At Silver Sound, we commemorate both the longest and shortest days of the year by encouraging anyone within earshot to pull out their microphones and make something new! Every winter and summer, we host a 48-hour audio storytelling competition and shower the top three winners with fabulous prizes. We call this the Biannual Sonic Dash.
In order to win, entrants must complete and submit a totally original, from-scratch audio piece within two days of being e-mailed a prompt. Ten finalists are then scored by an esteemed panel of judges before the prize-winners are announced the following week.
Registration for the Summer 2025 Sonic Dash will open on April 1. The competition will take place on the weekend of June 20th-22nd, 2025.
Registrants will be e-mailed a prompt for the competition on Friday, June 20th. They will then have until noon on Sunday, June 22nd to submit their entry.
As before, our top winner takes home a $1,000 cash prize as well as a slew of hefty software and hardware audio suite upgrades (see below). If you want it, make a plan to win! Take a look at our Past Dashes to see what prior finalists have been able to do with 48 hours and a lot of ingenuity.
So what do I get if I win?
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Grand Prize
$1,000 Cash Prize
Dell Pro Max Premium
Software from iZotope/Native Instruments
Hardware from Focusrite
Acon Digital Software
AATranslator2 Pro Extended
A REAPER Pro License
Earthworks Ethos
$350 of Audio Services from Silver Sound
Featured on the award-winning Silver Podcast Network
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Second-Place Prize
Hardware from Focusrite
Dell Pro Monitor with Speakers
AATranslator2 Pro Extended
A REAPER Pro License
Software from iZotope/Native Instruments
Earthworks Ethos
Featured on the award-winning Silver Podcast Network
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Third-Place Prize
Dell Soundbar
AATranslator2 Pro Extended
A REAPER Pro License
Software from iZotope/Native Instruments
Earthworks Ethos
Featured on the award-winning Silver Podcast Network
Sponsors
FAQs
So how do I enter this thing?
First, there’s a $25 entry fee, payable via PayPal or Venmo. We will link to a registration form to submit your info. Registration is only considered complete after payment is received.
How can I submit my piece?
Entrants will be e-mailed a top-secret submission portal to post links to their entries. All entries must be hosted on Soundcloud and submitted before the deadline.
What kind of piece can I submit?
It has to be less than 2 minutes, and it has to be created 100% from scratch, which means that the use of archival material and pre-existing music is not allowed. More challenging than it seemed, right?
The judges are looking for works that display originality, an innovative use of audio storytelling tools, and an impactful narrative (even if we only get a drive-by glance at it).
Can I still participate, even if I live far from New York and perhaps in another country?
Yes! That’s not a problem.
Wait, where and what is Silver Sound?
Silver Sound is an Emmy Award-winning audio production company with its very own Silver Podcast Network The network’s very first piece, “Aisha,” won top prize at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2023.
Our studio is in Manhattan: 28 W 27th St #906 New York, NY 10001
