About Us
Mission Statement
Founded in 2017, the Creative Commons Community Music Awards aim to be the Grammys of the creative commons world. They seek to distinguish preeminent musical works that incorporate Creative Commons licenses and veer from the traditional copyright structure. The CCCMAs set the stage for artists that choose to embrace a shared culture, something unique to the current landscape of music award programs.
The awards are currently juried by a collection of creative commons artists and compatriots involved in said scene. In its primary years, the CCCMAs recognized musicians via genre, but have since expanded to include region-specific talent in effort to highlight free culture across the globe.
Policies
Nomination Window
Early 2018: We had dates leading up for a Netlabel Day presentation, but we quickly changed that.
2018-2023: January 1 - December 31 previous year.
2024-present: We use a 14-month overlapping calendar. This allows albums that come out in late December in particular a fair chance at the awards. For example, the 2024 awards will consinder music from November 1, 2022 through December 31, 2023.
Judging
Voting rights
2018
Each category is assigned judges who may only vote within said category. This year featured a general Album and Track of the Year, which was conducted as a public poll.
2019
All judges were allowed to vote in all genre categories. A remix section was added and judged by CC Mixter.
2020
All judges were allowed to vote in all genre categories. Expanded to include region-specific categories judged solely by judges assigned to them.
In case of a tie
The following is a breakdown of the CCCMA’s procedures for tie-breakers, should a category reach this step.
2018
No official tie procedures
2019
Utilized:
A points system that scores community stats that specifically denote a positive community reaction: a point is awarded for individual action items such as favorites on the FMA, hearts on Jamendo, and supporters on Bandcamp. The nominee with the most points is declared winner. (This method was used after multiple calls for votes, for two categories that received no votes)
- A tiered voting system where judges rank nominees that have received vote, nominee with highest average placement is declared winner
- A judicial debate that concludes when a consensus winner has been reached.
2020 to present
A simple re-vote solely featuring tied nominees. Should this still result in a tie, Founder decides winner.
Categories
All genre categories include Album and Track subcategories
2018
- General
- Hip-Hop
- Folk
- Experimental
- Jazz
- Rock
- Music Video
2019
Genre
- Hip-Hop
- Folk
- Experimental
- Ambient
- Jazz
- Rock
- Electronic
- Metal
- Pop
- Music Video
- Album Packaging
Remix
- General
- Instrumental
- Experimental
- Acappella
- Spoken Word
- Stems/Sample
2020
Genre
- Hip-Hop
- Electronic
- Rock
- Pop
- Jazz
- Folk
- Experimental
- Album Packaging
- Music Video
United States Regions
- Great Lakes
- Mid-Atlantic
- Midwest
- NYC
- Northeast
- Northwest
- South
- Southeast
- Southwest
- West
Continental
- North and Central America
- South America
- Europe
- Africa
- Asia/Pacific
2024
In order to streamline the voting process and get the awards on sooner, we significantly reduced both the genre awards and the regional awards.
Genre
- Hip-Hop
- Electronic
- Rock
- Pop
- Jazz
- Folk
- Experimental
- Album Packaging
- Music Video
Continental
- USA and Canada
- Latin America and Caribbean
- Western Europe
- Eastern Europe (including Russia)
- Africa
- Asia
- Oceania
CC Hall of Fame
On the 30th Anniversary of the Creative Commons licenses, the CC CMA organization plans to launch a new endeavor, the CC Hall of Fame. As of writing, this is about 7 years away, but it will take a lot of time to do this right! If you would like to be involved with this new project, please email doug@blocsonic.com
Contact Us
CC Music Awards is not a Creative Commons Corporation project.