10 Most Respected Music Award Shows
Annually, several events happen in several places. Such events include award ceremonies which could branch out into film or music or a combination of both. But we are here for the music award ceremonies. The 10 most respected, prestigious music awards, from the last rung on the ladder up to the first. Here we go:
10. MTV Video Music Awards
The MTV Video Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as the VMAs, is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category), the annual MTV Video Music Awards ceremony has often been called the “Super Bowl for youth”, acknowledging the VMA ceremony’s ability to draw millions of youth from teens to 20-somethings each year.
By 2001, the VMA had become a coveted award. The statue given to winners is an astronaut on the moon, one of the earliest representations of MTV, and was colloquially called a “moonman”. However, in 2017, Chris McCarthy, the president of MTV, stated that the statue would be called a “Moon Person” from then on.
The statue was conceived by Manhattan Design—also designers of the original MTV logo—based on the 1981 “Top of the Hour” animation created by Fred Seibert, produced by Alan Goodman, and produced by Buzz Potamkin at Buzzco Associates. The New York firm Society Awards now make the statue. Since the 2006 ceremony, viewers have been able to vote for their favourite videos in all general categories by visiting MTV’s website.
9. Billboard Music Awards
The Billboard Music Awards are annual honours by Billboard, a publication covering the music business and a music popularity chart. The Billboard Music Awards show had been held annually since 1990, except from 2007 through 2010. The event was formerly staged in December, but since returning in 2011, it has been held in May.
The Billboard Music Awards finalists are based on album and digital songs sales, streaming, radio airplay, touring, and social engagement. These measurements are tracked year-round by Billboard and its data partners, including MRC Data and Next Big Sound.
8. BRIT Awards
The BRIT Awards (often called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry’s annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of “British”, “Britain”, or “Britannia”. Britannia Music Club sponsored the awards in the early days but became a ‘backronym’ for the British Record Industry Trusts Show.
In addition, an equivalent awards ceremony for classical music, called the Classic Brit Awards, is held in May. The awards were first held in 1977 and originated as an annual event in 1982 under the auspices of the British record industry’s trade association, the BPI. In 1989, they were renamed The BRIT Awards. Mastercard has been the long-term sponsor of the event.
7. The Juno Awards
The Juno Awards, more popularly known as the JUNOS, are awards presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music.
New members of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame are also inducted as part of the awards ceremonies. The Juno Awards are often referred to as the Canadian equivalent of the Brit Awards in Great Britain or the Grammy Awards given in the United States.
6. American Music Awards
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network’s contract to air the Grammy Awards expired.
From 1973 to 2005, both the winners and the nominations were selected by music industry members based on commercial performance, such as sales and airplay. Since 2006, winners have been determined by a public poll and fans, who can vote through the AMAs website.
5. ARIA Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards, commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs, is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).
The event has been held annually since 1987 and encompasses the general genre-specific and popular awards (these are usually referred to as “the ARIA awards”) and Fine Arts Awards and Artisan Awards.
4. International Classic Music Awards
The International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) are music awards first awarded on 6 April 2011. ICMA replaced the Cannes Classical Awards, later called MIDEM Classical Awards, formerly awarded at MIDEM.
The award ceremony and gala concert 2012 took place in Nantes. The award ceremony and gala concert 2013 were held in Milan and hosted by Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi.
In 2014, the award ceremony and gala concert occurred in Warsaw during the Beethoven Festival (with the Sinfonia Iuventus). The award ceremony and gala concert 2015 took place in Ankara with the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra.
3. World Music Awards
The World Music Awards is an international award show founded in 1989 under the patronage of Albert II, Prince of Monaco and co-founder/executive producer John Martinotti. The event is based in Monte Carlo.
Awards are presented to the world’s best-selling artists in several categories and the best-selling artists from each major territory. The most awarded artist in the history of the World Music Awards is Mariah Carey, with nineteen awards.
2. Pulitzer Prize In Music
When Joseph Pulitzer (famous politician and newspaper publisher) passed away in 1911, he left money in his will to Columbia University to launch a journalism school and a prize that would recognize achievements in journalism, literature and musical composition. The awards are administered by Columbia University in New York City and were handed out for the first time in 1917.
Honorees can win the Pulitzer Prize in one of 21 categories, and winners (in 20 of the 21 categories) receive a certificate and a cash prize of US$15,000. In addition, winners of the public service category receive a gold medal. One of the 21 categories is music. The music prize was handed out for the first time in 1943.
1. Grammy Awards
The Grammy Award (stylized as GRAMMY, originally called Gramophone Award), or just Grammy, is an award presented by the Recording Academy to recognize “Outstanding Achievement in the music industry” of the United States. The trophy depicts a gilded gramophone.
Members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), both media companies and individuals, may nominate recordings for consideration, but entries are made online, and a physical copy of the work is sent to NARAS.
