The Choice Music Prize (), known for sponsorship reasons as the RTÉ Choice Music Prize is an annual music prize awarded to the best album from a band or solo musician who is born in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland or holds an Irish passport. For bands, the majority of members must have been born in the island of Ireland or hold an Irish passport. Since it first began in 2005, the main awards ceremony had been broadcast live on the Irish independent and national radio station, Today FM, every March with the exception of the 2014 ceremony which took place on 27 February 2014 and it is also held in Vicar Street, Dublin with the exception of the 2012 ceremony which was held in the Olympia Theatre (Dublin). After being broadcast on Today FM for nearly eleven years, in November 2016, it was announced that the Choice Music Prize would broadcast on RTÉ 2FM starting in 2017. Previous presenters of the main awards ceremony have been Michelle Doherty, Rigsy and Today FM radio presenters Alison Curtis and Paul McLoone. The program has been sponsored since 2011 by Meteor and it was also broadcast live on Today FM since it first began in 2005, airing as a four-part special, beginning at 7pm and usually concluding at 11pm. Establishment The Choice Music Prize was established by journalist Jim Carroll and manager Dave Reid in 2005. Aim of the awards According to organisers, the aim of the Choice Music Prize, is to get more airplay for Irish acts both domestically and overseas. "It was a strange thing" remembers Cormac Brady of Super Extra Bonus Party. "It's not something we ever expected to happen to us. Winning awards certainly wasn't what we got into music for, but it brought us a hell of a lot more recognition overnight and opened a lot of doors". Julie Feeney concurs. "It was probably the biggest achievement of my life" she says. "It meant a phenomenal amount to me. It was an enormous validation" as an alternative to the industry-dominated Meteor Music Awards. The Choice Music Prize is modelled after the Mercury Prize which is awarded each year to the best album from the United Kingdom or Ireland. It is a music award voted for by a panel of twelve judges based on artistic merit, regardless of genre, sales, or record label. The price includes