Taylor Swift to Receive First-Ever MTV VMA Artist-Director Honor

- Home - Music - News

Sep 21, 2026 9:00am PT

Taylor Swift to Be Honored at 2026 MTV VMAs With Inaugural Artist-Director Award

By Chris Willman

Plus Icon

Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

ChrisWillman

Latest

- Edward Morris, Nashville Music Editor and Columnist Who Steered Billboard’s Country Coverage, Dies at 90 1 day ago

- Miley’s ‘Bass Persuades’ Is Pretty and Passable, but Surprisingly Light on Bass… or Persuasion: Album Review 2 days ago

- Brandy Clark on Conceiving New Song ‘American Roots’ as a Modern-Day ‘This Land Is Your Land’ — Polarizing Pro-Immigrant Sentiment and All (EXCLUSIVE) 3 days ago

See All

- - - - - -

- - - - - - -

Taylor Swift has been pegged to receive a key award at Sunday night’s MTV Video Music Awards . CBS and MTV announced Monday morning that Swift will be the recipient of the inaugural MTV VMA Artist Director Honors, a newly minted award set to go to artists who direct some or all of their own music videos.

The networks said that the award is being earmarked for artists “whose work behind the camera has expanded the possibilities of music video and advanced the art of visual storytelling,” and “celebrates a sustained and influential body of work from artists who have pushed creative boundaries and developed a clear directorial voice.”

Related Stories

'Wheel of Fortune' Announcer Jim Thornton Suspended, Position Will Be Recast

_Originally reported by [Variety Music](https://variety.com/2026/music/news/taylor-swift-mtv-vmas-2026-inaugural-artist-director-award-1236871205/)._