Welcome to Musicbed Challenge, the 30-day short-film competition.

Early access begins on July 1.

Launch is July 8 at 5 pm UTC.
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Submissions close on August 7 at 5 pm UTC. There is no exception for late submissions.

Public voting opens August 18 at 5 pm UTC.

Public voting closes on August 22 at 5 pm UTC.

Winners will be announced on the Musicbed blog on August 29 at 5 pm UTC.

No. To submit to Musicbed Challenge, you will need to upload your film to your personal Vimeo account or YouTube channel. It can be listed as public or whitelisted to be embedded on musicbed.com.

You can either upload your submission as unlisted or create a secondary YouTube or Vimeo account to upload your submission.

No. Participants may only submit one entry to Musicbed Challenge.

Yes, filmmakers retain the rights to their work submitted to Musicbed Challenge.

No. All submissions will be final. Please make sure you are uploading the correct version of your edit before submitting.

You must use at least 10 seconds of one song provided by Musicbed in the Musicbed Challenge 2025 playlist, or a Musicbed song you license using your free trial. If you'd like to incorporate music beyond that, you must either have a valid license or own the rights to the audio.

In the starter kit, there's a link to the Musicbed Challenge 2025 playlist where you can download individual songs, along with the license document. Once you have selected the song you'd like to use in your submission, press the down arrow button next to the song and then select "Try It".

The music license provided by Musicbed for your submission does not legally permit the selected songs to be published anywhere else besides Musicbed Challenge or your personal social media account via our Web/Social license. If you'd like to submit your entry elsewhere and you use a song provided by Musicbed, you'll need to purchase the proper license(s). Your license does not cover portfolio use, nor does it cover using digital ad spend behind your submission post.

Yes, and you share the prizes among the team.

No. A submission is only eligible to win one prize package if selected by our judges' panel.

Yes! Keep in mind that international winners are subject to applicable taxes, laws, and fees on all winnings within their country.

You can use stock footage as long as it is properly licensed or you own the rights.

Absolutely! Though our judges are of diverse backgrounds, they may not be familiar with certain languages. You can use your judgment on whether to add subtitles to your film or not.

You must be at least 18 years of age to be eligible for entry.

No existing brands or logos should appear in your submission unless you have secured the necessary rights and approvals from the brand. This includes typing out the name of a company or logo instead of using the actual logo image. Any visible branding without explicit permission will result in disqualification.

If you have signed up for a Musicbed trial, you need to submit your film before your 14-day trial expires.

YouTube or Vimeo. Please make sure your link is listed as public, or we cannot review your submission and it will be rejected.

Narrative and Documentary submissions should be between 1:00 and 10:00 minutes in length. Spec Ad submissions should be between 00:30 and 00:90 seconds. There are no exceptions. Please check the length of your film after you upload to YouTube to make sure you have met the submission length requirements.

No, only finalists are eligible to receive votes during the voting period. There are only 5 finalists per category. If you do not see your film live on our website at the time of public voting, that means you were not selected as a finalist.

Yes! Anyone can participate in voting.

Yes! However, voters are limited to voting once per day.

Yes!

You may use SFX in your entry as long as you either have a valid license or own the rights to the audio.

Yes! Our sponsor ACIDBITE has offered a free effects pack just for Musicbed Challenge entrants. You will find this in your starter pack.

You may use other VFX in your entry as long as you either have a valid license or own the rights to the material.

Entries will be judged on four criteria: Creativity, Storytelling, Song Use, and Craft by our esteemed panel of judges.