Matt Corby and Dann Hume win world’s biggest cash prize for songwriting
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Matt Corby and Dann Hume win world’s biggest cash prize for songwriting

Corby and Hume shockingly beat out Sarah Aaron’s award-winning ‘The Middle’ to score $50,000 courtesy of APRA AMCOS, Alberts and BMG. ‘Miracle Love’ came from Corby’s second album, Rainbow Valley, released last year, which saw it reach number 4 on the ARIA album charts. In terms of chart success, it’s a far cry from the global success of the conference room-songwriting of ‘The Middle’, which reached the top of the U.S. dance charts. 

 

 

In a joint statement issued through the competition website this morning, Hume and Corby said “We are so grateful that such a positive song burrowed into the hearts and ears of our peers and genuinely humbled by this moment”. Hume spoke individually about the writing of the track:

 

“This song was a special one for Matt and I, one of the first songs we wrote together after a few years between his albums. No idea what would come, when it was finished it felt like it had always existed and we just happen to find it buried in the backyard studio of his house,” he wrote.

 

 

 

Corby’s own public response was almost hilariously muted on Twitter, with a simple “Thank you” alongside a photo of him and Hume. Not a bad effort from the former Australian Idol contestant.

 

The entrants were sourced from a pool of 3,683 entries from 48 countries, and narrowed down from a Top 40 shortlist. The winners were selected by a music industry panel featuring songwriter Lior, previous Vanda & Young first-place winner Isabella Manfredi of The Preatures, triple j Unearthed’s Dave Ruby Howe, The Industry Observer’s Lars Brandle and others. Applicants pay an entry fee of $50 per submission, with all money raised going to Nordoff-Robbins Music Therapy Australia (NRMTA) programs. The competition is now in its tenth year.

 

Recently Matt Corby teamed up with fellow world-beating Aussie Tash Sultana on a new track ‘Talk it Out’. Check it out here.