I’m sure that by now, you’ve heard of the Grammy awards, or the Canadian equivalent called the Juno awards.
Both are seen as awarding the best music from the past year an award and getting said award can boost that artist’s music sales.
Though, what are the criteria to win these awards and who even are the judges?
First off are the Grammy Awards and how they work.
✨ The #GRAMMYs is music’s most coveted award because it is recognition — and respect — that comes from within the family of music people.
➡️ This year’s First Round voting period is open from Oct. 13 – Oct. 23. #Vote4GRAMMYs
Learn more: https://t.co/S17J6faXv1 pic.twitter.com/obNdmIkdPJ
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) October 13, 2022
So nominations start with either an individual nominating an artist/song/album or someone from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) doing the same.
The voting for who makes it into the top 5 is then done by industry experts and is supposed to be done without bias. Though there is likely still some favouritism going on.
Then the top 5 move onto a voting section by the NARAS members, without bias, and the winner is chosen from that vote.
So… what about the Juno awards?
The 2023 JUNO Award Submissions Presented by @TD_Canada are open until October 28th 2022.
10 artists have shared the importance of submitting to the #JUNOS: https://t.co/tZ3KVKBFKh pic.twitter.com/4qmV7m2Cd6
— The JUNO Awards (@TheJUNOAwards) October 14, 2022
Well, they actually make it quite easy to know how their voting process works by publishing this handy PDF chart.
So their both quite similar in terms of how the voting process happens but is it truly a way to define good music?
To be fair, the music that wins these awards are amazing pieces though there is also a huge catalogue of music from artists that’ll never make it to these awards.
The underground and cult music scenes are huge even in the Vancouver area so if you’re looking for a new artist to check out, maybe look there if you’ve exhausted these awards.
Now should they end? I don’t think so. I just think there should be more opportunities for artists to shine on them and more opportunities for the public to have some influence on the voting process.