The Académie Charles Cros (Charles Cros Academy) is an organization located in Chézy-sur-Marne, France, that acts as an intermediary between government cultural policy makers and professionals in music and the recording industry. The academy is composed of fifty members specializing in

music criticism ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...

, sound recording, and culture. It was founded in 1947 by Roger Vincent with

Armand Panigel Armand Panigel (15 October 1920 in Bursa, Ottoman Empire – 28 December 1995 in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence aged 75) was a French musicologist and film critic. He was also a historical figure of French radio and television in the fields of classical m ...

, José Bruyr, Antoine Goléa, Franck Ténot, and Pierre Brive – critics and recording specialists - and led by musicologist Marc Pincherle. It was named in honor of

Charles Cros Charles Cros or Émile-Hortensius-Charles Cros (October 1, 1842 – August 9, 1888) was a French poet and inventor. He was born in Fabrezan, Aude. Cros was a well-regarded poet and humorous writer. As an inventor, he was interested in the field ...

(1842–1888), inventor and poet (friend of

Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...

and

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine (; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the '' fin de siècle'' in international and ...

) who was one of the pioneers of sound recording. The academy continues to stay abreast of advances in technology, from the development of 78 RPM

gramophone record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts ne ...

s to CDs,

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

s, playable torrents and all other readable, transportable music formats available today.

Awards

Each year since 1948, the Academy has given out its grand prize, the ''

Grand Prix du Disque Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...

'', to recognize outstanding achievements in recorded music and musical scholarship. Prizes are awarded in the field of popular song, classical music, jazz, and other categories of recorded music, as well as for outstanding books of musicology. Categories vary from year to year, and multiple awards are often made in one category in the same year.

External links

* Music organizations based in France French music awards Grand Prix du Disque French music {{music-org-stub