The JUNO Awards are presented annually to Canadian musical artists and bands to acknowledge their artistic and technical achievements in all aspects of music. New members of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame are also inducted as part of the awards ceremonies.
Winners are currently chosen by either members of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences or a panel of experts depending on the award. 9 out of 42 categories are based solely on sales figures, such as Album of the Year or Artist of the Year. Nominees are determined by CARAS members for Single of the Year, Artist and Group of the Year. Nominees are determined by a judge vote for the remaining categories who are experts in the relevant genre. The list of confidential judges are composed of experts in each specific genre of music. These judges represent all facets of the Canadian music industry, are spread across the country, and a mixture of males and females in both official languages. No person can judge the same category two years in a row. .
History
The Juno Awards are named in honour of Pierre Juneau, the first President of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and former President of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
1970s
Prior to the development of the formal Juno award ceremonies, RPM Magazine began polling its readers in 1964 to determine which artists and groups were considered the best in Canada. The results of these polls were announced through RPM each December.
Record label owner Stan Klees met with RPM founder Walt Grealis to plan a formal awards ceremony for the music industry. Instead of merely publishing the award results in RPM, presentations would be made at a physical venue. The first such ceremony was the Gold Leaf Awards which took place 23 February 1970 in Toronto.
RPM invited its readers later that year to suggest a new name for these awards. The name "Juneau" was submitted, which represented Pierre Juneau, the first head of the Canadian Radio-Television Commission. Juneau was instrumental in establishing Canadian content regulations for broadcasters, to promote Canadian artists. That name became shortened to Juno and by 1971, the awards ceremonies would be referred to as the "Juno Awards".
From 1970 to 1973, winners were announced in RPM prior to the awards night. From 1974, the award winners were not made public until the Juno ceremonies. Music industry representatives formed an advisory committee for the Junos in 1974 which became the Canadian Music Awards Association the following year. This organisation assumed full management and operation of the Juno Awards from 1977 and became the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS).
The Junos were first televised throughout Canada in 1975 on CBC Television.
1980s
Initially, the awards were conducted during the early part of each year. In 1984, organisers postponed that year's awards until December. A late-year scheduling was maintained until January 1988 when CARAS noted the declining viewership on the Juno broadcasts and reverted to an early-year awards schedule. That year's Juno Awards were postponed until 12 March 1989, therefore leaving the 1988 calendar year without a ceremony.
1990s and 2000s
In 1996 an album called Oh What a Feeling: A Vital Collection of Canadian Music, was released as a four-CD box set to mark the 25th anniversary of the Juno Awards. It featured popular songs by Canadian artists from the 1960s to 1990s. In 2001, a second four-CD box set was released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the awards. In 2006, a third box set was released to celebrate the 35th anniversary.
Broadcast rights to the Juno Awards were transferred from CBC to CTV for the 2002 ceremonies. 2006 marked the first time the Junos were broadcast internationally through MTV2 in the United States and several affiliated MTV channels in other nations. The telecast of the 2006 Juno Awards was available to approximately 250Â million people.
A Humanitarian Award was inaugurated in 2006. Bruce Cockburn was the first artist to be given this honour.
At the 2007 ceremony, host Nelly Furtado made Juno history by being the first nominee with multiple nominations to win every award for which she was nominated, including the two most prestigious honours, Album of the Year and Artist of the Year.
Nomination process
The nominations for each year's Junos are based on an eligibility period which lasts for 13 to 14 months, ending on the mid-November prior to the awards ceremony. For example, the eligibility period of the 2010 Juno Awards was from 1 September 2008 to 13 November 2009. Music released during the eligibility period may be submitted to CARAS by musicians or their representatives, designated for the appropriate nomination categories. Nominations other than for the International Album of the Year may only be awarded to Canadians who have lived in Canada during the final six months of the eligibility period, and are deemed Canadian by birth, passport or immigration status.
Following the close of the eligibility period, CARAS conducts an initial vote by its members to establish the list of nominees in most categories. The nominees for Album of the Year and International Album of the Year are determined by sales figures. The New Artist of the Year, New Group of the Year, Rock Album of the Year and Pop Album of the Year are determined by sales in conjunction with a jury vote. The Artist of the Year and Group of the Year nominations are determined by sales and a CARAS member vote.
