d like to claim, as well as a backup should your song be unavailable

Unlike last year, tracks may only be claimed via Newgrounds private messaging.

You do not need to be a scouted artist to join, but it is preferred.

There are currently 19 songs available to claim, and there are two slots available for each song, meaning there are 38 slots available. While songs are on a “first come, first serve” basis, admission to the collab is not - once you have been accepted into the collab, then you will be able to select your song. If you would like to join and are denied, or if the song you’d like to claim is unavailable, I apologize!

If there is a public domain Christmas song not on the list that you’d like to cover, let me know and I will see if we can add your song! Remember, songs must be in the public domain to be eligible. Think “Jingle Bells,” not “All I Want for Christmas is You.”

Please join the NG Audio Portal Collab Center server, where this collab is being organized, for the most frequent updates regarding the collab’s progress! A link to join is below.

The spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zy5fl3_tjyabHim_ZFvbUsvzF1kcWWWQcBqQN-9KCM8/edit?usp=sharing

The NGAP Collab Center Discord: https://discord.gg/qqrq6KTZBv

Finally, I reserve the right to turn away any musician for any reason. Denial to the collab will either come in the form of a reply or an ignoring of your message. Thank you for understanding.

WHAT ARE THE GUIDELINES?

1. Keep your song instrumental! Vocal samples are okay, but no actual lyrics!
2. Keep your songs rated E! Not sure how you’d make an explicit song without lyrics, but don’t attempt to do that for this!
3. Follow all existing Newgrounds Audio Portal guidelines! This not only ensures that your track is suitable for NG, but that it is suitable for people to use copyright free.
4. You can work alone or as a group - be sure to let me know the Newgrounds usernames of everyone involved in the project! There is no limit to how many people can work on one song as long as everyone is properly credited. Additionally, a person working on their own claimed track can collab with others for their tracks.
5. With that being said, if you are working as a group, the person who claimed the song is responsible for organizing that group.
6. Songs must be submitted to me via PMs on Newgrounds or Discord in .wav file format. Tracks sent as .mp3 or otherwise will be asked to resubmit as a .wav file.
7. Submissions MUST be shared with a dedicated file sharing system, such as NG’s Dumping Groups or Google Drive. Do not send me your song directly!! (Keep in mind that audio files can only be uploaded to NG Dump in .zip files). Tracks sent directly will be asked to resubmit via NG Dump or Google Drive.
8. Songs must be at least 1:00 [one minute] long, with a maximum runtime of 6:00 [six minutes]. Songs that subceed or exceed these guidelines will be asked to be either extended or shortened.
9. There are no guidelines for style regarding the song itself — as long as it even vaguely resembles the song you’re covering, you’re good! Want to convert “Joy to the World” into an avant garde jazz-punk fusion piece, or do you think “Here We Come A-Caroling” would be better as a hyperpop instrumental written in 13/8 time signature? Go absolutely crazy with these songs! (As a personal note, it would be nice to keep in mind that this music is being made for others to use in projects beyond this album. This is not a requirement to keep in mind at all, just something worth mentioning!)

WHAT’S THE DEADLINE?

The deadline to join is June 27th (or when slots run out), and the deadline to submit your song is July 11th! The album will be posted on July 25th, 2024.

Slots may reopen if some artists find themselves unable to complete their submissions, so keep an eye out for any new openings. Openings will be announced via the Discord channel (linked above)!

Late submissions may be accepted depending on outside circumstances, but these will be rare and up to my personal discretion. If you find that you are not able to make the deadline, please contact me in advance and we will work things out! I will work with you if you will work with me!

WHERE WILL THESE TRACKS BE POSTED, AGAIN?

The collab will be posted here on Newgrounds, as well as on Bandcamp and YouTube under a dedicated account specifically created for this collab. I will not monetize this collab in any way, shape, or form on any platform.

This collab is meant to harness the season of giving outside of the season of giving! As such, by submitting your song to this collab, you agree that your song can be downloaded and reused without royalty both commercially and privately. With that being said, once the full album has been posted, feel free to reupload your own submissions to your personal accounts and monetize them in any way you see fit!

ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD KNOW?

If you are a returning artist from a previous Christmas in July album, you may forgo sending me examples of your work and simply request a song.

These guidelines and deadlines may be subject to change should extenuating circumstances arise. Changes will be announced in the NGAP Collab Center.

ANYTHING ELSE NEW THIS YEAR?

Yes, actually - the collab will also feature voice acted skits and the banner will be an art collab to really hit home the collaborative aspect!

I will be personally inviting some of the people I’d like to contribute to this, but if you think you’d like to help with voice acting or artwork, feel free to shoot me a PM with some examples of your best work and maybe you can join! I will provide the full details to you upon contact. The available things to work on for voice acting and artwork are shown in the spreadsheet.

I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION!

Let me know any questions you have on Newgrounds or Discord (my Discord handle is @masterhand4444), and I’ll be more than happy to answer them. This is an annual project, so any kinks that can be ironed out now would help us out in the long run. Please speak up if you spot an issue!

While most major updates will be added to this thread, all updates regarding the collab will be posted in the Newgrounds Audio Portal Collab Center Discord (linked above), so please join the server to keep up to date with all things NG CiJ!

Thanks everyone, and Merry Christmas! Here’s to another brilliant year of seasonally inappropriate music that rocks harder than it has any right to.