With the biggest award show of the year on Sunday we thought we’d inform readers on the voting breakdown of some of the top award shows. Here you can find what the shows are awarding, who votes, how many people vote and how the voters are chosen.
What it awards: The Academy Awards have been a long standing tradition in Hollywood since its first ceremony in 1929, and awards Oscars for the greatest cinematic achievements from the previous year.
Who votes: There are approximately 6,000 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (which is by invitation only) who vote for the Academy Award nominees. The Academy is made up of members from virtually every field of film production.
Process: Each category is voted on by members of their Academy branch, so cinematographers vote on cinematographers, directors vote on directors, and so on. A committee from each category votes on Foreign Language Film and Animated Feature Film and the only category all Academy members nominate for is Best Picture.
What it awards: The Emmy Award recognizes excellence in national primetime programming. The first Emmy Awards ceremony, held in 1949, only awarded programming that originated in Los Angeles. Eventually that expanded to cover all of aired United States programming.
Who votes: There are over 15,000 members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. People can apply for membership but they must meet the requirements in their field and have either been nominated for an Emmy or must have two current members endorse them.
Process: Members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences vote in the category that falls under their field of expertise, much like the Academy Awards.
What it awards: Many consider a Grammy to be the most prestigious award someone in the recording industry can obtain, and they have been awarded by the Recording Academy since 1959.
Who votes: Only members of the Recording Academy can vote for these awards. Those in the music industry may apply to be a part of this group.
Process: The process begins with record companies and members submitting qualifying recordings and music videos. Then a group of 150 “experts” view the submissions simply to make sure they qualify. From there a ballot of nominees is sent out to all members in good standing where they are asked to only vote in their fields. All members can vote for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist. A final ballot is then sent out for members to vote for up to eight categories along with the main four categories.
What it awards: The Golden Globes are awards given by The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) for “distinguished achievements in the film industry.” This awards ceremony has existed since 1944.
Who votes: The HFPA is made up of 90 correspondents for media outlets around the world. To become a member of the HFPA one must have a primary Southern California residence, qualify as an active member, be registered with the Motion Picture Association of America and be sponsored by two active members.
Process: The HFPA members are able to vote for the Golden Globe nominees and winners in every category.
What it awards: The People’s Choice Award has been around since 1975 and chiefly awards the public popularity of films, musicians, television shows and actors/actresses.
Who votes: The voting is open to the general public.
Process: Potential nominees are picked from what made the most money and ratings along with some input from media partners. The list of potential nominees is put online and the fans are asked to vote on them to create a final ballot, which the fans are allowed to vote on as many times as they want. Prior to internet voting (which began in 2005) winners were decided by Gallup polls.
What it awards: The American Music Awards (AMA) award musicians based on public opinion of the artists. These awards are similar to the People’s Choice Awards in that they are determined by music buyers as opposed to professionals. The AMA was established in 1973 by Dick Clark to compete with the Grammys.
Who votes: The general public votes on the winner of these awards.
Process: Nominees for the AMA’s are picked from top-selling charts as well as their media presence. For the past four years it has been the general public who has voted for the winners by going online and voting.
