Top 20 Classical and Popular Music Awards and Prizes

A MUSIC AWARD is an award or prize given for skill or distinction in music. There are different awards in different countries, and different awards may focus on or exclude certain music. For example, some music awards are only for classical music and include no popular music. Some music awards are academic, some are commercial and created by the music industry.

Music Awards News, Reviews & Resources

• 22 Looks That Did the Most at the Grammys 2024 - "The awards show is known to be a fashion playground. This year’s event was no exception."
• 2023 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Complete Nominees List - "The 2023 GRAMMYs take place Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023."
• 2023 Grammy winners: See who won - CNN Entertainment.
• 2024 Grammy awards: list of winners - "A complete rundown of the artists, albums, songs and videos that took home trophies at the 66th annual awards. The night saw major wins for Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, boygenius, SZA and Billie Eilish."
• And the loser is ... why everyone is sick of award shows - The Guardian.
• BeyoncÉ officially has the most Grammys of any artist - Beyoncé was already a queen, but now she’s the queen of the Grammys.
• Classical music awards - Wikipedia.
• EGOT - an acronym for the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards, is the designation given to people who have won all four of the major American entertainment awards.
• Grammy Awards 2024: Dua Lipa, Billie Eilish, SZA & Joni Mitchell to star at ceremony - "The ceremony, which takes place in Los Angeles on Sunday, is notorious for scoring own goals, often rewarding middle-of-the-road heritage acts over cutting-edge, contemporary pop."
• Grammy organisers to end ‘secret’ nomination committees after rigging allegations - "Recording Academy was slammed last year after The Weeknd got zero nominations despite top-selling album."
• Grammy winners 2022: The full list - "You can see the full list of nominees and winners in more than 80 categories here."
• How Jennifer Lopez's iconic Grammy Awards gown changed the internet forever - "More than two decades ago, Jennifer Lopez changed the internet forever when she wore a dress so striking it inspired engineers to build Google Image Search."
• List of EGOT winners - Wikipedia.
• List of music prizes & awards - Wikipedia.
• McCartney roasts Springsteen at Ivor Awards - "'He's known as the American working man,' Sir Paul continued, 'but he admits he's never worked a day in his life.'
• music award - Wikipedia.
• Viola Davis achieves EGOT with 2023 Grammy win for her audiobook - "After winning a Grammy Award, Viola Davis has officially completed the holy grail of entertainment awards. Davis’ Sunday win for the audiobook of her memoir 'Finding Me' completes her EGOT collection. She previously won an Emmy for her role in 'How to Get Away with Murder,' an Oscar for 'Fences,' and two Tony awards for 'King Hedley III' and 'Fences.'"

Top 20 Classical & Popular Music Awards & Prizes

• ASCAP | American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers MUSIC AWARDS - "We Create Music." Honors its top members in a series of annual awards shows in seven different music categories: pop, rhythm and soul, film and television, Latin, country, Christian, and concert music.
• AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS - annual American music awards show, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to present the Grammy Awards expired. Unlike the Grammys, which are awarded on the basis of votes by members of the Recording Academy, the AMAs are determined by a poll of the public and music buyers.
• Beethoven Prize - (1961-1992).
• BET AWARDS - established in 2001 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate African Americans and other minorities in music, acting, sports, and other fields of entertainment over the past year.
• BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS - since 1989.
• BMI AWARDS - BMI annually hosts award shows that honor the songwriters, composers and music publishers of the year's most-performed songs in the BMI catalogue. BMI Award shows include the BMI Latin Awards, BMI Pop Awards, BMI Film/TV Awards, BMI Urban Awards, BMI London Awards, BMI Country Awards, BMI Christian Awards, and the BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Luncheon.
• BRIT AWARDS - since 1977. British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards, and the British equivalent of the American Grammy Awards.
• Ernst von Siemens Music Prize - since 1972. Annual music prize given by the Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste (Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts) on behalf of the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung (Ernst von Siemens Foundation for Music).
• Eurovision Song Contest - since 1956. International song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union. Each participating country submits an original song to be performed live and transmitted to national broadcasters via the Eurovision and Euroradio networks, with competing countries then casting votes for the other countries' songs to determine a winner.
• GERSHWIN PRIZE - since 2007. The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song is an award given to a composer or performer for their lifetime contributions to popular music.
• GRAMMY AWARDS - since 1959. "Music's Biggest Night." A Grammy Award (originally called Gramophone Award), or Grammy, is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and the presentation of those awards that have a more popular interest. It shares recognition of the music industry as that of the other performance arts: Emmy Awards (television), the Tony Awards (stage performance), and the Academy Awards (motion pictures).
• GRAMOPHONE CLASSICAL MUSIC AWARDS - since 1977. One of the most significant honours bestowed on recordings in the classical record industry, often referred to as the Oscars for classical music. The winners are selected annually by critics for the Gramophone magazine and various members of the industry, including retailers, broadcasters, arts administrators, and musicians. Awards are usually presented in September each year in London.
• IVORS AWARDS - since 1956. "The biggest and most prestigious music awards for songwriters and composers." The Ivors Academy celebrates the craft and achievements of songwriters and composers by presenting Ivor Novello Awards at The Ivors with Amazon Music and The Ivors Classical Awards. Awarded to songwriters and composers for their craft and achievements since 1956, each winner receives an iconic Ivor Novello statuette and joins a roll call of greats. They are judged by acclaimed music creators from the Academy and are the only awards for songwriters and composers judged by their peers. The Ivors celebrates creative excellence in British and Irish songwriting and screen composition. Winners include our foremost songwriters including Adele, Stormzy, Cathy Dennis, Sting, Little Simz, Annie Lennox, Amy Winehouse, Dave, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Joan Armatrading.
• LATIN GRAMMY AWARDS - since 2000. Award by The Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works produced anywhere around the world that were recorded in either Spanish or Portuguese and is awarded in the United States.
• LÉONIE SONNING MUSIC Awards - since 1959. Denmark's highest musical honor, is given annually to an international composer or musician.
• MERCURY PRIZE | Barclaycard Mercury Prize - since 1992. Annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland.
• MTV EUROPE MUSIC AWARDS - established in 1994 by MTV Networks Europe to celebrate the most popular songs and singers in Europe.
• MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS | VMA - since 1984. Award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category), the annual MTV Video Music Awards ceremony has often been called the "Oscars for youth".
• Much Music Video Awards | MMVA - since 1990. Annual awards presented by the Canadian music video channel MuchMusic to honour the year's best music videos.
• Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards - since 1988. Also known as the KCAs or Kids Choice Awards, is an annual awards show that airs on the Nickelodeon cable channel, which is usually held on a Saturday night in late March or early April, that honors the year's biggest television, movie, and music acts, as voted by Nickelodeon viewers.
• PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS - since 1975. American awards show, recognizing the people and the work of popular culture, voted on by the general public.
• POLAR MUSIC PRIZE - first awarded 1992. Swedish international award founded in 1989 by Stig Anderson, best known as the manager of the Swedish band ABBA, with a donation to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The award is annually given to one contemporary musician and one classical musician.
• THE ENVELOPE - since 1996. Los Angeles Times. The awards insider.
• WOMEX AWARDS - since 1999. (Short for WOrld Music EXpo). Each year, WOMEX presents an award to artists or professionals for special achievements in the international music industry. Since 2006 WOMEX, in coordination with World Music Charts Europe, has presented three Top Label Awards for the labels who had the most chart topping CDs.
• YouTube Music Awards | YTMA - since 2013. Awards show presented by YouTube to honor the best in the music video medium.