And the Award Goes To

Last weekend the Academy of Country Music Awards were held.  (I know, I’m a week late.  The coin flip last Monday resulted in me blogging about Record Store Day instead.)  So, now I’m sent scrambling to do a search on what the difference is between the ACMs and the CMAs, while also pondering the fact that the Grammy Awards do have categories for country as well.

The Grammy show will at best tell you who had won in, say, the Christian category, although the Dove Awards are entirely devoted to gospel music (although there are genres within that genre for purposes of handing out an evening’s worth of trophies).

Now, don’t put all of the above in a blender or you’ll come out with the Inspirational Country Music Awards.

And yes, so that I don’t get “you forgot” emails, there are even more awards shows still.

And that’s a problem.

While everyone likes to get recognized for their hard work (while standing on stage and giving a speech whose theme is “This award isn’t about me”), I’m going to pull out the what-kind-of-message-are-we-sending-our-kids cliché.  Or the flip side, which is, How much do these awards really mean when there are so many of them being given out nowadays?  It seems like you can’t go a month without seeing some awards show being promoted as ‘coming soon.’

Yes, the little guy who has a chip on his shoulder about the Grammys probably is happy that the Independent Music Awards exist.  But (a) in Nashville they (for the most part) don’t care how many awards you’ve won because they’ll still say, it begins with the song, and (b) there are so many other achievements that can get you noticed, rather than focusing on the one that brings you a trophy.

I remember interviewing singer/songwriter Rachel Pearl on Episode 26 of “Now Hear This Entertainment” and her talking about how much mileage she has gotten out of contests.  Yes, those competitions that you see on the likes of ReverbNation and wonder if anyone actually ever wins.  And while it’s true that Sena Ehrhardt talked about a number of nominations (and a victory) for various blues awards, they were at a more healthy level than trying to compete for the one that probably isn’t in your reach – yet.

Am I saying to not set your goals high?  Absolutely not.  Am I saying that mediocrity is an acceptable level?  Not at all.  What I am saying is that when you see the glitz and glamour of these over the top productions on network TV, look closely and see the –figurative and literal – smoke and mirrors.  Then go polish your performance résumé that shows the impressive venues you’ve played at and the catalog of music you’ve recorded and the big social media following and the media attention you’ve gotten – even if it wasn’t on nationwide television in prime time.