1. The "data-based category" award nominees are artists who released an official MV in between January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016 and the artist must be ranked in the chart throughout the whole year. 2. "The Most Popular Artists" series of shortlisted nominees are the top 30 artists in the TOP100 list in all five regions. 3. "Artist Award" series nominees are artists who released music-related work in between January 2016 to December 31, 2016. In addition to the results of the MV chart, the awards will be based on a combination of criteria: the standard of the released album, participation in offline activities, performances, film and television, hosting and the results that accompanies. 4. "Composition Category" award nominees are artists who released an official MV from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016 and the artist must have the most #1 wins in the chart throughout the whole year. "MV Awards" are based on MV production standards, word of mouth, shooting, conception, production and list of achievements to determine the winning entries. 5. "Album of The Year" is determined according to the annual album sales data ranking on the Yin Yue Shopping Mall 2016. Shortlisted nominees are the top 10 albums on the data ranking.
Voting
On February 5, 2016, the award ceremony was officially launched. On February 29, the nominees for the "Favourite Artist of the Year" series was announced. Voting of the first phase of nominees commenced on March 7 and ended on March 19. On the March 8, a concept video was released. On March 21, the voting for the second phase of the "Favourite Artist of the Year" ended on April 5.
Cinematography
The presentation of the ceremony used live webcast technology which divided into Live HD and a 360-degree panorama live accompanied with three interfaces for the backstage live. Live broadcast has a choice of standard definition and HD to choose from. The 360-degree panoramic live technology facilitates live performances from different angles. Backstage live showcases interviews with various artists who are present.
G.E.M. suffered a wardrobe malfunction which caused her to fell on stage. Luhan was seen with a running nose which he later explained himself to be having rhinitis during the backstage interview.
