Music Victoria Awards will go ahead this year, with self-nominations now open for a slew of categories.
Despite 2020 being one of the toughest in memory, Victoria's music community is pressing on to celebrate the vast achiements of local musicians and bands.This year will also introduce three new award categories, Music Victoria revealing gongs will now be awarded for: Outstanding Woman in Music Award (which will recognise not only the achievements of musicians but also industry professionals, management and crew); the industry-voted category for Best Producer; and the merging of Best Male and Best Female Musician to become the public-voted award for Best Musician.
The Archie Roach Foundation Award for Best Emerging First Peoples Act will continue to provide one deserving artist with a cash grant and access to mentorship as part of the award.
G Flip at 2019 Music Victoria Awards
The Awards' eligibility timeline has also shifted, with all nominations for best album, song and individual genre awards in 2020 to be taken from music released between 1 September, 2019 and 30 June, 2020.
"It's been an incredibly tough year for the industry," Music Victoria Awards Event Producer, Laura Imbruglia says, "but also a year where community spirit, ingenuity, and resilience have really come to the fore.
"The Victorian music community has so much to be proud of, and I encourage everyone to get involved with the Awards through submissions, voting and the event itself."
Submissions are now open until 5pm, Monday 20 July for the venue, festival, and producer categories as well as all genre categories for artists and releases.
Submissions are only open to Music Victoria members. Click here for more information.
The categories open for self-submission are:
Best Regional and Outer Suburban Venue (under 50 gigs per year)
Best Regional and Outer Suburban Venue (over 50 gigs per year)
Best Venue (under 500 capacity) Best Venue (over 500 capacity)
Best Festival Best Producer
Best Blues Album
Best Country Album
Best Electronic Act
Best Experimental or Avant-Garde Act
Best Folk or Roots Album
Best Jazz Album
Best Heavy Album
Best Hip Hop Act
Best Reggae and Dancehall Act
Best Rock/Punk Album
Best Soul, Funk, R'n'B or Gospel Album
Best Emerging First Peoples Act (Archie Roach Foundation Award for Emerging Talent)
Best Intercultural Music Act
Best Regional and Outer Suburban Act
The remaining categories (Best Band, Best Album, Best Song, Best Solo Artist, Best Musician, Best Breakthrough Act, Best Live Act, and Outstanding Woman in Music) will be nominated by an expert industry panel and revealed along with the nominees for the above categories in October. Stay tuned for more details.
