TheAcademy of Country Music Awards, also known as theACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the firstcountry music awards program held by a major organization. The academy's signature "hat" trophy was first created in 1968. The awards were first televised in 1972 onABC. In 1979, the academy joined withDick Clark Productions to produce the show.Dick Clark andAl Schwartz served as producers while Gene Weed served as director. Under their guidance, the show moved toNBC in 1979, then toCBS in 1998, andAmazon Prime Video in 2022.
The academy adopted a sleeker, modern version of the "hat" trophy in 2003, which is now made by the New York City firmSociety Awards. In 2004, the organization implemented online awards voting for its professional members, becoming the first televised awards show to do so.Entertainer of the Year was a fan-voted award for eight years, until 2016, when the ACM announced its decision to abandon Internet-voting for it and the three new-artist categories.
The 59th ACM Awards were presented at theFord Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas on May 16th, 2024.
Voting members of the Academy of Country Music (ACM) elect the nominees. In 2016, after an eight-year experiment intended to improve consumer engagement, the ACM announced its decision to abandon fan-voting forEntertainer of the Year and its three new-artist categories, thanks to the cost of participation and several rifts that had developed among artists. The program was controversial from the start and included the webballot stuffing encouragement infamous among awards of the same type presented in other ceremonies.Kenny Chesney, after winning the first fan vote for entertainer in 2008, criticized the process backstage, complaining that instead of acknowledging artists' hard work, the vote had devolved into a marketing contest that rewarded people for "seeing how hard you can push people's buttons on the Internet." The winner, for example, of entertainer will now be voted on by the same people who select the male or female vocalist winner.[1]
The most prestigious awards are for "Artist of the Decade" and "Entertainer of the Year." There are a number of other awards to recognize male and female vocalists, albums, videos, songs, and musicians. The awards are typically presented in April or May and recognize achievement for the previous year.
The Triple-Crown Award is an elite honor that has been presented to only nine country acts in the history of the Academy of Country Music Awards. The honor distinguishes the achievement of an artist, duo or group upon receiving the New Artist (or New Male Vocalist, New Female Vocalist, New Solo Vocalist, New Vocal Duo, New Vocal Group or New Vocal Duo or Group), and Male/Female Vocalist (or Vocal Duo, Vocal Group, Vocal Duo or Group) and Entertainer of the Year awards.[3] Among the later recipients, Carrie Underwood received it at the ACM Awards,[4] while Jason Aldean and Miranda Lambert received their awards at the Annual ACM Honors.[5] The following list shows the artists that have won the award and the first year winning each of the categories required. Two artists:The Chicks andKeith Urban have reached the milestones needed to receive the award, but they have not yet been awarded.
The ceremony returned to the MGM Grand Garden Arena for 2016, then moved toT-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for 2017.[8] In 2018 and 2019, the show was again broadcast from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.[9] In 2020 and 2021, the in-person ceremony in Las Vegas was not held due to theCOVID-19 pandemic; the two ceremonies were held at various sites in Nashville, with the primary venues being theGrand Ole Opry House,Ryman Auditorium, and theBluebird Café.[10][11] The ACM confirmed a return to Las Vegas for 2022, with the ceremony held atAllegiant Stadium.[12]
In 2023, the ceremony moved to Texas, having been hosted by theFord Center at The Star inFrisco, in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.[13]
The ACM Awards were previously broadcast byABC from 1972 to 1978,NBC from 1979 to 1997, andCBS from 1998 to 2021. In June 2021, it was reported that CBS would not renew its contract to air the ceremony, citing declining viewership and demands from Dick Clark Productions for a higher rights fee. CBS' parent companyViacomCBS decided to prioritize its ownCMT Music Awards (produced by its cable networkCMT) as a competitor, announcing later that month that it would move to CBS and be held in April beginning 2022.[14]
After reports that the ACMs were being shopped to other networks such as NBC, it was announced on August 19, 2021, that the media rights to the ceremony had been acquired byAmazon Prime Video, making it one of the first major awards ceremonies on U.S. television to move exclusively to a streaming platform.[15][16] The ceremony is streamed via Prime Video, and simulcast onAmazon Live,Amazon Music, and the Amazon Music channel onTwitch.[17] In November 2023, Amazon renewed its rights through the 60th ceremony in 2025.[17]
