The 2020 AMP Awards for Music & Sound–the industry’s only non-profit juried competition honoring excellence in music and sound for brands across all media–has announced its call for entries and the opening of its online entry portal. The portal, which features an updated design for 2020, can be found here. It’s now accepting submissions across its 14 categories.
The deadline for submitting entries for the AMP Awards is Monday, March 9. An early bird discount of 30 percent is available for all AMP members in good standing for entries submitted by Monday, January 27. All AMP members receive a 20 percent discount on entry fees.
To be eligible for the 2020 AMP Awards, entries must have first aired or been made public between March 1, 2019 and March 1, 2020. Detailed information on technical specs, categories, rules and fees can be found on the entry portal. A full list of categories includes:
Best Original Song
Best Original Score
Outstanding Adaptation/Arrangement
Best Use of Licensed Pre-Existing Recording
Best Sound Design
Ryan Barkan Award for Most Effective Use of Music in a Campaign
Best Use of Music in a Promo or Trailer for Film, TV, or Game
Best Use of Music and Sound in New Media Marketing (Case Study Submission)
Best Use of Music and Sound in Experiential/Events (Case Study Submission)
Most Innovative Process & Execution (Case Study Submission)
Best Artist + Brand Partnership (Case Study Submission)
Outstanding Mix
Best Execution of a Sonic Logo/ID
Excellence in Audio-Only Marketing
The AMP Awards focuses exclusively on the unique contributions made to the industry by creators and producers of music and sound. Judged by agency, label, publishing and music production professionals, it honors one of its 14 category winners with its coveted Best In Show trophy, chosen by its Curatorial Committee.
Elad Marish of Swell Music + Sound, national board president of the Association of Music Producers, sponsors of the AMP Awards, said, “We’re lining up our Show Chair, our Curatorial Committee and our annual Hall of Fame honoree, as well as researching some emerging artists and DJs to provide the beat of our show. Expect lots more news from the AMP Awards in the coming weeks!”
Winners will be presented at a gala awards ceremony scheduled for Tuesday, May 19 at Sony Hall in New York. Tickets will be available on the AICP website here.
First-Time Feature Directors Make Major Splash At AFI Fest, Generate Oscar Buzz
Two first-time feature directors who are generating Oscar buzz this awards season were front and center this past weekend at AFI Fest in Hollywood. Rachel Morrison, who made history as the first woman nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar---on the strength of Mudbound in 2018--brought her feature directorial debut, The Fire Inside (Amazon MGM Studios), to the festival on Sunday (10/27), and shared insights into the film during a conversation session immediately following the screening. This came a day after William Goldenberg, an Oscar-winning editor for Argo in 2013, had his initial foray into feature directing, Unstoppable (Amazon MGM Studios), showcased at the AFI proceedings. He too spoke after the screening during a panel discussion. The Fire Inside--which made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival--tells the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields (portrayed by Ryan Destiny), a Black boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first woman in U.S. history to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the sport. She achieved this feat--with the help of coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry)--only to find that her victory at the Summer Games came with relatively little fanfare and no endorsement deals. So much for the hope that the historic accomplishment would be a ticket out of socioeconomic purgatory for Shields and her family. It seemed like yet another setback in a cycle of adversity throughout Shields’ life but she persevered, going on to win her second Gold Medal at the next Olympics and becoming a champion for gender equality and equitable pay for women in sports. Shields has served as a source of inspiration for woman athletes worldwide--as well as to the community of... Read More