In each country, there are only two competition levels : Local Heats, and then the National Final. A number of bands from each Semi-Round will proceed to the National Final.

In Local Heats, winners will be decided on by 50% Judges' Decision and 50% Audience Votes. In the National Final, Judges will decide entirely who the Winner will be.

Every band who signs up in GBOB will be able to play live. There is no online qualification. However, there are limited slots every year and these slots will be given on a first-come-first-serve basis.

There is no deadline for band applications. Applications will close when all band slots have been filled out; and to be fair, they will always be filled in on a first-come-first-serve basis

Usually there will be 16 bands per Local Heat playing 2 of their best songs each. There are different numbers of Local Heats per country. Depending on how many Local Heats there are in each country, 3-5 winning bands from each Local Heat will proceed to the National Final.

The live competitions are designed to be fast-paced and exciting. This makes it more entertaining for the audience as it never gets boring. If exposure is what you are after, a good record company A&R man will know how good a band is after one or two songs and they will certainly check out one of your own gigs if they want to hear more. The hardest thing is to attract their attention in the first place.

Yes of course! we only ask permission to use it for promotional purposes.

We only ask all participating bands in The Global Battle of the Bands to give Global Music Garden AS permission to use their name, image, songs, and videos for promotional purposes only.

No, to be fair, this will be done in a random way, or on a first-come-first-serve basis.

The competition is open to bands with two to eight members. However, solo artists can put together a band for the competition if they wish.

There is no age limit for band members and audiences. 

We always invite record company executives, management companies, members of the press and other music industry professionals to our events.

No. The organisers will provide the complete back line, including a variety of amplifiers. Any special equipment must be set up on stage before the concert starts and remain on stage until the concert is over. Any equipment on the stage must be available for use by any of the bands. You must use your own personal instruments (guitars and keyboards etc.) and drummers must bring their own bass drum pedal. You can also use your own effect pedals.

The kind of equipment that the majority of bands prefer and are probably used to: Marshall, Fender and Ampeg amplifiers and top name drum kits etc.

All songs played in the competition must be original compositions by the band.

Yes.

Yes, but he will only be there as an advisor to inform the organisers' sound engineer where solos etc come in the songs and any other special requirements.

The organizers will provide all lighting technicians.

The organizers will supply all necessary stage crew.

No.

Two nights in a hotel with breakfast and catering on the day of the World Final will be fully covered by Global Music Garden. For travel costs, Global Music Garden will provide a travel fund for the band as partial support for the band's travel to the World Final. The exact amount of the fund depends on Pro-Member contributions for the year, and the amount will be announced a few months before the World Final. The travel fund will act as a partial refund and will be given to the band after they have purchased their preferred travel schedule.