The music industry has a lot of awards shows. But there are only a few that are really a big deal. One of those is the Grammys. And while it has its controversies, the show continues to be the biggest event of its kind.
The Boston Music Awards are another major music award. They’re held each year and are a tribute to the past year in local music. They also give a glimpse into the future of the genre. And it’s not just a celebration of the top musicians in the area, but a chance for emerging artists to get noticed and be recognized.
Music awards are a great way to celebrate the best of an industry. But they can also create a false sense of importance for a particular artist or song. And in this age of social media, anyone can see what’s trending and be tempted to try to “win” their own awards. The problem with this is that it can have a negative impact on the music itself. It can push artists into a “don’t mess with success” mentality, and force them to stay within the lines in order to continue getting attention. This is why it’s important to take a look at the controversies surrounding music awards and consider whether or not they’re really having any impact on the actual music.
While it’s true that many different factors go into the determination of a winner, most music awards are based on charts and sales. And these are influenced by a variety of different factors, including album and digital song sales, streaming, radio airplay, touring and social engagement. So, there are a lot of ways for the results to be skewed.
In the case of the Grammys, it’s often a matter of controversy over what exactly goes into the decision making process. The voting members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences are instructed to only consider quality, but there are a number of reasons to believe that they’re actually as concerned with market share as they are with artistic merit.
Other controversies have revolved around the categories themselves. For example, the album of the year award is given to a whole body of work (an LP), while the song of the year award is for a single piece of music. And while it’s true that many genres of music are well represented by the various Grammy categories, some — like classical and jazz — do not have much of a chance to win.
In this week’s episode of Billboard Explains, we dive into all of this and more. Find out why Pink brought her handbag onto stage when accepting her award for the most popular female artist of the decade in 2010, how the 2021 AMAs are going to be different and so much more.