| Dove Award | |
|---|---|
| Current:55th GMA Dove Awards | |
 Dove Awards logo | |
| Awarded for | Christian music industry achievement award |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Gospel Music Association |
| First award | 1969 |
| Website | doveawards |
ADove Award is an accolade by theGospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in theChristian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held inNashville, Tennessee except in 2011 and 2012 when they were held inAtlanta, Georgia. The ceremonies feature live musical performances and are broadcast onTBN.
The awards were established in 1969 and represent a variety of musical styles includingrock,pop,hip hop,country, andurban.[1][unreliable source][2]
| This article is a part in a series on |
| Gospel music |
|---|
 |
Roots and beginnings |
Genres and subgenres |
Related music genres |
See also: |
The Dove Awards were originally conceptualized byGospel singer and songwriterBill Gaither at aGospel Music Association board meeting in 1968. The idea of the award being represented by a dove is credited to Gaither and the design for the award itself is credited to gospel singerLes Beasley and designer Bob McConnell.[3] The first GMA Dove Awards were held at thePeabody Hotel inMemphis, Tennessee in October 1969. In 1971, the awards moved to Nashville.
The3rd GMA Dove Awards of 1971 were deemed invalid due to apparentballot stuffing by thesouthern gospel groupthe Blackwood Brothers and that year is still not considered an official awards year by the Gospel Music Association. There were no awards held in 1979 due to a decision by the Gospel Music Association to move the awards from autumn to spring. Every ceremony since then has been held in the spring. The first televised ceremony was the15th GMA Dove Awards of 1984 which aired on theChristian Broadcasting Network.[4]
The awards were held in Nashville until 2011 before being presented at theFox Theatre inAtlanta, Georgia in 2012.[2][5] They returned to Nashville in 2013, and have been held at theAllen Arena on the campus ofLipscomb University since.[6][non-primary source needed][7][non-primary source needed]
Because of the large number of award categories (42 in 2012), and the desire to feature several performances by various artists, only the ones with the most popular interest are presented directly at the televised version of the award ceremony.[8][non-primary source needed]
The "General Field" includes seven awards which are not restricted by genre:
Other awards are given for performances in specific genres as well as for other contributions such as artwork and video. As of the 43rd Dove Awards, these include:
In 1998, the GMA published a new definition of gospel music. According to the definition, to be considered eligible for the Dove Awards, music was required to have lyrics that were:
Prior to the definition, the only qualified music was that sold inChristian Booksellers Association affiliated stores. The new standards resulted in complaints by some fans and artists after thirteen entries were disqualified as being too secular in the 1999 Dove Awards. The rules were rescinded afterwards and many groups disqualified by the rulings in 1999 were winners in 2000.[10][unreliable source]
The GMA's current policy states: "From time to time, screening judges may encounter product submissions that raise questions about whether or not the product's content is appropriate for the GMA Dove Awards. To assist the judges in their determination, the GMA Board has authorized the following content criteria for use in these instances: 'For purposes of GMA Dove Award eligibility, the content of all entries will be based upon the historically orthodox Christian faith contained in or derived from the Holy Bible or apparently prompted and informed by a Christian world-view.'"[11]
