This year marks the 21st edition of the Pollstar Awards. Nominees were selected by a committee of several hundred randomly selected concert industry executives. Voting will be done entirely online by subscribers to PollstarPro (our sister site for folks in the biz) who will receive an e-mail with their own unique link for voting. Voting kicks off Dec. 7 – that’s today! – and concludes Jan. 13.
Lady Gaga is competing for the Best New Touring Artist with The Avett Brothers, Kings Of Leon, Phoenix and Zac Brown Band.
Nominees for Major Tour of the Year include AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Coldplay, Pink, Taylor Swift and U2.
The following artist combos received kudos for Most Creative Tour Package: Billy Joel/Elton John, Blink-182/Fall Out Boy, Bob Dylan/John Mellencamp/Willie Nelson, Counting Crows/Michael Franti/Augustana, Eric Clapton/Steve Winwood, Nine Inch Nails/Jane’s Addiction and Styx/ REO Speedwagon.
When it came to putting on a spectacle of a show, these artists were standouts for the Most Creative Stage Production award: Britney Spears, Muse, Pink, "Star Wars: In Concert" and U2.
Nominations for Music Festival of the Year (non-touring) include Austin City Limits Festival (Austin, Texas), Bonnaroo Music Festival (Manchester, Tenn.), Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (Indio, Calif.) and Lollapalooza Festival (Chicago).
Looking at the vibrant festival scene outside the U.S., the following events received nods for International Music Festival of the Year: Download Festival (UK), Glastonbury Festival (UK), Oxegen (Ireland), Reading Festival (UK), Rock Werchter (Belgium), Rock am Ring (Germany) and V Festival (UK).
This year’s award ceremony takes place Feb. 17, 2010 at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, following the two-day Pollstar Live! conference.
Click here for a full list of nominees, including awards such as Nightclub of the Year, Best New Major Concert Venue, Booking Agent of the Year and Personal Manager of the Year.