2016 CCMA Awards: Changes and Updates to Rules and Regulations

The Canadian Country Music Association® (CCMA®) Awards Program has been an integral part of the CCMA for thirty-six years.

Each year, an Awards and Balloting Committee, consisting of select CCMA Board Directors, staff and members, review the previous year’s CCMA Awards Rules and Regulations to ensure award designation and eligibility guidelines remain current. During this time, all CCMA Member suggestions, comments and feedback pertaining to the CCMA Awards Program are also reviewed. In addition, the CCMA staff continuously monitors award programs of similar stature for benchmarking purposes. All proposed changes require approval from the CCMA Board of Directors.

Late in 2015, the CCMA surveyed its members in the Musician category, resulting in a number of changes within the Musician Award classification (these changes are highlighted below).

On March 1, 2016 the CCMA Board of Directors approved a number of changes for the 2016 CCMA Awards Program (also highlighted below).

In addition, the official CCMA Awards Rules and Regulations, in their entirety, have been updated in many areas to ensure clarity and ease of use. These particular revisions do not impact the spirit of the existing rules and regulations.

Of course, no awards program is perfect. It takes constant dialogue and attention to evolve the CCMA Awards Program to be congruent with the ever changing industry. We welcome ongoing discussion on the betterment of the CCMA Awards Program.

We encourage all CCMA Members to read and become familiar with the official CCMA Awards Rules and Regulations. After careful review, should you have any further questions and concerns with regards to eligibility or the process for the 2016 CCMA Awards Program, please contact Nikki Ryan at 416-947-1331 ext. 213 or nryan@ccma.org.

CLICK HERE to review the official 2016 CCMA Awards Rules and Regulations. All of the below revisions are outlined in this hyperlinked document.

CLICK HERE for a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) pertaining to the CCMA Awards Program.

Highlights of changes to this year’s CCMA Awards Rules and Regulations:

