ACM Shares Voting Timeline For 2023, Changes & Additions To Award Categories

The Academy of Country Music has made announcements regarding the membership voting timeline for the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards, as well as changes and additions to its award categories.

First, submissions for the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards will open at 11 a.m. CT on Jan. 9 through Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. CT. The eligibility period for submissions is Nov. 16, 2021 through Dec. 31, 2022. Key dates for Academy members for the 2022 ACM Awards cycle can be found below.

Among the changes approved by the ACM Board of Directors are the Entertainer of the Year category will expand the final round nominees from five to seven. The Songwriter of the Year category will also be split into two categories: Songwriter of the Year and Artist-Songwriter of the Year. Meanwhile, criteria for the Album of the Year category has changed to increase the required amount of previously unreleased content from 51% to 75%. Similarly, the release window has been updated to better accommodate gradual release schedules. The Video of the Year category has been expanded into Visual Media of the Year to include additional formats of visual content.

Additionally, the Radio Award criteria for National Personality of the Year will now require that show submissions are distributed across all continental time zones. This impacts both National Weekly On-Air Personality of the Year, as well as National Daily On-Air Personality of the Year. For more details on the full category additions and updates, click here.

“The 58th ACM Awards cycle brings thoughtful and well-considered changes to numerous awards categories to better match the landscape of our industry’s music, visual content, and radio broadcasts and, specifically, how they have changed and grown with the times,” notes Kelly Rich, Chair of the ACM Awards, Voting, and Membership committee. “I’d like to thank the awards committee members, board members, and board officers for their active and invaluable contributions in joining these important conversations and helping to shape the categories for this coming year to reflect our evolving industry.”

“Making these changes clarifies eligibility and allows artists, songwriters, and radio broadcasters to put their best foot forward in having their accomplishments recognized by their peers and celebrated by the Academy,” adds Tommy Moore, VP Artist and Industry Relations, Governance and Board Administration. “We’re thrilled to be able to expand our Entertainer of the Year category, introduce a Songwriter of the Year category specifically for artists, and expand the scope of the visual media able to be considered. We look forward to robust submissions from our industry in the new year and a stellar selection of exceptional creative work to celebrate in Texas in May.”

The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards will livestream exclusively on Prime Video from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas on May 11.

Key Dates for the 2022 ACM Awards Cycle:
Submissions Period Opens: Jan. 9
Submissions Period Closes: Jan. 27
First Round Voting Main Awards: Feb. 27 – March 6
First Round Voting Radio Awards: Feb. 27 – March 13
Second Round Voting Main Awards: March 27 – April 3
Final Round Voting Radio Awards: March 27 – April 10
Final Round Voting Main Awards: April 17 – April 24
*All submission/voting windows close at 7 p.m. CT