With any form of art, follows the awards. Where art can be judged and celebrated (or NOT celebrated). Here’s my take on awards that hopefully will keep any of you creators out there from feeling lesser-than if you don’t win.
I started in the entertainment industry in the late 1990s. At that time, the trade magazines, specifically “Variety” and “The Hollywood Reporter,” were where the entire industry was plugged in. And when award season came around, be it Oscars, Golden Globes or Emmys, studios would pour more money than I’ll ever see in my lifetime into ads in the trades for their award contenders. And, unfortunately, I got to see behind the curtain. I worked with Academy members who would be casting their votes. And my boss straight up said to me, “Oh, I don’t have time to watch the films. I go by who has the best ads in the trades.” And I never watched another awards show again.
Is it nice to win an award? Ohmygosh yes. To feel like your work is appreciated, admired, respected or whatever emotion you take away from the honor. But just keep in perspective all of the elements that go into awards voting. Which, sadly, is deeply prejudiced by personal agendas, preferences and popularity. Currently I am helping with the Audio Verse Awards. Do I believe these folks do their best to uplift and support the audio fiction community? Yes. But do the truly BEST shows walk away with the awards? No. And that can be said of all awards shows. Let’s break it down.
First, award competitions require an entry fee. I am pleased the AVAs only charge $25. A reasonable amount to help cover costs and give a stipend to the folks working on the awards. But that is a rare low fee. Most are in the hundreds. So only shows with budget even get to enter these competitions.
Second, genre. What is your show’s genre? Because if you are a fringe show that doesn’t fall into the popular genres, you simply won’t get the votes. I was a reader for the Academy Nicholl Fellowship. A screenwriting competition run by the Academy of Motion Pictures. In my orientation, I was told, “Don’t waste your time on comedy submissions. They get thrown out before the final voting. The Academy will never give an award to a comedy.” WOW. Those hopeful writers paid their fee only to be thrown away merely by being a comedy. Because comedies are considered “lesser than” and not as “artistic” by the Academy. Prejudices are real, and you might be knocked out purely because that award show doesn’t like your genre.
So should you enter an award competition? It can open doors as far as discoverability. Doing the social media for the Audio Verse Awards, my goal is to post about each and every submission so even if the shows don’t make it to the finals, the show got SOMEthing out of participating. So I’d recommend RESEARCH. See what types of shows have won in the past. Who is voting? How are the awards determined? Basically, find out before you enter whether you REALLY have a shot at placing in the competition or not. If you find reviews from disgruntled past participants, read between the lines. Are they upset just because they didn’t win, or are there some legitimate points they’re making?
The main thing to remember is not to judge your own work on how an award competition judged you. You may not have been a good fit. You may have gotten that one judge who hates your genre. You may not have had the popularity going into the awards that other shows already had. Who knows. Are you happy with what you produce? Do you enjoy what you do and get satisfaction from sharing it with the audio drama community? Then that is what really matters. You don’t need an award. You just need to keep working and entertaining your audience, big or small.
