Musician of the Year
Award Criteria
This Award goes to the musician. The Award is for a musician known primarily as an instrumental performer. In order to qualify, a musician must have played on any combination of five albums or singles that have appeared in the Top 10 of the Country album or singles charts from Billboard’s Country Airplay Chart, Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart, or Country Aircheck Chart, or be certified Gold by RIAA on an album or single released during the eligibility period.
In this category, singles or albums the musician has played on, but was also credited for producing are not eligible qualifying credits.
Voting for this award will only be limited to members in the Musician, Composer, Producer/Engineer/Studio, and Artist Categories of CMA Membership. In this category, the Second Ballot will include the Top 20 qualified nominees that have received a minimum of 5 votes.