Academy of Country Music Awards

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]

The most prestigious awards are for "Artist of the Decade" and "Entertainer of the Year." There are a number of other awards to recognize male and female vocalists, albums, videos, songs, and musicians. The awards are typically presented in April or May and recognize achievement for the previous year.

Future ceremonies

The 58th Academy of Country Music awards will take place on May 11, 2023, at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.[2]

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.

The ACM Awards were previously broadcast by ABC from 1972 to 1978, on 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 had also chosen to prioritize its own CMT Music Awards (run by its cable network CMT) as a competitor, announcing later that month that it would be moved to CBS and held in April beginning 2022. After reports that the ACMs were being 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]

• Country Music Association
• Country Music Hall of Fame
• Grand Ole Opry

• Academy of Country Music – Official Website