Being the best artist there is; what does it matter?

Within the music industry, and the cultural industries in general, awards and prizes set the tone as signals of quality and distinction. Yet, the effects and consequences of these cultural awards are lesser studied subjects. In this study about the Dutch current pop music industry, the emphasis is on music awards and their effects onto the amount of online searches for the artists involved. Through the announcements of both the win and the nomination prior to the award show, the effects of awards onto the winning artist’s received attention is studied.