NME Awards

The NME Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine, NME (New Musical Express). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the NME Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding of the magazine. Though the accolades given are entirely genuine, the ceremony itself is usually carried out in a humorous and jovial manner, and have included categories in the past like "Villain of the year" and "Worst Record". The trophies given to the winners resemble an extended middle finger.

Since 2014, the ceremony has been sponsored by the American city of Austin, Texas.

History

The awards began as the NME Poll Winners Concert and associated awards ceremoniy in 1953. These continued through until 1972, where concerts were filmed and broadcast on ITV. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were most commonly featured. Venues included the Royal Albert Hall and the Empire Pool, Wembley.

Britpop Era

The awards resurfaced in 1994 as the NME Brat Awards, with the title intended as a parody of the Brit Awards. The initial award ceremonies were supportive of the burgeoning Britpop scene with Oasis becoming the first band in the modern era to win three awards. Again in 1996 Oasis won four awards - Best Band, Best Live Band, Best Album ((What's the Story) Morning Glory?) and Best Single ("Wonderwall").

NME

New Musical Express (NME) is a British music journalism magazine published since 1949. It is largely associated with rock, alternative and indie music. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, in the edition of 14 November 1952. In the 1970s it became the best-selling British music newspaper. During the period 1972 to 1976, it was particularly associated with gonzo journalism (self-involved reporting), then became closely associated with punk rock through the writings of Julie Burchill, Paul Morley and Tony Parsons. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s and 1990s, changing from newsprint in 1998.

An online version of NME, NME.com, was launched in 1996. It became the world's biggest standalone music site, with over seven million users per month. The magazine's paid circulation in the first half of 2014 was 15,830, and has been in long-term decline. Due to continuing poor sales, the magazine became a free publication in September 2015.

The Horizon (web series)

The Horizon is a web series which premiered on YouTube. It is the most watched online series made out of Australia and the most watched gay web series in the world.

The Horizon was created by Adam Jones and Boaz Stark. Season 1 was written in 2009 by Boaz Stark (a scriptwriter for 25 years, former writer of Sons and Daughters, Neighbours, Always Greener and Packed to the Rafters). Season 1 was produced by Mark Benko Ure and Christian Taylor and directed by Boaz Stark and Mark Benko Ure. Seasons 2, 3 and 4 were written and directed by Boaz Stark and produced by Brian Cobb and his company Cobbstar Productions. Brian had two short films chosen and screened at the 2012 and 2013 Cannes film festival.

The Horizon is made in partnership with the Aids Council of New South Wales (ACON). The budget for the 1st series was $3,000 (Australian dollars) but went viral. Now with 3 seasons available for view at thehorizon.tv, the series has significantly higher production values and stands at over 22,000,000 views, growing by 40,000 - 60,000 views daily (July 2014). It is the most successful online series made in Australia and the most watched gay web series in the world.

Bring Me the Horizon

Bring Me the Horizon are a British rock band from Sheffield, Yorkshire. Formed in 2003, the group currently consists of lead vocalist Oliver Sykes, lead guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardist Jordan Fish. They are signed to RCA Records globally and Columbia Records exclusively in the US. The style of their early work, including their debut album Count Your Blessings, has primarily been described as deathcore, but they started to adopt a more eclectic style of metalcore on subsequent albums. Furthermore, their latest album That's the Spirit, marked a shift in their sound to less aggressive rock music styles.

Bring Me the Horizon released their debut album Count Your Blessings in 2006. Upon release, the album was met with great polarisation amongst the public and critical disdain. The band began to break away from their controversial sound with Suicide Season (2008), which proved to be a creative, critical and commercial turning point for the band. Bring Me the Horizon then released their third album There Is a Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is a Heaven, Let's Keep It a Secret. In 2010, propelling them to greater international fame, whilst incorporating influences from classical, electronica and pop. Their major label debut, Sempiternal achieved Gold certification in Australia (35,000) and Silver in the United Kingdom (60,000). That's the Spirit debuted at #2 in the UK charts, selling almost 2 times the previous album with 44,300 first week sales. Aside from these five albums, they have also released two extended plays and a live album.

Award

An award is something given to a person, a group of people, or an organization to recognize their excellence in a certain field; a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signified by trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons. An award may carry a monetary prize given to the recipient; for example, the Nobel Prize for contributions to society or the Pulitzer Prize for literary achievements. An award may also simply be a public acknowledgment of excellence, without any tangible token or prize.

Overview

Awards can be given by any person or institution, although the prestige of an award usually depends on the status of the awarder. Usually, awards are given by an organization of some sort, or by the office of an official within an organization or government. For instance, a special presidential citation (as given by the President of the United States) is a public announcement giving an official place of honor (e.g., President Ronald Reagan gave a special presidential citation in 1984 to the Disney Channel for its excellent children's television programming.)