Academy of Country Music Awards
The Academy of Country Music Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first country music awards program held by a major organization. The academy's signature "hat" trophy was first created in 1968. The awards were first televised in 1972 on ABC. In 1979, the academy joined with Dick Clark Productions to produce the show. Dick Clark and Al Schwartz served as producers while Gene Weed served as director. Under their guidance, the show moved to NBC in 1979, then to CBS in 1998, and Amazon Prime Video in 2022.
Not to be confused with Country Music Association Awards or Country Music Awards of Australia.Academy of Country Music Awards
Achievements in country music
Variable U.S. locations
United States
April 1966
ABC (1972–1978)
NBC (1979–1997)
CBS (1998–2021)
Prime Video (2022–)
The academy adopted a sleeker, modern version of the "hat" trophy in 2003, which is now made by the New York City firm Society Awards. In 2004, the organization implemented online awards voting for its professional members, becoming the first televised awards show to do so. Entertainer of the Year was a fan-voted award for eight years, until 2016, when the ACM announced its decision to abandon Internet-voting for it and the three new-artist categories.
The 58th ACM Awards were presented at the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas on May 11, 2023.
Voting process[edit]
Voting members of the Academy of Country Music (ACM) elect the nominees. In 2016, after an eight-year experiment intended to improve consumer engagement, the ACM announced its decision to abandon fan-voting for Entertainer of the Year and its three new-artist categories, thanks to the cost of participation and several rifts that had developed among artists. The program was controversial from the start and included the web ballot stuffing encouragement infamous among awards of the same type presented in other ceremonies. Kenny Chesney, after winning the first fan vote for entertainer in 2008, criticized the process backstage, complaining that instead of acknowledging artists' hard work, the vote had devolved into a marketing contest that rewarded people for "seeing how hard you can push people's buttons on the Internet." The winner, for example, of entertainer will now be voted on by the same people who select the male or female vocalist winner.[1]
Venues[edit]
The Academy of Country Music Awards were originally held at various locations in Greater Los Angeles through 2002. In 2003, the ceremony moved to Las Vegas, first at the Mandalay Bay Events Center through 2005 and later at the MGM Grand Garden Arena from 2006 to 2014. In 2015, the ceremony was held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex in 2015 to celebrate its 50th anniversary.[7] The ceremony broke the Guinness record that year for Most Attended Awards Show, with 70,252 attending.[8]
The ceremony returned to the MGM Grand Garden Arena for 2016, then moved to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for 2017.[9] In 2018 and 2019, the show was again broadcast from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.[10] In 2020 and 2021, the in-person ceremony in Las Vegas was not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the two ceremonies were held at various sites in Nashville, with the primary venues being the Grand Ole Opry House, Ryman Auditorium, and the Bluebird Café.[11][12]
The ACM confirmed a returned to Las Vegas for 2022, with the ceremony held at Allegiant Stadium.[13]
After a one-year stint in Las Vegas the ACM Awards looked for a new home announcing The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards took place on May 11, 2023, at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
Broadcasting[edit]
The ACM Awards were previously broadcast by ABC from 1972 to 1978, NBC from 1979 to 1997, and CBS from 1998 to 2021. In June 2021, it was reported that CBS would not renew its contract to air the ceremony, citing declining viewership and demands from Dick Clark Productions for a higher rights fee. CBS' parent company ViacomCBS (now known as Paramount Global) decided to prioritize its own CMT Music Awards (produced by its cable network CMT) as a competitor, announcing later that month that it would move to CBS and held in April beginning 2022. After reports that the ACMs were shopped to other networks such as NBC, it was announced on August 19, 2021, that the ceremony had been acquired by Amazon Prime Video, making it one of the first major awards ceremonies on U.S. television to move exclusively to subscription video on demand (SVOD).[14][15][16] The 57th ACM Awards, hosted by Dolly Parton, Jimmie Allen, and Gabby Barrett, were livestreamed from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Prime Video on March 7, 2022.[17] The 58th ACM Awards, hosted by Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, will be livestreamed from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, on Prime Video on May 11, 2023.[18][19]