Decided in a recent GMA Board meeting in Nashville, it was determined that record company paid memberships will now be limited to a cap of 75 professional members. This cap will include any persons working on Christian/gospel projects from affiliated companies, but will not include artists, songwriters or producers. In addition, parent companies will no longer be eligible to become professional members.

In addition, the GMA Dove Awards will move to the Borda count method for the entire voting process. This method is further explained below, and is one of the better known methods for tallying ranked ballots, currently used by the Associated Press (AP) and the United Press International (UPI) to rank teams in NCAA college sports.

Lastly, each category within the GMA Dove Awards will decrease from the current seven nominees to five nominees for the final round ballot. "The Dove Awards has a tremendous legacy as well as a vibrant future in representing our people and the music we treasure. It is vital that we stay current: I believe adjustments will help us keep the process relevant," remarked Jackie Patillo, Executive Director of the Gospel Music Association.

In our efforts to grow and serve our membership, it is our responsibility to continually look at areas that need change or improvement, remarked Chairman of the Board Mitchell Solarek. I am proud of the board members and their willingness to be open to change, while celebrating the history of this association. There have been so many things to be proud of this year; a sold out Dove Awards, an increase in television ratings and more press than ever. This change in our voting procedure is another example of looking toward the future, while building on the past.

About GMA:
Founded in 1964, the Gospel Music Association serves as the face and voice for the Gospel/Christian music community and is dedicated to exposing, promoting and celebrating the Gospel through music of all styles including Pop, Rock, Praise & Worship, Urban Gospel, R&B, Hip Hop, Southern Gospel, Bluegrass, Country and more. The GMA community consists of members including agents, artists, church leaders, managers, promoters, radio personnel, record company executives, retailers, songwriters and other industry visionaries. The GMA produces the GMA Dove Awards, GMA Dove Week and IMMERSE. For more on supporting the GMA or becoming a member, please visit www.gospelmusic.org or contact the GMA directly at 615.277.1376.

Borda Voting Explained by minguo.info
In the Borda election method, voters rank the candidates as first, second, third, etc. The first choice of each voter gets a number of points one less than the number of candidates. Each subsequent choice then gets one less point than the preceding choice, until the last choice get no points at all. If the number of candidates is four, for example, the first choice gets three points, the second gets two points, the third gets one, and the last choice gets none. The points from each voter are added together to determine the winner. In the most common form of the Borda system, each voter must rank all the candidates; truncation is not allowed.

The Borda election method is one of the better known methods for tallying ranked ballots. It is used by the Associated Press (AP) and the United Press International (UPI) to rank teams in NCAA college sports, for example. It is also used in various scientific and technical applications such as handwriting recognition and space navigation, where the votes come from unbiased sensors or systems rather than people

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