After the nominees list is published, another voting round is conducted to determine the winners of most categories. Voting for the Juno Fan Choice Award is open to the general public, while voting on general categories is limited to CARAS members. Winners in genre-specific or specialty categories are determined by specially appointed CARAS juries.
As of 2010, ballots are audited by accounting company PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Trophy
The first Juno trophies were developed by Stan Klees for the first presentations in 1970. These were constructed from walnut wood, stood 18 inches (46Â cm) tall and resembled a metronome. As ceremonies became televised in 1975, the award was built from acrylic instead of wood while retaining a metronome shape. The trophy was given minor modifications in succeeding years such as a size reduction for ease of handling, and changes to the inlay design such as a special 1996 emblem to signify the 25th anniversary.
In 2000, following criticism from producers that the existing award trophy did not have an attractive television appearance, CARAS commissioned a redesigned award from Stoney Creek, Ontario artist Shirley Elford. After reviewing three designs, two of which were patterned after the existing trophy, a new trophy design was selected featuring a glass human figure surrounded by a nickel-coated spiral symbolic of a musical staff situated on a base of aluminum. A few display statuettes were circulated for presentation during the ceremonies. Within months, winners received their personalized and individually made trophies from Elford.
In October 2010, CARAS unveiled a new award design to be used from 2011 onward. Elford had developed cancer and was no longer able to produce individual Juno trophies. The new design featured a solid volume crystal tower containing a sub-surface laser engraving depicting a spiral-wrapped human figure resembling the previous statuette. Elford died in November 2011.
Dates and locations
The Juno Awards events were not conducted outside Toronto until 1991. Since then, the ceremonies have been hosted throughout Canada, reaching both coasts. The provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Quebec have yet to play host to the Junos. In recent years, the various locations often host a number of supporting events and festivals surrounding the awards.
Juno Week
For several days prior to the weekend award presentations, events are held in the host city as part of a "Juno Week". Local venues feature up to 120 concerts by local and national artists as part of a Junofest. Concerts include a classical music showcase A Juno Cup ice hockey game pits a team of musicians against a team of National Hockey League players as a fundraiser for MusiCounts, a charitable music education program operated by CARAS. There are also opportunities for the public to meet major artists.
Award categories
Award names have changed through the years, most notably the switch in 2003 from the phrase "Best..." to " ... of the year". The previous awards are listed under their present names or the present award that is most similar. There are currently 44 awards.
- Aboriginal Album of the Year
- Adult Alternative Album of the Year
- Adult Contemporary Album of the Year
- Album of the Year
- Alternative Album of the Year
- Artist of the Year
- Blues Album of the Year
- New Artist of the Year
- New Group of the Year
- Recording Package of the Year
- Children's Album of the Year
- Classical Album of the Yearâ€"Solo or Chamber Ensemble
- Classical Album of the Yearâ€"Large Ensemble or Soloist(s) with Large Ensemble Accompaniment
- Classical Album of the Yearâ€"Vocal or Choral Performance
- Classical Composition of the Year
- Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year
- Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year
- Country Album of the Year
- Dance Recording of the Year
- Electronic Album of the Year
- Juno Fan Choice Award
- International Artist of the Year
- International Album of the Year
- International Single of the Year
- Francophone Album of the Year
- Group of the Year
- Instrumental Album of the Year
- Juno International Achievement Award
- Jack Richardson Producer of the Year
- Metal/Hard Music Album of the Year
- Music DVD of the Year
- Pop Album of the Year
- R&B/Soul Recording of the Year
- Rap Recording of the Year
- Recording Engineer of the Year
- Recording Package of the Year
- Reggae Recording of the Year
- Rock Album of the Year
- Roots & Traditional Album of the Yearâ€"Solo
- Roots & Traditional Album of the Yearâ€"Group
- Single of the Year
- Songwriter of the Year
- Traditional Jazz Album of the Year
- Vocal Jazz Album of the Year
- Video of the Year
- World Music Album of the Year
See also
- Music of Canada
- Canadian hip hop
- Canadian rock
- Canadian content
- Category:Canadian rock music groups
- Category:Canadian musical groups
- List of Canadian musicians
- Category:Music festivals in Canada
- Category:Canadian record labels
References
External links
- Juno-Awards.ca - The Juno Award's official website
- Juno Awards @ CTV.ca - Features multimedia clips, highlights, press releases, and more
- Juno Awards Coverage @ TheGATE.ca website
- CBC Digital Archives - And the Juno Went to…