2023 - 2027 Gershwin Prize IDIQ

The Library of Congress (“Library”) requires an experienced production company (“Contractor”) to produce and record a live musical tribute concert (“Concert”) celebrating the award of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song (“Gershwin Prize” or “Prize”), and to post-produce a 60-120 minute show from each Concert for national television broadcast (“Program”). Each Concert will feature the honoree(s) and other artists who have been influenced or inspired by the honoree(s). The Contractor must also identify and secure a venue for each Concert and a broadcaster for each Program that are acceptable to the Library. Overall, the quality of the Program(s) must meet the industry standard for Primetime, in keeping with like award shows and concerts and prior shows celebrating the Gershwin Prize. The Library will select and issue an invitation to the honoree(s). Historically, and prior to the pandemic, the Library hosted one Concert and one Program per calendar year.

Offerors are requested to respond to the following statement of objectives (“SOO”) with a technical proposal that will include a Statement of Work (“SOW”), an event budget, and production fee pricing. This solicitation will result in the issuance of an Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (“IDIQ”) contract, under which firm-fixed price orders will be issued. The IDIQ contract is anticipated to cover multiple Gershwin Prize concerts and programs over the next five years. An order will be issued under the IDIQ contract for each Concert/Program.

The Library is the world’s largest library and the world’s largest repository of written and recorded music. The Library’s mission is to further engage, inspire, and inform Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring source of knowledge and creativity. As the national library, it is important that this message directly reaches the public, whom the Library serves, ensuring that all Americans are connected to the Library of Congress. The Library’s vast and universal collections include a wide scope of musical and entertainment collections and breadth of the Library of Congress; and, as such, the Library is relevant to the entertainment community and various constituents. More information about the Library can be found on the website www.loc.gov.

The Gershwin Prize celebrates the work of an artist whose career reflects lifetime achievement in promoting song as a vehicle of musical expression and cultural understanding.  For the purpose of the Prize, the term “popular song” refers to a composition, featuring words and music, within any style, that achieves widespread commercial appeal, particularly a work that reaches beyond the traditional confines of the genre in which it was created.  The styles in which these works are composed reflect myriad contemporary traditions like rock, jazz, country, pop, blues, folk, and gospel. The recipient, whether a composer, singer/songwriter, or interpreter, is recognized for entertaining and informing audiences, for drawing upon the acknowledged foundations of popular song, and for inspiring new generations of performers on their own professional journeys.

The Prize selection is made by the Librarian of Congress in consultation with a board that is both credible and broad enough in scope to represent the full spectrum of popular song.  Board members may include, but need not be limited to, scholars, producers, performers, music critics, songwriters, and subject specialists within and outside the Library of Congress. More information about the Prize may be found at: https://www.loc.gov/about/awards-and-honors/gershwin-prize.

Amendment 0001

The purpose of this amendment is to provide answers to questions and extend the proposals due date. The amendment to the solicitation and the questions and answers document are attached.