2010 MAMAs

The 2009-2010 season for the Madison Area Music Awards has ended. We’ll see you soon!

2010 MAMA Rules

The MAMAs honors outstanding achievements in music for those artists who choose to become members and enter themselves for consideration.  Artists must meet the eligibility requirements stated on the official MAMA website to be considered in their chosen award categories.  Artists and fans alike take part in a participatory process of choosing the nominees in the first voting round. Write-in votes are cast for several categories during the registration period, resulting in a list of choices for the first voting round. The highest vote-getters in the first round are the Nominees that move to the final round where the MAMA members vote for their choices for winners. Membership is required for all MAMA voting, which is open to the public. Membership requires a five dollar donation that is segregated from other funds and goes directly to the MAMAs charitable recipients.

2010 MAMA FAQ

What are the MAMAs?

MAMA, Inc. is a non-profit organization. To read the MAMA, Inc. mission statement, click here. MAMA is an acronym for Madison Area Music Association. Each spring we hold an award show that honors the efforts of local musicians. This award show, along with the many other initiatives of MAMA, Inc. throughout the year, raises money to foster the next generation of musicians by helping fund youth music programs and by putting instruments in the hands of kids who might not otherwise have them. We work with many school districts and also community groups in the Madison area. To see a history of our charitable giving, click here. Our objective is to keep the fundamentals of music available for our youth and to promote that cause.

How can I get involved by volunteering for the MAMAs?

The MAMAs are always looking for dedicated persons willing to help out. We are a small, volunteer organization with an incredible task that we’ve chosen to take up. The complexities are sometimes overwhelming. Each year we make enormous progress toward refining and improving the entire process of entering, selecting and presenting the awards as well as producing the awards show. There are specific areas we need volunteers in. To volunteer, send us an email.

How do I make a financial contribution to MAMA, Inc.?

If you would like to make a financial contribution to the MAMAs, apart from becoming a member or registering/nominating, click here. MAMA, Inc. is a charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All contributions are eligible for tax deduction. You’ll want to consult with your tax advisor as to specific deductibility for your individual situation. We accept musical instruments in good working order as well as cash contributions.

What are the eligibility requirements for the Madison Area Music Awards?

The eligibility requirements for the MAMAs require you to meet one of two eligibility requirements. You must have some members of your group living in Dane County or be based in Dane County. A good benchmark for this is having 50% of your band members or 2 of 5, 3 of 7, etc. Alternatively, if you play a significant amount of performances, around 50% of your gigs, in Dane County you are eligible. Registration is on the honor system, primarily. If a nominee comes into question, MAMA, Inc. will then verify that the artist or group is eligible.

What is different for this year?

Click here to see updates for the 2010 MAMAs.

What are the time restrictions and other requirements that make an album or song eligible?

An album is defined as a group of songs (three or more) that is released for sale or otherwise available to the public by an artist or group that meets the eligibility requirements. This would include EPs (Extra-play singles, which refers to releases that usually have only a few songs) but not a CD-single, which we define as being only one or two songs on a single release. Songs from a CD-single would still be eligible in the Song of the Year category, and also the Artist of the Year awards.

For Album of the Year awards, the release of the album must fall within the eligible year. For the 2010 awards the eligible year is January 1 through December 31, 2009. You’ll notice that because of this transition, this year will be a thirteen-month period.

Songs are individual compositions that are original works. MAMA, Inc. accepts no responsibility in songs that are posted by the artists for consideration and does not represent the submissions in any legal manner or guarantee their copyright status. The same song could be registered in multiple categories or an artist may choose to nominate separate songs in separate categories. Songs do not have to be composed in the current year but may not be re-submitted in future years.

What are the write-in awards?

The write-in awards are just what the name implies: some specific award categories are determined solely by open ballot voting by the public and require no submissions. For 2009 the write-in ballot is open until January 18th, the end of the registration period. Voters in the first round will choose from the list generated during the registration period.

What is the “Wish You Were Here” award?

The “Wish You Were Here” award is open to musicians and songwriters that do not meet the eligibility guidelines for the MAMAs but wish to donate to the charitable cause and compete for this award. This award is essentially another Song of the Year category with the winner being determined in the same fashion as the other Song of the Year categories.

What is Broadjam’s role in the MAMAs?

Broadjam, Inc. is a worldwide company based out of Madison. To learn more about Broadjam, go to www.broadjam.com. Roy Elkins is the president and founder of Broadjam and came to the MAMAs in 2005 offering assistance. Roy has been instrumental in helping MAMA, Inc. form its new board of directors and is the current chair of the MAMA board. He has offered Broadjam’s services and expertise in the registration/nomination and voting processes for the MAMAs. One of the things Broadjam does is to administer the voting for the Academy of Country Music. The mechanisms for running contests and selecting award winners have therefore already been developed by Broadjam and so they are a natural fit for the MAMAs. Broadjam’s services are a donation; no profit is being made by Broadjam and no monies are diverted to Broadjam or any of its employees. Broadjam’s security measures are concrete and the board is fully confident of the company’s abilities to meet our goals in upholding the fairness and integrity of the MAMAs. The Madison area community owes a huge debt of gratitude to Broadjam for their commitment to the MAMAs and to funding music programs.

How do I become a member of the MAMAs?

Becoming a member of the MAMAs entitles music fans to vote and to nominate songs and albums. Becoming a member requires a $5 donation. This $5 goes into a separate fund that goes directly to our charitable recipients. This money is not diverted to pay the expenses of administrating MAMA, Inc. or to produce the award show. Becoming a member of the MAMAs is saying that you care about fostering the next generation of musicians. It also says that you support the efforts of the current professionals in our area by participating in listening to and selecting from the outstanding music being produced in our area. To become a MAMA member click here.

How do I register and nominate my songs or albums?

To register yourself or your band you must become a MAMA member. All submissions will be handled online. If you do not have a sufficient connection or are otherwise not able to upload your songs, album, artwork, bio, pictures or other information, you can contact us for assistance. You can link to the registration page from the MAMAs website or click here.

How does the voting process work?

Round One of voting is new as of 2009. Instead of a blind listening round where you rate the songs, you will choose a maximum of three from a list of artists who have tossed their hat into the ring by registering. There will be play buttons next to each entry so you can listen to the music as you choose and/or view the artist’s profile.

The final round is virtually the same as the first round, only the list is narrowed down to the nominees – the highest vote-getters from the first round.

When is the awards show and how do I get tickets?

The Madison Area Music Awards event will be held on Saturday, May 8. The specifics of the show are forthcoming and tickets will go on sale in March or April.  You’ll want to keep your eye on this website and the media for announcements so that you can act quickly.