ABOUT THE 2018 CMA AWARDS
READY FOR THE SHOW?
“The 53rd Annual CMA Awards” airs live Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019 on ABC Television Network. Each year, The CMA Awards nominees and winners are determined by the more than 7,400 industry professional members of the Country Music Association, which when established in 1958, became the first trade organization formed to promote an individual genre of music. The first CMA Awards Banquet and Show was held in 1967. The following year, the CMA Awards was broadcast on NBC Television for the first time – making it the longest running, annual music awards program on network television. The show began airing on the ABC Television Network in 2006 where it still airs today.
TROPHY
At its inception in 1967, the CMA Awards trophy was designed to resemble a chart bullet. Constructed of a rich walnut and a sturdy marble base, the trophy signified the strength, durability and warmth of the genre. A brass music note adorning the center read “Best Liked World Wide,” CMA’s slogan at the time. The limited supply of walnut wood in 1983 encouraged a transition to crystal, the material still used today. With the update arrived a new medallion in the center that has been modified only slightly since.
Today’s 15-inch, 7.5-pound trophy is a stylish, high-value adornment made of hand-blown fine crystal in Florence, Italy, with final assembly by Francis & Lusky in Nashville, Tenn. The CMA logo appears on a tri-level, die-struck medallion in polished bronze. After the CMA Awards winners have been revealed live on the annual broadcast, the award is engraved with the winner’s name and CMA Awards category.
BALLOTING / VOTING
Similar to the Oscars and the Grammys, the CMA Awards are voted on by members of the association. Members of the Country Music Association are music executives, artists, publicists, songwriters, musicians, touring professionals and other industry professionals from all around the world.
CMA Awards winners are chosen in three rounds of voting. Votes are cast by industry professional members of the Country Music Association – meaning Awards winners are honored by their peers in the music industry.
Awards criteria, rules of election and balloting procedures are established by CMA’s Board of Directors. Singles, albums, music videos and qualified music products for the annual show must have been first released during the eligibility period, which for the 2018 show was July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018.