Billboard‘s Power Players list is an integral music industry mainstay, and the publication has now taken steps to be more inclusive when it comes to voting.
On Thursday (June 15), the magazine revealed that it would launch a “peer-voted award” to run alongside its yearly R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players list of the most influential executives in music today.
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Billboard‘s new accolade — the R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players’ Choice Award — will pay homage to the executives in the genres whose peers believe have had the greatest impact across the music business over the past year.
Voting access will be available to all Billboard Pro members, both existing and new, with one vote per member.
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The first round of voting is now open and will run through June 25 with an open call for nominees. The second round of voting will begin June 26 to narrow down the top 20 nominees into the final five top executives.
The third round of voting will begin on July 10 to select the winner from that list. Voting concludes July 23 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Learn more about being a Billboard Pro member and how to get involved here.
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Billboard‘s past lists have sparked numerous conversations and attracted significant attention. In February, chaos ensued after the publication teamed up with VIBE to release its Top 50 Greatest Rappers of All Time list.
While some took issue with why they weren’t mentioned, others questioned who was. In Ice Cube’s opinion, who was ranked at No.18, his placement on the list proves the publication “ain’t Hip Hop.”
Around that same time, TMZ caught up with the West Coast rap legend while he was leaving Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). While Cube initially didn’t seem to be phased by his ranking as the 18th greatest rapper of all time, that quickly changed.
“Who?” he asked rhetorically when the reporter mentioned Billboard‘s list. “I don’t fuck with Billboard or the editor. Billboard ain’t Hip Hop, so their opinion don’t matter. So who gives a fuck?”
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Cube added that his Mount Westmore contemporary Too $hort not being included on the list was definitely an undeserved snub. “It’s an irrelevant list,” he continued. “It’s like assholes: everybody got one, and they all stink.”
