Russian Radio has announced a change in the rules of the national award

For 30 years, the Golden Gramophone Award ceremony has gained the status of the country's most prestigious and popular music award. But time is passing, new technologies are emerging, and listeners' habits are changing.

"For three decades, the Golden Gramophone has gained the status of a truly folk music award, reflecting the tastes of a huge audience. The number of our listeners is growing not only on the air, but also online, and we consider it our duty to take into account the opinion of each of them. The songs played on the stage of the ceremony are the musical hallmarks of the era. And in order to maintain the highest expertise of the award, we are expanding the rules for selecting laureates," announced Vladimir Borisov, Director of Russian Radio.

The new rules will take into account all the nuances of today's music content consumption and preserve the status of the Golden Gramophone Award as relevant and modern. The criteria for selecting the laureates were announced by Alyona Borodina, the host of the Golden Gramophone hit parade, which has been playing weekly on Russian Radio for 31 years.

According to the host of the radio station, the following five key factors will now influence the choice of winners.

The approach to the charts is changing. Now every song included in it is already a nominee. And the chance of winning increases the length of stay in the chart, as well as the places that the composition occupies throughout the year.

Deep digital analytics is added to the calculation of the results. All the clicks and likes that users leave on the online platforms of the radio station will make a difference.

The stars themselves will receive a voice. Artists will be able to vote for the compositions of their colleagues in the workshop, excluding their own songs, based on their experience and professionalism. In addition, this vote will determine the winner of the special "Golden Gramophone" — "Choice of the Stars". The activity of fan communities on social media will play a huge role in determining the winners - the radio station officially recognizes the contribution of the most loyal fans who can make a song a hit.Finally, every spectator who buys a ticket to the ceremony will also be able to influence the list of winners by actually voting in rubles for those whom they want to see on stage.

On October 26, the "Night of the Laureates", the compositions that will become part of the golden fund of Russian music this year will be announced. Shortly before that, Russian Radio will stop the chart and start calculating the cumulative results.

Svetlana Stolpovskikh, music producer of the Russian Media Group, addressed the artists, emphasizing that the update is a tribute to the changes taking place in the media and music industry.: "The new rules give us the opportunity to reach out to all listeners, whether they are fans of FM broadcasting or active Internet users. Everyone's voices are important to us. I urge the artists to carefully study the updated regulations, record tracks and work with fan clubs that can influence the results. And, of course, since you will be voting for the work of your colleagues, be as objective as possible. Now the Award will become even cooler, bigger and more popular, because there will be even more voters."

The XXXI Golden Gramophone National Music Award ceremony will take place on December 5 at VTB Arena.