Just In: ACM Announces Changes To Categories, Submissions Process

The Academy of Country Music announced today (Oct. 17) a new submissions process, category name changes, and the ballot timeline for professional membership voting for the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards, which synchronizes voting of all awards categories, including Industry awards, Studio Recording awards, Radio awards and Video of the Year.

The ACM Board voted to update 10 category names (changes noted below); the updated name changes do not impact criteria for any of the awards.

The new submission process will allow Academy members to engage in the ACM awards process to present all eligible recordings and artists for consideration to the voting membership. The change aligns the following six categories with the submission process already in place for the Radio awards, Video of the Year and Industry awards categories:

Album of the Year
New Female Artist of the Year (formerly New Female Vocalist of the Year)
New Male Artist of the Year (formerly New Male Vocalist of the Year)
New Duo or Group of the Year (formerly New Vocal Duo or Group of the Year)
Music Event of the Year (formerly Vocal Event of the Year)
Single of the Year (formerly Single Record of The Year)

Remaining awards categories – including Entertainer of the Year, Female Artist of the Year (formerly Female Vocalist of the Year), Male Artist of the Year (formerly Male Vocalist of the Year), Duo of the Year (formerly Vocal Duo of the Year), and Group of the Year (formerly Vocal Group of the Year) – will continue to be determined via write-in from the professional membership.

“We remain committed to ensuring the ACM Awards process is a dynamic and relevant one, reflecting an ever-changing musical landscape,” said ACM CEO Pete Fisher. “This latest evolution to a submission approach reflects the desire of our awards Committee, and ultimately our Board, for greater member engagement across the entire awards process.”

The submissions eligibility period for the 54th Academy of Country Music Awards is Jan. 1, 2018 through Dec. 31, 2018. Key dates for Academy professional members for the 2019 ACM Awards cycle are as follows:

New Membership/Membership Renewals Opens: Oct. 29, 2018
Submissions Period Opens: Dec. 3, 2018
DEADLINE for New Membership/Renewals Closing: Dec. 31, 2018
Submissions Period Closes: Jan. 4, 2019
First Round Voting: Jan. 18, 2019 – Jan. 24, 2019
Second Round Voting: Feb. 4, 2019 – Feb. 11, 2019
Final Round Voting: March 11, 2019 – March 19, 2019

New membership applications and existing membership renewals open on Monday, Oct. 29, 2018 at 9 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. CT with a deadline to apply by Monday, Dec. 31, 2018 at 5 p.m. PT / 7 p.m. CT for members to be eligible to vote during the 2019 awards cycle. Interested applicants can apply online at acm.com.

The 54th Academy of Country Music Awards will broadcast live from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 7, 2019 at 8 p.m. PM ET/delayed PT on CBS.

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Jessica Nicholson

Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at [email protected].

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