Today the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced a new nomination process for the Original Song category, nearly guaranteeing that five songs will nominated for next year's upcoming Oscar ceremony.
Members of the music branch of the Academy will still select the nominees, but the new process requires that each voting member place their top five choices on a ballot. The five songs with the most votes among all the ballots are the nominees (though only a maximum of two songs per film is permitted). Only if there are twenty-five or fewer eligible songs for nomination can the number of nominees be reduced.
Previously, the process required voting members to score each eligible song on a scale of 6 to 10, and a song had to receive an average score of 8.25 or better to qualify for a nomination (with a maximum of five nominated songs). In the last Academy Awards there were only two nominees in the Original Song category—out of an eligible 39 songs. Many felt (including yours truly) that many songs were shortchanged their opportunity for Oscar. This rule change, apparently, aims to correct that.