ACM Changing Awards Categories

The Musician-Bandleader-Instrumentalist (MBI) Awards, which include bass player, drummer, guitar player, piano/keyboards player, specialty instrument player, steel guitar player, audio engineer and producer of the year categories, have been renamed the Studio Recording Awards.

“The Academy wanted to reflect the industry’s modernization of the roles and effectively spotlight individuals that are in the studio on a daily basis, contributing to the creative process of songs and albums,” ACM board member Chris Farren said.

Studio Recording nominees will be selected by a panel of judges and placed on the ballot for professional members to vote on.

Other changes include the Casino of the Year and Venue of the Year categories, which have been expanded to recognize venues based on capacity.

Casinos under 4,000 seats will vie for the Casino of the Year – Small Capacity honor, while those with 4,001 seats to 11,000 seats will compete in the Casino of the Year Medium – Capacity category.

Venue of the Year has been broken up into a Small Capacity award for rooms under 4,000 seats, a Medium Capacity award for those with a capacity of 4,001 seats to 11,000 seats and a Large Capacity honor for venues (of all types) with a minimum of 11,001 seats.

Tiffany Moon, EVP/Managing Director of the ACM, said the academy decided to alter the categories because venues that didn’t meet capacity requirements or meet the required number of shows per year weren’t being recognized.

“By not being able to recognize these venues, we were missing entire markets that promote country music, great markets that buy the music and support the genre,” Moon said. “We’ve adjusted this criteria over the years to be more inclusive – changing the number of shows a nightclub, casino or venue had to book during the eligibility period – I remember when we had 10 shows per year and it became hard to find nominees – and ended up being the same nominees over and over because they were in the large markets.  It’s all about being more inclusive.”

Questions regarding venue submissions and the awards can be directed to [email protected].

A date for the 2014 ACM Awards is forthcoming.