When it comes to music, there are many ways that musicians and groups can be rewarded for their work. One of the most important and prestigious of these rewards are music awards, which recognize and honor the greatest musical achievements of a particular year. These awards are based on a number of factors, including album and song sales, radio airplay, touring, and social media engagement. Music awards are often presented at large public events, and some of these ceremonies can even be televised.
The most famous of these music awards are the Grammys, which are awarded annually by the Recording Academy to recognize musical excellence. The Grammys are the most prestigious awards in the industry, and winning one can be a huge career boost for musicians. While the Grammys are primarily a ceremony celebrating popular music, there are also other music awards which are given out to artists of specific genres.
For example, the Ivor Novello awards are a series of annual events that honour songwriters and composers. The Ivors are a set of two separate awards – The Ivors Album of the Year and The Ivors Composer of the Year. Both awards recognise creative excellence in both classical and contemporary music, and winners are presented with a bronze sculpture depicting Euterpe, a Greek musical muse.
There are also a number of other international music awards, such as the World Music Awards, which were founded in 1989 in Monte Carlo. This award ceremony is open to all the countries of the world, and winners are honoured by a statuette of an artist with music instruments in her hands. The World Music Awards are also the biggest musical event in the world.
While some people in the music industry think that some of these awards have a “tinny ring,” it is difficult to argue with the fact that many of the most popular artists are indeed rewarded for their success. Some critics have argued that the RIAA’s gold and platinum awards can be misleading, since they are based on sales to stores, rather than retail sales to consumers. For example, some have questioned why Debbie Gibson was awarded a gold award for her album Anything Is Possible, which only reached No. 41 on the Billboard charts.
In 1999, the RIAA introduced a new type of award called a diamond award, which signifies 10 million album sales. In addition, digital sales, downloads, ringtones and streams were added as unit sales to RIAA awards at various times through the 2000’s.
In the early days of the RIAA, the presentation plates and album miniatures were mounted on paper-based blocks that were slightly larger than the award frames, creating what are known as “floater” awards. These are very rare and valuable, and were produced between 1975-81 (technically through Jan. 1982). Some collectors distinguish these awards by their charcoal-colored mattes, which make them look somewhat different from the white mattes used for floater awards from the era before that.