NEW TIMELINES ESTABLISHED FOR ALL THREE (3) VOTING BALLOT PERIODS: The First and Second Ballot will now each be open for two (2) weeks, with the Third (and final) Ballot open for three (3) weeks.
NEW FORM CREATED FOR SUGGESTING NEW CCMA AWARD CATEGORIES: In an effort to assist the CCMA Board of Directors in determining whether a new CCMA Award category is viable for consideration, CCMA Members suggesting a new award must now complete and submit a CCMA Award Category Submission Form. CLICK HERE to review this form.
NEW GUIDELINES IN PLACE FOR RETIRING AWARD CATEGORIES: To assist the CCMA Board of Directors in determining when a CCMA Award category should be retired, there are now a number of guidelines established.
NEW DEADLINE IMPLEMENTED FOR ALL FINAL NOMINEES TO BE A CCMA MEMBER IN GOOD STANDING: Previously, all final Nominees were required to be CCMA Members in good standing prior to the Third (and final) Ballot. To assist in the management of the awards and balloting process, and in order to be eligible to be a Final Nominee on the Third Ballot, all Second Ballot Contenders are now required to be a member of the CCMA, in good standing, as of the end of the Second Ballot (June 29, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. ET).
RELEASE DATE DEFINED WITHIN THE CURRENT ELIGIBILITY PERIOD: To clarify what is considered a release date (including verification sources) a release date is now clearly defined within applicable CCMA Award categories.
NEW AWARD CATEGORY IMPLEMENTED – TOP SELLING CANADIAN SINGLE OF THE YEAR. This new award category, listed under the artist classification, honours the act with the top selling Canadian single, based upon sales in Canada (both digital and streamed) during the current eligibility period and released during the period of January 1, 2015 and April 30, 2016.
ON-DEMAND AND TETHERED DOWNLOAD STREAMING TO BE INCLUDED WITHIN SALES OF ALL FORMULA-BASED CATEGORIES: To ensure the CCMA stays relevant within the industry, and stays amongst the industry standard, on-demand and tethered download streaming will be added to the sales calculation on all formula-based categories (Fans’ Choice, Female Artist of the Year, Group or Duo of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Top Selling Album of the Year, Top Selling Canadian Album of the Year, and Top Selling Canadian Single of the Year (NEW)).
REVISIONS MADE TO THE SALES AND SPINS FORMULA USED TO DETERMINE TOP CONTENDERS/NOMINEES IN SEVERAL ARTIST AWARD CATEGORIES: To give prominence to current sales and spins achievements, the formulas for determining the top ten (10) Contenders in the award categories of Female Artist of the Year, Group or Duo of the Year and Male Artist of the Year, as well the final five (5) Nominees for the Fans’ Choice Award, has been revised to reflect both product released during the current eligibility period (March 1, 2015 to April 30, 2016) as well as prior to the current eligibility period (prior to March 1, 2015).
SELECTION PROCESS REVISED FOR FANS’ CHOICE AWARD: Previously, the top ten (10) Contenders in this award category were determined by a combination of sales and spins within the current eligibility period, and narrowed down to the final five (5) Nominees in step two of the selection process by the CCMA’s Fan Club. With the CCMA Fan Club now disassembled (announced in January 2016 edition of The Source), step two will be eliminated and the final five (5) Nominees will now be determined by a combination of sales and spins within the current eligibility period and will go directly to the Third Ballot. The public will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite entertainer through an online ballot coordinated in conjunction with the Third Ballot for the voting membership of the CCMA.
ALL-STAR BAND – STEEL GUITAR AWARD CATEGORY HAS BEEN RETIRED: Due to the small number of Nominees in the past few years, this award category will be retired, effective immediately. All future steel guitar Contenders will be recognized within the Specialty Instrument Player of the Year award category.
ALL MUSICIAN AWARD CATEGORIES HAVE BEEN RENAMED: To focus the recognition on the musician, rather than the instrument, the six (6) Musician Awards have been renamed to: Bass Player of the Year, Drummer of the Year, Fiddle Player of the Year, Guitar Player of the Year, Keyboard Player of the Year, and Specialty Instrument Player of the Year.
ONLY MUSICIANS AND ARTISTS ARE NOW ELIGIBLE TO VOTE IN THE SIX (6) MUSICIAN AWARD CATEGORIES: Effective this year, only eligible CCMA Members who are registered and verified as a Musician OR Artist as their primary membership category will be eligible to vote in all three ballots within the six (6) Musician Award categories. This change distinguishes musicians’ peers with the honour to acknowledge those worthy of these awards.
MUSICIAN AWARDS NOW TO BE PRESENTED DURING THE ANNUAL CCMA INDUSTRY LUNCH & AWARDS and/or CCMA GALA DINNER & AWARDS: The six (6) Musician Awards will now be honoured during one of these two established and official CCMA-sanctioned industry award ceremonies. There will be no All-Star Band Awards ceremony in 2016.
ADDITIONAL CRITERIA CREATED FOR INDUSTRY AND RADIO AWARDS: The following award categories now require for the individual nominated to be employed and in the applicable position within the company that corresponds with their nomination for a minimum of 50% of the current eligibility period: Music Director of the Year (Large Market), Music Director of the Year (Medium or Small Market), On-Air Personality(ies) of the Year (Large Market), On-Air Personality(ies) of the Year (Medium or Small Market), Record Company Person of the Year and Ron Sakamoto Talent Buyer or Promoter of the Year.
NUMEROUS CHANGES MADE TO THE ALBUM DESIGN OF THE YEAR AWARD CATEGORY: To reflect the current times, this CCMA Award will now be called Recording Package of the Year. Albums (vinyl) and singles (digital) are now eligible in addition to albums (CD). This is now a submission-based award in step one and will be presented to a panel of jurors in step two to narrow down to the final five (5) Nominees which will appear on the Third Ballot.
ADDITIONAL CRITERIA CREATED FOR THE AWARD CATEGORY OF COUNTRY CLUB OF THE YEAR: All eligible Contenders and Nominees must now have bought or promoted at least ten (10) country events, with Canadian content, within the current eligibility period.
ELIGIBILITY CLARIFIED FOR THE AWARD CATEGORY OF RECORD COMPANY PERSON OF THE YEAR: This award will be presented to one (1) individual. Any submission in the First Ballot containing more than one (1) name will be rendered invalid.
ADDITIONAL CRITERIA AND CLARIFICATION ESTABLISHED FOR THE AWARD CATEGORY OF RON SAKAMOTO TALENT BUYER OR PROMOTER OF THE YEAR: This award will be presented to one (1) individual. Any submission in the First Ballot containing more than one (1) name will be rendered invalid. In addition, all eligible Contenders and Nominees must have bought at least ten (10) country events, with Canadian content, within the current eligibility period.
TOP SELLING AWARDS NOW HAVE DEFINED RELEASE ELIGIBILITY PERIODS: The eligibility period in which the product must have been for the categories of Top Selling Album of the Year, Top Selling Canadian Album of the Year and Top Selling Canadian Single of the Year has been extended to January 1, 2015 through April 30, 2016. Only sales within the current eligibility period (March 1, 2015 through April 30, 2016) will be tracked.

We acknowledge the financial support of FACTOR, the Government of Canada and of Canada’s private radio broadcasters.

Nous reconnaissons l’appui financier de FACTOR, du gouvernement du Canada, et des radio diffuseurs privés du Canada.