The BBC are pulling tighter reigns on The British Academy of Songwriters and Composers (BASCA) as the academy look set to have their role in selecting the UK entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 reduced. The BBC is now tired of the recent poor results and once again tries to revive the selection process to find another winning song.

The academy has long handled the task of finding songs to compete in the UK national final, now called �Eurovision: Making your mind up�. However after poor results in 2000, 2001 as well as the last placing in 2003 and James Fox�s disappointing result this May, the BBC now takes away even more control from BASCA, and denies them an automatic guaranteed place in the final.

This year, BASCA supplied just one song to �Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up�. The song it selected was It Just Gets Better performed by Madison Taylor. It came third on the night after topping the Pop Category in the Song Search Contest of 2004.

In 2005, BASCA are no longer guaranteed a place in the national selection for the winner of their competition. Therefore the selection for 2005 may be made up of performers and songs all outside of this academy. Although the contest has seven categories (Pop, Contemporary Pop, Rock, Country, Ballad, Contemporary Christian and Easy Listening), only the winner of the Contemporary Pop category will be �considered� by the BBC for Making Your Mind Up, as stated in the new set of rules recently published.

BASCA explains what type of song might succeed in this category, as �Songs which represent current trends in chart music and would be performed by artists such as Girls Aloud, Jamelia, Lemar, Liberty X, Sugababes and Busted.� The rules specify, �entries in the Contemporary Pop category will be judged in consultation with the BBC and its associates.�

Writers entering songs into the Contemporary Pop category are told that they must accept that if successful in being chosen for consideration by the public for Eurovision 2005, their song will be re-recorded by an artist or group chosen by the BBC. The services of an established music producer will also be used in re-recording the winning song.

The BBC will find the other songs for their national final by other means, no longer relaying heavily on the academy. BASCA adds, �The winning song from the contemporary pop category is not guaranteed to be put forward for public consideration for Eurovision 2005 in the Eurovision: Making Your Mind Up programme, however it will receive special attention in the selection process to find the final six songs.�

The deadline for entry to Song Search 2005 is 6pm on Thursday 30th September 2004.