Discussion: ACM changes Entertainer of the Year criteria, among other tweaks

This article from the Music Row webpage tells all about the Academy of Country Music’s changes to several categories for the 2010 show.

Citing an willingness to adapt with the changing country music industry, the Academy announced a number of changes to some of the major categories.  Most notably, the Entertainer of the Year race will now have 8 final nominees, adding 3 more artists to the ballot.  They’ve also combined the Top New Male Artist and Top New Female Artist into one Top New Solo Artist category, while expanding the Top New Vocal Duo or Group into two separate races, one for Duos and another for Vocal Groups.  It’s true that groups and duos have been making more of an impact, especially where stardom is concerned, in the past few years.  But seriously, are there so many upcoming duos and groups that they need their own award(s), and to shut down 2 solo awards to do it?  That just seems like pouring gas on the fire if you ask me.  It’s hard enough for solo artists to break through these days, and now the competition will be tighter than ever for solo singers, and the ACM will surely find itself scrambling to fill up even three spots in the Duo and Group categories.  Also, all of these recently amended categories will also be open to fan-voting.

I know we’ve already had the fan-voting for Entertainer of the Year discussion before, with most agreeing it cheapens the prestige of the award when rabid fans are involved. But what about the idea to have 8 nominees? Is country music really creating that many superstars right now? Or will we see B-level artists like Jason Aldean or Dierks Bentley competing with the likes of Taylor Swift and Brad Paisley?   The biggest change I think this new criteria will bring is it means more females can, and will, be nominated for the Entertainer trophy at the 2010 ACM Awards.  What do you think?

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