The Gospel Music Association (GMA) has announced balloting changes for its 44th Annual GMA Dove Awards, www.doveawards.com, which is taking place in the fall for the first time.

The association's marquee event will be held Oct. 15 at Allen Arena on the campus of Nashville's historic Lipscomb University, and will be nationally televised on GMC TV.

In a letter sent to association members and posted on the organization's website, GMA Executive Director Jackie Patillo wrote about "the most notable changes," including the addition of three new categories to Dove Awards' division one: Contemporary Christian Performance of the Year; Southern Gospel Performance of the Year; and Gospel Performance of the Year.

GMA has also added an Inspirational Film of the Year category to the awards in response to the rise of faith-based films.

"In an effort to place increased emphasis on our musical genres and broaden inclusion as well as meet industry standards, the following categories have been removed: Male Artist of the Year; Female Artist of the Year; Group of the Year," Patillo wrote.

Additionally, several categories have been combined due to a lack of submissions.

Urban Recorded Song of the Year, Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year have been merged to create Contemporary Gospel/Urban Recorded Song of the Year. Urban Album of the Year and Contemporary Gospel Album of the Year have also been merged to create Contemporary Gospel/Urban Album of the Year.

The Artist of the Year category has also been revised to include artists on the first-round ballot who are top 20, highest-selling artists, according to SoundScan plus TEA (track equivalent album) sales.

"While we know that these categories and processes will continue to evolve over the coming years, our greater goal is to create an excellent event that celebrates community and brings awareness to the hope that we possess," Patillo wrote.

Dove nominees are scheduled to be announced Aug. 22. The event's hosts and performers as well as Dove-related events will be announced in the coming months.

GMA moved the Dove Awards back to Nashville after a two-year run in Atlanta, and switched the event from April to October.

Visit www.gospelmusic.org to learn more about the changes.

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