After a year-long review of nominating and voting practices, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), the group that administers Canada’s top music industry awards, announced a list of changes today that will go into effect for the 2025 JUNO Awards season.

CARAS is introducing two new award categories, South Asian Music Recording of the Year and Songwriter of the Year (Non-Performer) to the 54th Annual JUNO Awards.

To explain the decision behind the new categories, CARAS says that “Canada has proven to be at the epicenter of South Asian music globally.” The new South Asian Music Recording of the Year category will celebrate recordings throughout the diaspora and support the growth and success of South Asian music.

The Songwriter of the Year category, one of the most prestigious awards handed out at the JUNOS, and one in which the organization says they receive “a record number of submissions every year,” will be split into two categories. With the addition of the Songwriter of the Year (Non-Performer) as a new category, CARAS says the award will recognize Canadian songwriters who compose some of the most recognizable songs for artists other than themselves. 

The JUNO Awards will see other big updates for the 2025 season. The Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Breakthrough Group of the Year categories, which are currently two separate award categories will merge to become Breakthrough Artist or Group of the Year. The single category will have 10 nominees.

Nominations open in less than three weeks. There will not be an option to nominate artists for the International Album of the Year award since the category will no longer exist.

In categories such as Rap Album/EP of the Year and Rap Single of the Year, nominees will now be determined 50-50 by consumption, activities such as unit sales and streaming, and by judges’ votes. Contemporary Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year, and Traditional Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year will become Recording categories. Artists or groups with albums/EPs or singles will now be eligible to submit in both categories. 

The nomination eligibility for Artist of the Year and Group of the Year are determined by radio audience (12.5%), social data (12.5%), and global consumption data (50%). CARAS delegates’ votes (25%) will now be used in the tabulation.

The 2024 JUNO Award winners for the categories mentioned above are:

• Songwriter of the Year – Aysanabee (Alone, Here and Now, and Somebody Else)
• Breakthrough Artist – Talk
• Breakthrough Group – New West
• International Album – SZA (SOS)
• Rap Album/EP of the Year – Tobi (Panic)
• Rap Single of the Year – Tobi (Someone I Knew)
• Contemporary Indigenous Artist or Group – Elisapie (Inuktitut)
• Traditional Indigenous Artist or Group – Joel Wood (Sing. Pray. Love.)
• Artist of the Year – Tate McRae
• Group of the Year – The Beaches

The upcoming JUNO Awards and JUNO Week 2025 events will be hosted in Vancouver, B.C. from March 27-30 leading up to The JUNO Awards live broadcast across CBC platforms from Rogers Arena on the Sunday.

by Cherryl Bird – Toronto, Ontario, Canada
X @ladycbird | Instagram @cherrylbird