Academy of Country Music Revamps Award Categories and Rules for 2024

The Academy of Country Music (ACM) has unveiled significant modifications to its awards categories and eligibility rules for the upcoming 59th award show in 2024. These adjustments aim to accommodate a broader spectrum of emerging artists and ensure a fairer recognition process within the country music industry.

Submission Period and Event Schedule

The submission window for the 2024 ACM Awards opens on January 8 and concludes on January 26, 2024. The awards, set to be streamed via Prime Video, will take place in May 2024 and originate from Frisco, Texas. This follows the ACM's continued collaboration with Amazon as a streaming partner.

Category and Eligibility Changes

Emerging artists will find the refreshed categories more inclusive, with the 'New Female Artist of the Year', 'New Male Artist of the Year', and 'New Duo or Group of the Year' now incorporating added chart data into their criteria. This inclusion means that artists with a more substantial chart presence have the opportunity for consideration. However, to be eligible for any category, there must be a minimum of three submissions.

The eligibility timeframe for award submissions spans from January 1 to December 31, 2023. The initial round of voting will kick off on February 26 and end on March 4, 2024. The second voting round is slated for March 18 to March 25, 2024, followed by the final voting round from April 15 to April 22, 2024.

According to the updated rules, to be eligible for the new artist categories, an individual or group must have gained recognition during the time of promoting their first or second album, and they must have a single that reached the Top 50 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs or the Mediabase Country charts. Notably, a debut or sophomore album must be released through a label not owned by the artist to count.

Officials are confident that the newly instituted changes will significantly impact the industry. Daniel Miller, Chair of the ACM Awards, Voting, and Membership committee, expressed optimism that the refresh would give emerging artists more opportunities to compete and be honored with an ACM Award, brightening the spotlight on the genre's future. Tommy Moore, ACM Vice President of Artist and Industry Relations, Governance and Board Administration, shared that past categories, like 'New Duo or Group of the Year,' are particularly favored by fans and are expected to celebrate more emerging talents due to the revised eligibility standards.

awards, country, music