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FAQ

How do I join the contest?
When the contest starts you will be able to download the individual tracks of the contest song. Once you have created your mix and/or remix, you can upload it to this platform (hofa-contest.com) and take part in the contest. A HOFA Contest account is required for this.

What's there to win?
In both categories "mix" and "remix" there is a main prize of €1,000 conferred by HOFA, which is awarded by the jury. The first-place winners of the public voting in both categories "mix" and "remix" will receive an audience award. In addition, many attractive special prizes will be awarded by the jury. The main prizes will be transfered to the winners via bank transfer, the special prizes will be sent by mail or made available as a download link.

Who can enter the contest?
Anyone can take part and participation is free of charge.

What is the schedule of the contest?
The contest starts on Dec 1, 2023 and mixes/remixes can be uploaded until Jan 31, 2024 at 23:59:59 CET (22:59:59 UTC). From Feb 1, 2024 the jury listens to the submitted mixes/remixes and rates them. The community can vote from Dec 1, 2023 to Feb 12, 2024 at 23:59:59 CET (22:59:59 UTC). With the announcement of the winners and awardees on Feb 15, 2024 the HOFA Mix Analyses will also be published.

Who is responsible for the contest?
The XMAS MIX CONTEST is organized by HOFA.

Can I submit both a mix and a remix?
Yes, you may submit both a mix and a remix once.

Which formats are supported?
You can upload wav, aif and mp3 files. We recommend the uncompressed versions wav and aif, however.

Which sample rate shall I use?
It is best to use the sample rate of 44.1 kHz defined in the recordings.

Am I allowed to replace the mix/remix subsequently?
Yes – but in order to do that you must erase the "old" mix/remix. Thus all corresponding votes and comments are removed. You can upload a new mix or remix then.

How are the winners determined?

  • The winners of the main prizes will be chosen by a jury from HOFA.
  • When judging the mix, the jury is looking for harmonious sound characteristics with balanced levels that fit in the genre, a well-defined spatial depth and a natural overall sound.
    For the remix, the decisive criteria are creativity, quality of sound, sound design, arrangement and balanced proportions.
  • The rankings in the Top 20 and the winners of the audience award are determined solely by the number of votes in the public voting.
  • It is also possible to win both the jury's main prize and the audience award for the first place(s) in the public voting.
  • All other special prizes will be awarded by the jury.

What happens in the event of a tie in the public voting?
If the number of votes received is equal, the audience awards will be decided by lot for the first-place winners in each category.

Which mixes/remixes will be heard by the jury?
All submitted mixes and remixes will be heard by the jury.

How do I get more votes in the online voting?
In order to receive more votes you can share your mix/remix in your social networks and ask your friends to vote for it. You can also use the Facebook "share" button that can be found under each mix. Or you simply copy the URL of your song out of the browser address bar and share it with your friends.
We would like to point out that multiple votes are not possible! Whoever encourages his friends and fans to vote several times or tries to get fake votes with other methods will be excluded from the contest.

Who will receive a HOFA mix analysis?
The mix analyses will be raffled among all participants who have chosen an analysis in the upload process - regardless of the ranking.

What is the HOFA nix analysis?
The mix analysis is an important part of the HOFA-College online courses. In all HOFA courses, the participants regularly receive different music projects to mix. The submitted mixes are then checked by our HOFA tutors and each participant receives individual and detailed feedback. This gives the student a routine in mixing over time and allows him or her to constantly improve. Among the participants of the contest, we raffle 20 analyses. With this we give you an insight into learning at HOFA-College and a professional feedback as well.
More info: hofa-college.com

What is the LQ/HQ button?
LQ (Low Quality) is a mp3 file with a bit rate of 192 kbps.
HQ (High Quality) is the unchanged original file.

Why can't I play the HQ version?
There may be various reasons. Depending to the format in which the mix was uploaded, your browser may cause problems. In this case, you can either choose LQ or try another browser.
If you are using your mobile device, the bandwidth may be too low for streaming the original file. You have to choose LQ or find faster internet access.

What happens if I delete my account?
Your mix/remix, all votes and comments as well as the data in your profile will be deleted. In addition, all votes that you have casted for other songs will be deleted.

Contest rules

What are the rules for public voting?

  • Anyone can vote.
  • To cast a valid vote for a mix/remix, verification via a captcha code and confirmation via email is required.
  • Registered contest participants can also cast votes, but cannot vote for themselves.
  • A maximum of one vote per mix or remix may be cast by one person. However, you can vote for as many different mixes or remixes as you want.
  • Multiple voting for the same mix or remix, fake votes, excessive seeking for votes in the comments ("vote for vote") and mass comments with copied texts are not allowed and may lead to exclusion from the contest.
  • Fake votes will be detected by the system and deleted automatically.
  • Creating multiple accounts per person is also prohibited.

What do I have to consider when using the comment function?
We deal nicely with each other – please respect the netiquette. Friendly and constructive criticism is welcome. Please write in English or German. Comments with extreme political or religous positions and/or criminal, pornographic, xenophobic or defamatory content and content that is potentially harmful to young persons will be erased.

What happens if I violate the rules?
If you break the rules, we reserve the right to remove your mix/remix and profile and exclude you from the competition.