The Tradition

Recognized worldwide as "Country Music's Biggest Night™," the CMA Awards represent the pinnacle of achievement for Country Music artists, musicians, producers, publishers, songwriters, video directors and industry executives who work in America's most popular music genre.

The annual gala features a wide variety of exceptional talent and is sure to provide outstanding entertainment and excitement throughout the three-hour live broadcast.

The Trophy

The first CMA Award was designed in 1967 by Frank Waggoner of the Bill Hudson Advertising Agency. The CMA Award was crafted in walnut and resembled a "chart bullet." Its marble base was chosen to represent the strength and durability of Country Music and the wood represented the naturalness and warmth of the genre. The brass CMA logo, which represented a music note and contained the slogan "Best Liked World Wide" across a world map, was displayed in the center.

The CMA Award was changed to glass in 1983 because at the time, walnut was becoming extremely scarce. A new logo CMA logo appeared as well.

The current CMA Award is hand-blown glass and is made in Florence, Italy, with final assembly by Francis & Lusky in Nashville. It is 15 inches tall and weighs 7.5 pounds. Materials in the Award include fine Italian crystal obelisk with optical crystal beveled edges base. CMA logo on three level, die-struck medallion in polished bronze finish. One inch by three inch satin brass nameplate with beveled edges is added with the winner's name and CMA Awards category.

The Process

Any mention of the CMA Awards elicits the question, "How are the winners chosen?" The answer to that query does much to explain why the CMA Awards are so highly regarded and coveted by the recipients.

CMA award winners are chosen in voting by industry professional members of the Country Music Association. Thus, award winners are honored by their peers in the music industry. The staff of CMA does not participate in the voting process.

The awards criteria, rules of election and balloting procedures are established by CMA's Board of Directors. Singles, albums, music videos, and qualifying products for the musical event must have been first released during the eligibility period. The election is conducted in three rounds as follows:

1. Each CMA member may nominate one act in each category on the first ballot. The top 20 qualified vote recipients that receive at least 10 votes in each category will become an official nominee and will then be submitted to the entire CMA membership on the second ballot.
2. On the second, ballot CMA members must vote for up to five nominees in each category. The results are tabulated, and the five receiving the most votes in each category are listed as finalists on the third ballot.
3. On the final ballot, members vote for one in each category to determine the winners.

The entire balloting process is conducted and certified by the international accounting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP.