Folk Awards Rules
BBC RADIO 2 FOLK AWARDS 2018 RULES
As in previous years, the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards 2018 are to be produced and organised by 7digital (formerly known as Smooth Operations), an independent producer commissioned by the BBC.
The voting, nomination and award process will be managed jointly by the BBC and 7digital in line with the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on Awards.
The Awards Year runs from 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017. The Awards are made on the 4 April 2018.
Awards Categories and Eligibility Criteria for the Folk Awards 2018:
Categories 1 to 6 are awarded by the Voting Panel.
1. FOLK SINGER OF THE YEAR - The singer making the greatest impact during the period of 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017 either through performance, albums or a special event.
2. BEST DUO - The duo making the greatest impact during the period of 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017 either through performance, albums or special event.
3. BEST GROUP - The group making the greatest impact during the period of 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017 either through performance, albums or special event.
4. BEST ALBUM - The best folk/roots album released between 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017. Reissues or compilations do not qualify.
5. HORIZON AWARD - The best emerging artist(s) on the scene during the Awards Year. Any acts who have debuted or made a significant increase in their popularity or a special impression between 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017.
6. MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR - This person may be part of a band, a solo artist or session musician who may be considered the best instrumentalist between 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017.
Categories 7 & 8 are awarded by a Specialist Track Panel convened by the Folk Awards Committee.
7. BEST ORIGINAL TRACK - The best non-traditional song or instrumental released between 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017. This may be a new track or, if it is more than one year old, needs to have had a significant performance or interpretation to qualify.
8. BEST TRADITIONAL TRACK - The best performance of any traditional song or tune released between the 1 January 2017 to 31 December 2017. This is a category designed to recognise the work of people recording traditional material. It must be a new recording of a traditional song or tune from any tradition.
Category 9: This award is judged by a panel of experts convened by the Folk Awards Committee.
9. YOUNG FOLK AWARD – The Young Folk Award is determined by a separate panel of judges. A shortlist of 10 acts is selected from all the entries submitted to the Young Folk Award competition. These 10 acts are invited to a performance weekend, which culminates in a performance concert from which a specialist panel of judges, comprising musicians and industry personnel, determine a winner and three runners-up. The winner will be announced at the Folk Awards Ceremony.
Categories 10 to 14 are in the gift of Folk Awards Committee to award as appropriate.
10. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD This award is given to a person or group whom the panel deem to have made an enormous and lasting contribution to folk music over a sustained number of years.
11. GOOD TRADITION AWARD Awarded to a person, group or organisation that the panel concludes have contributed to the preservation, dissemination and continuance/ progression of traditional music over a number of years.
12. LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR CONTRIBUTION TO SONGWRITING Bestowed on a person(s) who the panel consider to have produced a significant volume of work in the field of songwriting, which has been adopted by the folk community.
13. ROOTS AWARD Given to a person or group whom the panel consider to have made an outstanding contribution to Folk Music from a grass-root level upwards.
14. THE HALL OF FAME Awarded posthumously to a person, group or organisation that the panel deem to have made a lasting contribution to the history of folk music.
Awards Procedures
The Voting Panel is made up of approximately 150 people. The Panel is comprised of those persons who have a professional or semi-professional interest in folk music, i.e. journalists, broadcasters, festival and club organisers, venue bookers, record company personnel, folk music academics, etc.
Membership of the Voting Panel is determined by the BBC and 7digital and is reviewed every year. The Folk Awards Committee is continually looking for new members to the panel. Any person who would like to nominate an individual, or is interested in being on the panel themselves, can notify 7digital by email stating their current position and experience to folkawardsvoting@7digital.com. A full list of potential additions will then be considered by the Folk Awards Committee and a final decision made on the panel for the next year’s voting process. Successful additions will be notified prior to the start of the voting for the next year.
The Awards for Categories 1 to 6 are determined by two rounds of voting by the Voting Panel.
Round One
The Voting Panel are asked to nominate up to 3 artists in each category. Nomination forms are sent out on 11 January 2018. The panel need to return their nominations by 30 January 2018 to 7digital. To avoid any possible conflict of interest, panellists are not permitted to nominate artists with whom they have a close professional interest. Managers, agents, publicists or record company staff are not allowed to vote for any artist(s) that they represent. The returned nominations are collated and the top four who receive the most nominations in each category are then listed on the voting form in Round Two.
Round Two
Each panellist can vote for one nomination in each category. Panellists are not permitted to vote for artists with whom they have a close professional interest. Voting forms are sent out on 8 February 2018 following the announcement of the nominations on the Mark Radcliffe Folk Show on 7 February 2018 and are to be returned by 27 February 2018. These votes are counted by the BBC and 7digital and the nominee with the most votes in each category is declared the recipient of the award. Winners are announced on the night of the Folk Awards Ceremony. Spoiled voting papers (e.g. papers where more than one vote has been cast or where the mark is not clear) will be discounted. Only the winner with the most votes is recognised, and no other results are released (i.e. there are no runners-up). In the event of a tie – that is more than one artist receiving the same highest number of votes – the award will be made jointly to all the artists. The top 4 ‘Best Albums’ nominated in Round One will be put to a public vote and not voted for by the Voting Panel. The vote will be run on the BBC Radio 2 website from 7pm on 7 February 2018 to 23:59 on 16 February 2018. Simon Mayo’s Drivetime show will feature a shortlist of 4 albums from Monday 12 February to Thurs 15 February 2018.
The Awards for Categories 7 and 8 are awarded by a Specialist ‘Track’ Panel.
The Panel who will award the categories of ‘Best Original Track’ and ‘Best Traditional Track’ will be comprised of persons who have a professional or semi-professional interest in the folk music industry. The Folk Awards Committee will nominate and oversee the panel. The Specialist Panel will run to the following schedule:
Thurs 18 Jan 2018 – Each panellist to send in their three nominations
Tues 23 Jan 2018 - Digital folder with all shortlisted tracks issued with judging form
Tues 30 Jan 2018 – Judging forms to be returned
Thurs 1 Feb 2018 – Shortlist of tracks issued
Mon 5 Feb 2018 – Conference call to decide on the final four nominees and the winner in each category
The Specialist Track Panel in 2018 are:
Lynette Fay – Broadcaster, BBC Radio Ulster
Alex Gallacher – Editor-in-Chief, Folk Radio UK
Frank Hennessy – Musician and Broadcaster, BBC Radio Wales
Jon Lewis - Radio Producer, The Folk Show, BBC Radio 2
Bruce MacGregor - Musician and Broadcaster, BBC Radio Scotland
The Awards for Categories 10 to 12 are determined by two rounds of voting by the Folk Awards Committee.
The decision is taken at a meeting in early 2018. The Committee members come to the meeting with a list of their own nominations for each of the awards. The Committee have an open discussion of these nominations with a view to arriving at a consensus. In the event of failure to reach a consensus, the award is decided by way of a vote. 7digital will keep records of all Committee meetings.
The Young Folk Award is determined by a separate panel of judges. A shortlist of 10 acts is selected from all the entries submitted to the Young Folk Award contest. These 10 acts are invited to the Young Folk Award Weekend, which culminates in a performance concert from which a specialist panel of judges, comprising musicians and industry personnel, determine a winner. The winner will be announced at the Folk Awards Ceremony.
Nominated Representatives
The BBC and 7digital will appoint nominated representatives that shall be responsible for monitoring the voting. They will ensure that votes are properly collected and counted and that the process is conducted in line with the rules as well as the BBC's Editorial Guidelines on Awards. Nominated Representatives are not permitted to vote either as part of the Voting Panel or the Folk Awards Committee. 7digital will keep and store all nomination and voting papers on behalf of the BBC for 3 years following each award ceremony.
Nominated Representatives in 2018 are:
Nikki Cannon - Administration Assistant, 7digital
Helen Thomas - Network Editor - BBC Radio 2
The Folk Awards Committee consists of 5 people; 2 are members of the Folk Awards production staff, 2 are senior members of BBC Radio 2 staff and the 1 is an independent expert.
The Folk Awards Committee in 2018 is:
John Leonard - Group Editorial Director, 7digital (Chair)
Kellie While - Head of 7digital Creative / Producer, Radio 2 Folk Awards
Lynette Fay - Presenter, BBC Radio Ulster
Jeff Smith - Head of Music, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6 Music
Donald Shaw - Musician and Artistic Director, Celtic Connections
Voting Panel - Terms and Conditions
A copy of the ‘Panel Declaration Form’ provided must be signed and returned along with the nomination/voting form. Failure to do so will render the nomination/vote void. By returning a completed nomination/voting form, members of the Voting Panel acknowledge that they are still eligible to be part of the Panel and that they will abide by these rules.
Promotion
Nominees and Winners who wish to produce promotional material referring to themselves as such will be sent details prior to the start of Round 2 on how to apply to the BBC to do so. Use of the Awards name, the BBC Radio 2 logo or the BBC Blocks is not a given, and shall only be granted following the completion and signing of a trademark licence provided to the nominee / winner by the BBC. Unauthorised use of the BBC Radio 2 logo or the BBC Blocks will be treated as a breach of copyright.
