14TH ANNUAL GMS SUBMISSION PORTAL NOW CLOSED
CATEGORIES AND CRITERIA
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE
14th ANNUAL GUILD OF MUSIC SUPERVISOR AWARDS
WHAT ARE THE GUILD OF MUSIC SUPERVISORS AWARDS?
The Guild Of Music Supervisors Awards are presented annually at an event hosted by the non-profit Guild Of Music Supervisors (www.guildofmusicsupervisors.com) with the purpose of highlighting and celebrating the highest achievement of music use in video games, advertising, trailers, documentaries, film, and television. The guild has dedicated an Awards Production Committee and also utilizes anonymous sub-committees (known as Craft Committees) comprised of experienced professionals working in each media area to evaluate project submissions within their field of expertise and determine the final set of nominees for each award. The final nominees are then reviewed and voted on by the general Guild Of Music Supervisors members, usually in early January. The winners will be honored at the annual awards event.
GENERAL GUIDELINES:
MEMBERSHIP - Music Supervisors are NOT required to be members of the Guild Of Music Supervisors in order to submit projects or be nominated.
REQUIRED CREDITS - For Film, Television, and Video Games the Nominees must be credited as Music Supervisor, unless special circumstances are approved by the Awards Committee, and must have performed in the role as defined by the Guild Of Music Supervisors here. More than one Music Supervisor can be nominated for the same project if co-supervision circumstances are confirmed to qualify more than one Music Supervisor.
FINAL DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY - All decisions related to the final eligibility of nominees and any other interpretation of any awards related rule will be at the sole discretion the Guild Of Music Supervisors Awards Committee.
BYLAWS:
The following are bylaws observed by all GMS Craft Committees in an effort to uphold the highest standards of transparency and integrity:
RECUSAL - Craft Committee members are required to recuse themselves from discussing and voting on their own projects.
MANDATORY SUBMISSIONS - a submission is required for award consideration. Projects that are not properly submitted will not be considered.
ELIGIBILITY PERIODS:
To qualify projects must have an initial commercial release in the United States within the specified eligibility period. All eligibility dates now align to the calendar year with the exception of television, spelled out below:
TELEVISION ELIGIBILITY DATES:
14th Annual Awards (held in 2024):
All television submissions must have had over 50% of the nominated season air within the established eligibility period: November 1, 2022 through October 31, 2023.
EVALUATION RUBRIC:
The following areas have been used to frame all submission forms and are the the foundation used by all GMS Craft Committees to evaluate each awards submission:
CREATIVE INVOLVEMENT – How the Music Supervisor created, honed or executed the project’s musical vision.
BUSINESS AFFAIRS STRATEGY & NEGOTIATION – How the Music Supervisor impacted, designed or executed music clearance and/or music business affairs strategy.
RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT – How the Music Supervisor managed and fostered the needs and expectations of multiple stakeholders (creative, production, and studio teams etc.) throughout the music process.
PROJECT TROUBLESHOOTING – How the Music Supervisor implemented their skills and relationships to maintain or course-correct the music process.
IMPACT AND EFFECTIVENESS OF MUSIC IN THE FINISHED PRODUCT – How the Music Supervisor and music creative process influenced and contributed to the final project.
2023-2024 AWARDS TIMELINE:
Friday, October 20, 2023 - Submission portal opens
Thursday, November 30, 2023, 11:59pm PT - Last day for free submissions
Friday, December 1, 2023 - $50 late submission fee per submission instated
Monday, December 11, 2023, 6PM PT - Submission portal closes
Monday, January 22, 2024 - Nominees announced
Wednesday, January 24, 2024, 3PM PT - GMS Awards voting opens
Friday, February 9, 2024, 6PM PT - GMS Awards voting closes
Sunday, March 3, 2024 - 14th Annual GMS Awards Ceremony
More guidelines specific to each award can be found on the below on the awards list.
Jump to: FILM -- TELEVISION -- DOCUMENTARY -- TRAILERS -- VIDEO GAMES -- ADVERTISING
FILM
BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION FOR FILM:
BUDGETED OVER 25 MILLION DOLLARS
Presented for performance as a Music Supervisor on a feature length film of any genre with a production budget OVER 25 million dollars. Achievement is based on the creative, technical and business contributions made to the film.
BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION FOR FILM:
BUDGETED 25 MILLION DOLLARS AND UNDER
Presented for performance as a Music Supervisor on a feature length film of any genre with a production budget UNDER 25 million dollars. Achievement is based on the creative, technical and business contributions made to the film.
BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION FOR FILM:
BUDGETED 10 MILLION DOLLARS AND UNDER
Presented for performance as a Music Supervisor on a feature length film of any genre with a production budget UNDER 10 million dollars. Achievement is based on the creative, technical and business contributions made to the film.
BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION FOR A NON-THEATRICALLY RELEASED FILM
Presented for performance as a Music Supervisor on a feature length film of any genre that was widely released on a commercial streaming platform. Achievement is based on the creative, technical and business contributions made to the film.
BEST SONG WRITTEN AND/OR RECORDED FOR A FILM
The song can be written for the film or be an imaginative cover of an existing composition. Song recording must be created specifically for the film. The use of an existing recording that has been previously released with no direct relationship to the film does not qualify. Nominated parties will include Songwriter, Music Supervisor and Recording Artist. More than one song from a film can be nominated.
TELEVISION
BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION IN A TELEVISION DRAMA
Presented for achievements in the Music Supervision of a dramatic television series. Based on the creative, technical and business contributions made for the series body of work during the current eligibility period. Awarded to the credited Music Supervisor(s).
BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION IN A TELEVISION MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Presented for achievements in the Music Supervision of a comedic or musical television series. Based on the creative, technical and business contributions made for the series body of work during the current eligibility period. Awarded to the credited Music Supervisor(s).
BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION IN REALITY TELEVISION
Presented for achievements in the Music Supervision of reality television. Based on the creative, technical and business contributions made for the body of work during the current eligibility period. Awarded to the credited Music Supervisor(s).
BEST SONG WRITTEN AND/OR RECORDED FOR TELEVISION
Presented for an Original Song (including both music and lyrics) composed and/or an imaginative cover recorded specifically for the television series. The Song must be audible, intelligible and presented substantially within the work. Nominated parties will include the credited Songwriter(s), Music Supervisor(s) and Recording Artist(s) who contributed materially to the overall creative direction and business administration of the Song.
DOCUMENTARY
BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION FOR A DOCUMENTARY
Presented for performance as a Music Supervisor on a feature length Documentary of any genre. Achievement is based on the creative, technical and business contributions made to the documentary. Must be released nationally in the year 2023 either through theatrical distribution; through a national television broadcaster/national cable television network; through a mainstream internet streaming service (Netflix, Hulu, etc.); or by a national home entertainment distribution source (nationally distributed DVD, iTunes digital, Amazon, etc.).
BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION IN A DOCUSERIES
Presented for achievements in the Music Supervision of a docuseries. Based on the creative, technical and business contributions made for the series body of work during the current eligibility period. Awarded to the credited Music Supervisor(s).
TRAILERS
BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION FOR A TRAILER - FILM
Presented for achievement for the creative contributions to a single film trailer by a Music Supervisor. Must be over 45 seconds in length.
BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION FOR A TRAILER - SERIES
Presented for achievement for the creative contributions to a single series trailer by a Music Supervisor. Must be over 15 seconds in length. Category includes TV Promos.
BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION FOR A TRAILER - VIDEO GAME & INTERACTIVE
Presented for achievement for the creative contributions to a single video game or interactive trailer by a Music Supervisor. Must be over 45 seconds in length.
VIDEO GAMES
BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION IN A VIDEO GAME - SYNC
Presented for excellence on a soundtrack for a Video Game using pre-existing music. Achievement is based on a soundtrack that truly enhances the overall mood and style of the game, while measuring creativity and strength in song selection. Nominations can be games that consist of licensed music only.
BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION IN A VIDEO GAME - ORIGINAL MUSIC
Presented for excellence on a soundtrack for a Video Game. Achievement is based on a soundtrack that truly enhances the overall mood and style of the game, while measuring creativity and strength in original song creation and/or score impact. Nominations can be games that consist mainly composed/original music.
ADVERTISING
BEST USE OF MUSIC SUPERVISION IN ADVERTISING - SYNC
Presented for performance as a Music Supervisor in a single advertising spot. Achievement is based on the creative, technical, and business contributions
made to the advertisement.
BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION IN ADVERTISING - ORIGINAL MUSIC
Presented for an Original Song (including both music and lyrics) composed and/or an imaginative cover recorded specifically for a single advertising spot. The Song must be audible, intelligible and presented substantially within the work.
Nominated parties will include the credited Songwriter(s), Music Supervisor(s) and Recording Artist(s) who contributed materially to the overall creative direction and business administration of the Song.
BEST MUSIC SUPERVISION IN ADVERTISING - $500K TOTAL PRODUCTION & POST-PRODUCTION BUDGET
Presented for a pre-existing or original song for a single advertising spot with a total production and post-production budget of $500K and under.
Achievement is based on the creative, technical, and business contributions
made to the advertisement within the specified budget limitations.
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